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Sweden won gold in the men's 4x7.5-kilometre biathlon relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics by almost a minute thanks to some excellent shooting.
They finished in one hour, 15 minutes and 16.5 seconds, while misses proved costly for second-placed Norway and third-placed Germany.
Here are their times:
Sweden (Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson, Fredrik Lindstroem)—1:15:16.5
Norway (Lars Helge Birkeland, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Thingnes Boe, Emil Hegle Svendsen)—1:16:12.0
Germany (Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll, Arnd Peiffer, Simon Schempp)—1:17:23.6
Here is the updated medal table:
Lesser got Germany off to a strong start, and he was first in and out of the opening shoot.
Meanwhile, France were hit with two penalty loops after the second shoot to send them 1:18.3 behind, a deficit from which they never recovered.
A powerful finish to the opener from Lesser allowed him to establish an 18.4-second lead over Slovakia—whose Matej Kazar produced two clean shoots—into the first changeover.
Benedikt Doll had shot all five of his targets first time before any other competitor even arrived for the first shoot of the second leg, but he did not fare as well with his second shoot, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press:
The two penalty loops sent Germany 37 seconds behind, while Norway also slipped back after a poor shoot from Tarjei Boe saw him use all three of his spare rounds.
Czech Republic capitalised to lead into the second changeover ahead of Sweden and Austria, per IBU World Cup:
Strong shooting and skiing from Johannes Thingnes Boe helped him take the lead for Norway, though, having started 31 seconds behind when he entered the fray.
Clean standing shooting from Samuelsson put him within a second of Boe heading into the final exchange, with Germany third after Peiffer produced an excellent leg of his own to make up their deficit.
Germany's hopes were soon dashed when Schempp lost a minute after three misses in his shoot, leaving a duel between Sweden's Lindstroem and Norway's Svendsen for gold.
The latter was penalised on the final shoot, handing Sweden a comfortable win.
The Swedes used just seven spare rounds overall and were the only team to avoid penalties entirely.
Belarus won gold in the women's 4x6-kilometre relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday as the penultimate event in the biathlon came to a close in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The silver medal went to Sweden while France took bronze as the victors shot and skied their way to triumph in a time of one hour, 12 minutes and 3.4 seconds.
Darya Domracheva flew over the line on behalf of Belarus in the final leg of Thursday's relay, collecting her second medal of these Games and her first gold after claiming three at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia.
Here's a look at the updated medal table after Thursday's biathlon result:
Domracheva spearheaded a Belarusian team that also comprised Dzinara Alimbekava, Iryna Kryuko and Nadezhda Skardino, though the former stands as the most decorated star, per Sara Germano of the Wall Street Journal:
It may have been Belarus who finished strongest, but it was the Italians who set off fastest in blustery conditions at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.
They led the pack heading to the second shooting station with Germany just in behind, the latter knowing that gold in the relay would move their nation to the top of the medal standings.
Some penalties accrued by Dorothea Wierer in the shooting sent Italy hurtling down the order and allowed Slovakia to sneak into the lead, though only temporarily, as Anastasiya Kuzmina's own shooting slips let her down.
Weather conditions were telling as competitors started to take more time with their shooting rounds, and the tug-of-war for the lead was illustrated as five perfect shots led Wierer back into the lead.
However, Finland were also jostling for first place, per the IBU World Cup Twitter account:
Germany's chances of adding to Laura Dahlmeier's two gold medals at these Games already appeared slim as they slipped two minutes off the pace following a messy shoot from Franziska Hildebrand.
Another Italian, Nicole Gontier, fell short at the shooting range and missed her last two shots to allow Belarus a run at first, with France and Poland also vying.
Domracheva has been in these circumstances on countless occasions and held her nerve when others in the field could not to add a fourth Olympic gold to her cabinet, per CNN:
Her cool shooting in the last leg opened the door to victory, and she gleefully waved through with the Belarusian flag held aloft.
Sweden were a little more than 10 seconds off the pace and benefited from a late surge up the field, while France held their place to clinch the bronze after competing around the summit for much of their race.
France grabbed gold in the mixed biathlon relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, ahead of Norway and Italy.
