The quest for gold, silver and bronze along the ten-kilometer-long course with two shooting rounds (one prone, one standing) gets under way in the Südtirol Arena at 2.30 pm.
Excitement is virtually guaranteed, because there is little to separate the leading pack. As is so often the case, Johannes Thingnes Bø is going into the men’s sprint as the number-one favorite. The Norwegian superstar, who recently announced his plan to retire at the end of the season, has still got three more appearances left in Antholz over the weekend. Bø is a living legend who has celebrated an impressive ten individual triumphs in Antholz and is amongst the front runners in the overall IBU World Cup standings this year too. The 31-year-old Scandinavian is bound to put on a thrilling contest with his compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid, the French pair Emilien Jacquelin and Eric Perrot and Sebastian Samuelsson from Sweden. Meanwhile, Tarjei Bø, Vebjoern Soerum, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Fabien Claude will undoubtedly have their sights set on a medal too.
Someone else arriving full of confidence is Tommaso Giacomel. The biathlete from Trentino, who was born in Sterzing and attended the Sportschule Mals sports school, celebrated his first-ever World Cup success in Ruhpolding last weekend with victory in the mass start race. The “Azzurri” are pinning their hopes on Giacomel, who will be looking for another strong performance in Antholz. Lukas Hofer will be South Tyrol’s sole representative in Antholz. The 35-year-old from Montal has not yet really got going this season but will be hoping to change all that at his home World Cup. Completing the Italian line-up are Didier Bionaz, Daniele Cappellari and Elia Zeni. One notable absentee is Patrick Braunhofer from Ridnaun, who will be contesting the Open European Championships in Martell next week.
The last World Cup sprint to be held in Antholz, which was in January 2023, was won by – who else – Johannes Thingnes Bø.