The Swiss cross-country skiers impress in Obergoms, the biathletes as a team in the Czech Republic. The other facts of the winter sports day.
25.01.2026, 12:34
25.01.2026, 19:05
SDA
Biathlon. - The Swiss biathletes are ready for the Olympic Games. In the last competition before the highlight of the season, Amy Baserga finished ninth in the individual race with mass start over 12.5 km, Aita Gasparin came 15th and Lena Häcki-Gross 18th. Despite three misses, Gasparin and Häcki-Gross confirmed their strong performances so far this season, while Gasparin and Häcki-Gross confirmed their improved form this weekend in Nove Mesto. The two veterans had been selected for the Olympics even though they had not (yet) achieved the required results. Baserga also impressed in the cross-country race with the tenth-best time in the first victory of the season for Frenchwoman Julia Simon. Four French women finished in the top five places.
A Frenchman, Eric Perrot, also triumphed in the men's race. Joscha Burkhalter, the only Swiss in the field of 30 at the mass start, disappointed with four misses and 22nd place.
Fähndrich and Klee in the top ten
Nadine Fähndrich also confirmed her top form over the longer distance at the Cross-Country World Cup in Upper Valais. After her podium finish in the sprint on Saturday, the 30-year-old from Lucerne finished 9th in the 20 km classic technique with mass start around Ulrichen. She lost 1:16 minutes to the Finnish surprise winner Johanna Matintalo and was thus the best behind a leading group of eight runners who had broken away early on. Fähndrich finished in the top ten for only the third time in the World Cup over a distance of more than 10 km.
Anja Weber (19th) and Marina Kälin (21st) ensured a strong Swiss team result. Kälin thus fulfilled the second part of the Olympic selection criteria at the last minute. Her older sister Nadja Kälin, actually the best Swiss distance runner, gave up and probably didn't want to waste energy unnecessarily two weeks before the Olympics.
The Swiss men also showed a good reaction to a previously disappointing winter on the distance courses - above all Beda Klee. The Toggenburg native finished tenth in the 20 km race, placing in the top ten for the seventh time in his World Cup career - also in Goms for the first time in almost exactly two years. Klee is the only Swiss athlete to have completely fulfilled the Olympic guidelines. However, he had fallen into a form crisis after the strong start in Finland and had decided not to take part in the Tour de Ski. The race in Valais was now a "great relief", as he noted.
With 21st place, Nicola Wigger put in a bid to take part in the Olympic Games in Val di Fiemme. The 24-year-old from the Zurich Oberland region had previously never finished higher than 34th and can now hope for one of the five Olympic tickets. Three are likely to be reserved for the sprinters. There were no fewer than seven Norwegians at the top, with Johannes Klaebo celebrating his 107th World Cup victory - excluding teams and relays.
