Looked straight into the barrel
Biathlon star looks down the barrel of his rifle
Belgian biathlete Thierry Langer (31) looked down the barrel of his gun during the race at the World Cup in Pokljuka, causing a shock moment and a lot of criticism.
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Daring action: Thierry Langer looked down the barrel of his gun during the biathlon competition on Sunday.
Has Thierry Langer been abandoned by all good spirits? You might think so, because the Belgian poked his stick in the barrel of the gun before the standing stage in the mixed relay at the biathlon competition in Pokljuka (Slo) on Sunday! He also looked straight into his gun.
Can’t imagine what could have happened if there had been another shot in the barrel. Contrary to initial fears, this was not the case. The biathlete had previously removed his magazine and unloaded the gun. He confirmed this after the race on German television. ‘Of course I took out the magazine. I’ve been trying to free my grain. I didn’t succeed because unfortunately it was stuffed with ice.”
“I tried everything”
How did this incident come about? The 31-year-old athlete fell earlier, causing a lot of snow and ice to get caught in the barrel of his gun. Arriving at the shooting range, Langer said he tried “everything” to somehow get the snow out of his way and get ready to shoot. Since he didn’t want to succeed, he was given a replacement rifle and was able to continue the competition.
The Belgian wasn’t afraid that something could have happened. It was completely clear to him that at no time was there a risk of injuring himself during the daring action.
Ex-biathlete demands disqualification
The expert and ex-biathlete Sven Fischer (51) sees things differently. The German railed: “You always have to reckon with the fact that something can happen! You must never put your head or any part of your body in front of the muzzle.” The two-time overall World Cup winner even says on “ZDF” that Langer and the Belgian squadron should have been disqualified after this incident.
The former Swiss biathlon professional Matthias Simmen also comments on this. “From a pedagogical point of view, he and Belgium should definitely have been disqualified, he has a role model function that he has not fulfilled. In addition, he did not hold up his hand, which is mandatory in such a situation to signal that something is wrong.”
Otherwise, everything went correctly from a technical point of view. “One of the judges who constantly carry out safety checks during the races was standing directly behind Langer at the shooting range and checked the whole thing. He unloaded the gun correctly, and there was no more shot in it.” For this reason, the referee did not disqualify Belgium and instead gave Langer a spare rifle. (par)