* Results of the men's 15km mass start: 1 Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 36:21.5 (1) 2 Benedikt Doll (GER) +10.0 (1) 3 Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) 10.3 (2) 4 Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) 10.6 (1) 5 Martin Fourcade (FRA) 10.8 (1) 6 Erlend Bjoentegaard (NOR) 21.4 (2) 7 Johannes Dale (NOR) 39.8 (2) 8 Simon Eder (AUT) 42.8 (0) 9 Tarjei Boe (NOR) 43.5 (2) 10 Lukas Hofer (ITA) 1:05.4 (2) ... 21 Jakov Fak (SLO) 1:56.1 (3) ... - Overall standings (13 out of 24 events): 1 Martin Fourcade (FRA) 601 pts 2 Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 532 3 Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) 482 4 Simon Desthieux (FRA) 479 5 Tarjei Boe (NOR) 461 6 Alexander Loginov (RUS) 436 7 Benedikt Doll (GER) 415 8 Emilien Jacquelin (FRA) 401 9 Johannes Dale (NOR) 398 10 Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) 372 ... 15 Jakov Fak (SLO) 286
Sport
27 Jan 2020, 09:13 AM
STA, 26 January 2020 - Slovenia's Anamarija Lampič finished second in the women's classic sprint event in the Cross-Country World Cup in Germany's Oberstdorf on Sunday for her fifth career podium finish and fourth in the current season.
In the final run, Lampič was beaten by Natalya Nepryayeva of Russia by 0.26 of a second, while the remaining competitors were left far behind.
This is the fourth podium finish for the 24-year-old in the current season, in which she already has two wins - in Switzerland Lenzerheide on 29 December last year and in Italy's Val di Fiemme on 4 January.
Lampič is currently first in the World Cup standings in sprint with 355 points, 70 points ahead of the second-placed Linn Svahn of Sweden, while she is 9th overall.
"I was going at full strength, while [Nepryayeva] had already competed yesterday, and was a bit tired today. But I think that she had a bit better skis, but never mind, I'm still happy with the second place," she said.
Nejc Brodar, the head coach of the Slovenian cross-country skiing team, said that "it was another excellent performance. Routine runs. She has shown that she deserves to wear the jersey of the leader in the overall sprint rankings."
26 Jan 2020, 21:18 PM
STA, 26 January 2020 - France's Quentin Fillon Maillet is the winner of the men's 15km mass start event of the Biathlon World Cup meet at Slovenia's Pokljuka on Sunday. He finished the race ahead of Benedikt Doll of Germany and Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe.
Fillon Maillet missed only one shot and was very quick in the running part, as was Doll (+10.0), who also missed one shot. Boe was even quicker but missed two shots to finish 10.3 second behind the winner.
"I didn't have any particular strategy. I gave my best in the last lap in order to stay in the first place," said Fillon Maillet after the race.
This compatriot Martin Fourcade is still in the overall lead in the World Cup with 601 points, with Fillon Maillet trailing by 69 points and Boe by 119 points.
The best Slovenian competitor was Jakov Fak, who finished 21st, as he missed three shots in the process while battling cold. He crossed the finish line 1 minute and 56 seconds after Fillon Maillet.
"It was very difficult ... but it nevertheless paid to appear in front of this audience," Fak said, adding that the "current situation and form are not such that I could be a match to the competitors at the top."
Women's mass start at Pokljuka won by Sweden's Oeberg
STA, 26 January 2020 - Hanna Oeberg of Sweden won the women's 12.5km mass start event at Slovenia's Pokljuka on Sunday, finishing ahead of Italian Lisa Vittozzi and France's Anais Bescond in what was the last Biathlon World Cup meet ahead of the world championships in Italy.
Oeberg missed one shot but was better in the running part than Vittozzi (+6.5) and Bescond (27.6), who were perfect in shooting.
This is the fourth individual career victory for the 24-year-old Swede, who won the world champion title in the individual race in Östersund in 2019.
