Finland achieve best-ever mixed relay result in biathlon; Mäkäräinen praises quartet

Yle’s live coverage for Sunday, 30 November, followed the Ruka World Cup and other winter sports, with a biathlon highlight from Östersund.

Biathlon – Östersund World Cup mixed relay - France dominated to win in 1:05:16.5 with the team of Émilien Jacquelin, Éric Perrot, Justine Braisaz‑Bouchet, and Lou Jeanmonnot. Italy, anchored by Lisa Vittozzi, finished second, and Norway, anchored by Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, was third. - Finland achieved its best-ever mixed relay placing, finishing fourth with Tuomas Harjula, Tero Seppälä, Inka Hämäläinen, and Suvi Minkkinen. Minkkinen out-sprinted Czechia’s Markéta Davidová on the final stretch to secure the position. The USA placed sixth; Sweden and Germany were seventh and eighth respectively. - Former star and Yle expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen lauded Finland’s result, calling it a near‑maximum performance even with one penalty loop, and said the strong start to the season provides a big confidence boost.

Race progression notes - On the third leg, Dorothea Wierer briefly moved Italy into the lead with perfect prone shooting; Karoline Offigstad Knotten kept Norway close. Inka Hämäläinen needed one penalty loop on standing but Finland dropped only slightly, staying in the top six. - On anchor, Jeanmonnot shot clean to secure France’s win; Vittozzi overtook Tandrevold as Norway used a spare, settling the podium order. Minkkinen, after one spare in prone, reeled in Czechia and clinched fourth for Finland.

Other World Cup updates (Ruka, Finland) - Nordic combined: With the jumping phase canceled due to high winds, the mass start cross‑country decided the standings—Eero Hirvonen finished 5th, Ilkka Herola 16th. - Cross‑country skiing (20 km freestyle mass start): Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen won the men’s race; Finland’s Joni Mäki was 26th. Iivo Niskanen withdrew after warm‑up. Sweden’s Jonna Sundling won the women’s race; Krista Pärmäkoski was 16th and Kerttu Niskanen 20th as several Finns did not finish. - Ski jumping in Ruka was canceled due to wind; Saturday’s competition had already been shortened to one round.

Biathlon – Single Mixed Relay (Östersund) - Finland’s Olli Hiidensalo and Venla Lehtonen placed 8th in the single mixed relay earlier the same day.