Turin, Dec. 2. (LaPresse) – Dorothea Wierer returns to dominate in Ostersund and wins the women's 15 km, the first individual race of the World Cup season: it is her seventeenth overall World Cup victory, the seventh in this discipline, a success that comes exactly ten years after her first victory, which took place in Ostersund on December 3, 2015. In between, there was also room for success in March 2023 in this discipline on these snowy slopes. Overall, this is Wierer's sixth victory in Östersund, including the world title in the mass start in 2019: in addition to three gems in the 15 km in her splendid career, there is also room for another mass start and a sprint. And it is Doro Wierer who gives Italy its first victory on snow this winter. A race that went from strength to strength for the 35-year-old South Tyrolean in the last season of her career: one mistake in each of the first two sessions, then nothing but perfection. This is how a comeback took shape, starting from 27th place after two shooting ranges. Thirteenth after the second session on the ground, second after an excellent fourth shooting range (23.3), the final lap saw the Italian unleash her full potential to beat the surprising Finnish athlete Sonja Leinamo (0-0-1-0) by just 3 tenths of a second. Wierer also put in a strong performance on skis, achieving the fifth fastest time overall. The day's podium was completed by France's Camille Bened, who paid dearly for her mistake in the final shooting range: +8.4 seconds behind Wierer, with Lou Jeanmonnot (0-0-1-1) and Hanna Oberg (2-1-0-0) just off the podium, followed by Belgium's Maya Clötens (0-0-0-1).

© Copyright LaPresse