* Results of the women's 12.5km mass start: 1 Hanna Oeberg (SWE) 34:14.4 (1) 2 Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) +6.5 (0) 3 Anais Bescond (FRA) 27.6 (0) 4 Monika Hojnisz-Starega (POL) 37.5 (1) 5 Justine Braisaz (FRA) 44.1 (3) 6 Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (NOR) 48.4 (3) 7 Lisa Theresa Hauser (AUT) 59.9 (1) 8 Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (NOR) 1:09.0 (3) 9 Dorothea Wierer (ITA) 1:09.6 (2) 10 Marketa Davidova (CZE) 1:22.5 (2) ... - Overall standings (13 out of 24 events): 1 Tiril Eckhoff (NOR) 524 pts 2 Dorothea Wierer (ITA) 509 3 Hanna Oeberg (SWE) 456 4 Denise Herrmann (GER) 419 5 Julia Simon (FRA) 385 6 Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (NOR) 384 7 Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (NOR) 381 8 Justine Braisaz (FRA) 380 9 Paulina Fialkova (SVK) 353 10 Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) 325 ...
26 Jan 2020, 13:00 PM
STA, 25 January - Slovenia's team placed third with 1,125.0 points at Saturday's World Cup event, finishing after the winners Germany and second-placed Norway. The team featured Anže Lanišek, Domen Prevc, Timi Zajc and Peter Prevc.
Slovenia was also third after the first series, entering a fierce battle for third place with Austria and Poland, while Germany and Norway proved much too good to be caught up.
* Results: 1. Germany 1,182.2 (Constantin Schmid 123.0/136.5 m, Markus Eisenbichler 133.0/ 132.5 m, Stephan Leyhe 139.0/136.5 m, Karl Geiger 133.0/142.0 m) 2. Norway 1,142.2 (Marius Lindvik 131.5/140.0 m, Robert Johansson 134.0/133.5 m, Daniel Andre Tande 131.0/129.5 m, Johann Andre Forfang 122.5/132.0 m) 3. Slovenia 1,125.0 (Anže Lanišek 128.0/140.5 m, Domen Prevc 122.0/135.0 m, Timi Zajc 137.0/129.5 m, Peter Prevc 127.0/1320 m) 4. Japan 1,122.5 5. Poland 1,118.6 6. Austria 1,114.9 7. Czech Republic 974.6 8. Switzerland 965.1
26 Jan 2020, 10:23 AM
STA, 25 January 2020 - The Slovenian men's handball team finished fourth at the European Championship after losing to Norway 20:28 in the third-place match in Stockholm on Saturday, in what is the second-best result for Slovenia ever at such tournaments.
Slovenia did not manage to bounce back from yesterday's semi-final match against Spain (32:34), while the Norwegians celebrated after a painful loss to Croatia in the last seconds of the other semi-final.
It was a sloppy and slow affair in the first half, with Norway making a run by the 20th minute to secure a four-goal lead, and never looked back thereafter. They did not let Slovenia to come close, also with help from some stellar goalkeeping.
Slovenian head coach Ljubomir Vranješ, who took over the team only a month ago, said that the player had done a tremendous job at the tournament but "it is not enough", adding that the whole tournament had been difficult.
Captain Vid Kavtičnik, who did not play in the match due to injury, said that "of course we are sad, but still, the fourth place is amazing," noting that the team did not have much time to prepare for the tournament.
Borut Mačkovšek said that the team would continue to work hard, and Jure Dolenec said that "we should be proud of what we have done at this major competition," adding that Slovenia had been in a very bad place only six months ago.
The fourth place is actually the second-best results for Slovenia at the European championships, coming after the national won silver medal at home in 2004.
While Slovenia have failed to win a medal, they have secured a berth in an Olympic qualifying tournament hosted by Berlin, Germany between 17 and 19 April.
At the tournament Slovenia will play against Germany, Sweden and an African national team, with the top two teams making it to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
As for the qualifications, Vranješ said that the team would be prepared tactically by March and then a training camp would be scheduled.
24 Jan 2020, 22:46 PM
STA, 24 January 2020 - The Slovenian men's handball team lost to Spain 32:34 in the semi-finals of the European Championship in Stockholm on Friday, and will play Norway in the third-place match tomorrow.
The reigning European champions Spain were too much for Slovenia who were looking to make it to what would be their second European champions finals ever, taking advantage of many fast-breaks to build a 20:15 lead in the half-time.
The five-goal lead proved to be too much to recover from for Slovenia, who nevertheless fought to the final whistle and were only one goal behind in the last minute.
After what was the third loss for Slovenia in the four semi-finals at major competitions so far, Slovenia's Jure Dolenec said the team played a very bad defence in the first half and that he was "honestly really disappointed."
