Renārs Birkentāls was the top Latvian biathlete in the 20-kilometer individual event at the recent biathlon classic, finishing in 31st place. Fellow Latvian competitors Andrejs Rastorgujevs, Edgars Mise, and Rihards Lozbers placed 41st, 83rd, and 88th respectively. The race was won by Norway’s Juhans Ūlavs Botns, who excelled with flawless shooting and completed the course in 51 minutes and 31.5 seconds.

In an impressive display, Botns secured the gold medal with perfect shooting, demonstrating both skill and precision throughout the competition. He finished ahead of France's Éric Perrot, who made one shooting error yet still captured the silver medal, trailing Botns by 14.8 seconds. Norway's Sturla Holm Lægreid earned the bronze, having missed one target and finishing 48.3 seconds behind the leader.

Latvian biathlete Birkentāls started strong but faced challenges at the shooting ranges. Despite one miss in both the prone and standing positions that resulted in two penalty minutes, he managed to hit all targets in the last two shooting rounds. Rastorgujevs had a mixed performance with one miss in the first round but was flawless in shooting all five targets in the second round. Birkentāls’ overall performance highlighted the competitive nature of the tournament and the prowess of the top international competitors.