Slovenian head coach Ljubomir Vranješ said that the Spaniards were much better in the first half as his players had made very bad mistakes on defence, but what was important that they had fought until the last minute.
"They did not give up at all, but they fought the entire time, and this is good," he said, admitting that it would be hard to motivate players and find energy for the third-place match.
Slovenia will try to bounce back from the loss on Saturday as they try to win the bronze medal against Norway, who lost to Croatia 28:29 in a double overtime thriller in the other semi-final earlier today.
Slovenia already played Norway in the last match of the second round of the ongoing European championship on Wednesday, losing 30:33.
24 Jan 2020, 16:54 PM
STA, 24 January 2020 - The second day of the Biathlon World Cup meet in Slovenia's Pokljuka on Friday saw Denise Herrmann of Germany win the women's 15km individual event, ahead of Hanna Oeberg of Sweden and France's Anais Bescond.
Herrmann was perfect in the shooting, while Oeberg missed one target to finish 59.2 seconds behind the winner. Bescond also hit all targets but was slower in the running part (+1:15.7).
The race featured two Slovenian athletes, with Lea Einfalt finishing 76th (+9:20.9) and Polona Klemenčič finishing 87th (+10:49.8).
The meet at the plateau within the Triglav National Park continues on Saturday with the single mixed relay and the 4x7.5km mixed relay.
The event will wrap up on Sunday with the men's 15km mass start and a women's 12.5km mass start competitions.
24 Jan 2020, 08:45 AM
STA, 23 January 2020- The four-day Biathlon World Cup meet in Slovenia's Pokljuka started on Thursday with the men's 20km individual event, with Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway emerging as the winner, while Jakov Fak was the best Slovenian competitor in 12th place.
The Norwegian was perfect in shooting, finishing 11.4 seconds ahead of Martin Fourcade of France, who kept his overall lead in the World Cup. Third place went to another Frenchman, Fabien Claude (+25.6).
Slovenia's best biathlete Jakov Fak finished 2 minutes and 20.2 seconds behind the winner for the 12th place, as he missed one target in the process. The second best Slovenia was Rok Tršan (+4:26.1) in 31st place.
Boe, who was absent from the World Cup for four weeks after becoming a father, said he "started slower than usual today" and "spent some more time on the shooting range, but everything went well and I'm happy."
He added that Fourcade had rang up four wins in the meantime, which made it difficult for him to grab the overall win. "This is why the world championship is the primary goal."
Fak, who kept his 15th overall place in the World Cup, said that "missing the last shot was very painful" as he had some technical problems. "It will be hard to climb higher this season, and today I tried to make a better result, but I couldn't."
The races at the plateau within the Triglav National Park continue on Friday with the women's 15km individual event.
Saturday is reserved for the single mixed relay and the 4x7.5km mixed relay, with the meet wrapping up on Sunday with the men's 15km mass start and a women's 12.5km mass start competitions.
Visit Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka: January 22-26, 2020
* Results of the men's 20km event and overall standings: 1 Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) 47:54.3 (0) 2 Martin Fourcade (FRA) + 11.4 (0) 3 Fabien Claude (FRA) 25.6 (0) 4 Phillip Nawrath (GER) 36.7 (0) 5 Johannes Dale (NOR) 1:02.4 (1) 6 Tarjei Boe (NOR) 1:26.4 (1) 7 Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 1:28.5 (2) 8 Johannes Kühn (GER) 1:41.8 (1) 9 Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) 1:56.1 (1) 10 Benedikt Doll (GER) 2:06.5 (2) ... 12 Jakov Fak (SLO) 2:20.2 (1) 31 Rok Tršan (SLO) 4:26.1 (1) 34 Klemen Bauer (SLO) 4:52.3 (3) 46 Miha Dovžan (SLO) 5:32.5 (5) - Overall World Cup standings (12 of 24 events): 1 Martin Fourcade (FRA) 561 pts 2 Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 472 3 Simon Desthieux (FRA) 455 4 Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) 434 5 Tarjei Boe (NOR) 429 6 Alexander Loginov (RUS) 415 7 Emilien Jacquelin (FRA) 389 8 Johannes Dale (NOR) 362 9 Benedikt Doll (GER) 361 10 Erlend Bjoentegaard (NOR) 331
23 Jan 2020, 09:33 AM
STA, 22 January 2020 - The Slovenian men's handball team made it among the top four teams at the European championships after finishing second in the main round Group II play in Sweden's Malmö. Slovenia will play reigning European champions Spain in the semi-finals on Friday.
It is only the second time in the nation's history the handball team made it to the medal round at European handball championships, following Slovenia's silver medal at home in 2004.
Slovenia entered the main round as an undefeated team in the preliminary group F in Gothenburg, racking up three consecutive wins against Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
The Slovenians followed up the winning streak with a 30:27 victory over Iceland last Friday, and then suffered their first loss at the tournament on Sunday at the hands of Hungary (28:29).
On Tuesday, Slovenia defeated Portugal 29:24 to secure their first goal at the tournament - a berth in one of the three qualifying tournaments for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Today, Slovenia lost 30:33 to the still undefeated Norway, but had already made it to the semi-finals prior to the match as the main rival for the top two spots, Hungary, lost to Portugal 26:34 earlier today.
Slovenian head coach Ljubomir Vranješ told reporters that "it is a great day for us" and that "this is my best defeat ever", referring to Slovenia having already qualified for the semi-finals before the match.
He said that the tactics for Norway had not been used at all, as the players "put it in the pocket for later", adding that he was saving the energy of his players a little bit for Friday's encounter against Spain.
In the semi-finals, it will be important to be both physically and mentally ready, and "we are going there well prepared and fully focused," Vranješ concluded.
Regardless of the outcome of the medal round in Stockholm, Slovenia will play at one of the three Olympic qualifying tournaments, hosted by France, Germany and Norway between 17 and 19 April.
Only the winner of the ongoing European championships will get the direct ticket for Tokyo from Europe, in addition to the reigning world champions Denmark.
20 Jan 2020, 20:34 PM
STA, 19 January 2020 - Slovenia's ski jumper Timi Zajc placed third in Sunday's World Cup event in Titisee-Neustadt, Germany, in what is his best result this winter season.
Pole Dawid Kubacki was victorious for the second straight day, scoring 283.3 points, 0.3 points ahead of Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, who came in third at the same venue yesterday. Zajc mustered 271.6 points.
Kubacki and Kobayashi were a class apart in the first series, securing an advantage of more than 10 points ahead of the rest, while the battle for the third spot was wide open.
Going into the finals, Slovenia had two contenders for the remaining slot on the podium, Domen Prevc, who placed 5th in the first series, and Timi Zajc in 7th.
Zajc jumped 134 metres to take the lead, while losing minimum wind compensation points. Domen Prevc was very late into his jump, making it only as far as 113 metres.
Zajc's is only the fourth podium finish for Slovenia this season, after Anže Lanišek placed second in Poland's Wisla and third in Ruka, Finland, and Peter Prevc finished second in Engelberg, Switzerland.
Zajc was Slovenia's best jumper last season, finishing 9th overall.
19 Jan 2020, 11:41 AM
STA, 18 January 2020 - Grega Lačen, one of Slovenia's top mountain climbers, was killed after falling from a great height while descending one of the peaks in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps in northern Slovenia on Friday afternoon. The police have ruled out any foul play.
The 43-year-old died falling down a high-steep rock face near the Mlinar Saddle despite being well-equipped and familiar with the area. A local rescue team has already recovered the body.
Lačen was part of Slovenia's many successful climbing expeditions, reported the newspaper Večer. He summited numerous peaks, including Mount Everest, having skied down the world's highest mountain.
He also led an expedition to the Karakoram mountain range, which spans the borders of Pakistan, India, China, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
In the wake of several tragic climbing accidents in January, the police have urged climbers to exercise extra caution, particularly when descending steep snow slopes.
19 Jan 2020, 11:35 AM
STA, 18 January 2020 - The Italians dominated the men's World Cup parallel giant slalom in Slovenia's ski resort Rogla on Saturday, whereas the Czech Republic took the top place in the women's race.
Italy's Edwin Corrati beat his countryman Roland Fischnaller to defend last year's win in Rogla. Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic won the women's race, beating Germany's Ramona Theresia Hofmeister.
Third places went to Russian snowboarders in both categories, Natalija Soboleva and Vic Wild.
Slovenian snowboarders left empty-handed, with Tim Mastnak the only one to have made it into the final rounds.
Mastnak, who placed eighth in the qualifying stage, was beaten by Poland's Oskar Kwiatkowski in the round of 16.
Slovenia's best women's snowboarder was Gloria Kotnik, who ranked 31st in the qualifiers.