Marie Dorin Habert, Anais Bescond, Simon Desthieux and Martin Fourcade set a time of one hour, eight minutes and 34.3 seconds, having missed a total of just four shots.
World champions Germany missed out on a medal despite holding a 32.6-second lead at the top of the standings at the final changeover.
Here are the times:
France (Marie Dorin Habert, Anais Bescond, Simon Desthieux, Martin Fourcade)—1:08:34.3
Norway (Marte Olsbu, Tiril Eckhoff, Johannes Thingnes Bo, Emil Hegle Svendsen)—1:08:55.2
Italy (Lisa Vittozzi, Dorothea Wierer, Lukas Hofer, Dominik Windisch)—1:09:01.2
Here is the live medal table:
Lisa Vittozzi kicked off proceedings for Italy, and her shooting was not only flawless but supremely quick as she took little more than 20 seconds for each shoot.
As a result, Italy held a lead of 2.2 seconds ahead of Germany at the first changeover, with Vanessa Hinz also hitting all 10 of her targets.
Dorothea Wierer lost 23.3 seconds to Laura Dahlmeier with her second shoot, though, as she missed three targets at the first attempt compared with the German's one, per IBU World Cup:
Germany were 29.9 seconds up on Italy at the second exchange, where Erik Lesser set about trying to increase that time.
Despite having to use a spare round in his standing shoot, he gained a further 3.7 seconds.
Behind Germany, superb third legs from France's Desthieux and Norway's Johannes Thingnes Bo catapulted both countries ahead of Italy into the medal positions.
Individual gold medallist Bo's effort was particularly impressive, with Norway having been over 1:23 behind when he entered the fray.
It was France who went first, though, when two disastrous shoots from Arnd Peiffer saw Germany slip from first to fourth and allowed Fourcade to open up some breathing room at the head of the race.
Norway, despite 12 penalties, powered home to second, while Windisch overcame Peiffer in a final sprint finish to seal bronze.
France's Martin Fourcade beat Germany's Simon Schempp in a thrilling sprint in the final of the biathlon 15-kilometre mass start on Sunday at the Winter Olympics.
The two men were involved in an absorbing battle late on and crossed the line with the same time of 35 minutes, 47.3 seconds. However, on review of the photo, Fourcade did just enough to earn his second gold medal of the Games. Bronze went to Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway.
Fourcade's big rival, Johannes Thingnes Boe, faded after a strong start, with a poor second round of shooting costing him.
Here are the top three finishers from the mass start and a recap of how the action played out:
1. Martin Fourcade (FRA) - 35:47.3
2. Simon Schempp (GER) - 35:47.3
3. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) - 35:58.5
For the results in full, visit the Pyeongchang website.
Fourcade Wins a Thriller
Fourcade led the pack out before the first round of shooting, although with the pace pedestrian, there were no competitors off the back as they settled in to take aim for the first time.
In the shoot, the Frenchman missed one of his five efforts, immediately giving himself some work do to. Additionally, while doing his penalty lap, Fourcade slipped over while taking a corner.
Meanwhile, Boe was flawless in the first prone shoot. The Norwegian didn't put the hammer down, though, giving Fourcade and those competitors that made early errors an opportunity to get themselves back into contention.
Things got even worse for Boe, as the individual gold medalist missed three of his five shots in the next round, effectively ending his chances of a medal.
As the IBU World Cup Twitter account noted, Germany's pair of Benedikt Doll and Erik Lesser were leading the way at this point:
Fourcade also appeared to be finding his rhythm, as a flawless second round of shooting and some swift skiing put him back up into third. At the first standing shot, another five from five put him back in front and in an excellent position to win.
At this point, the lead group had been whittled down to three, with Fourcade, Lesser and world champion Schempp now a fair way clear of the rest. It meant there was huge pressure on the trio as they entered the range for the final time.
Unsurprisingly, there were misses. Fourcade and Schempp picked up one penalty, while Lesser missed twice to push him back into the field. There were two distinct battles on course: one for gold and one for bronze:
Up front, Schempp settled in behind Fourcade and appeared content on waiting for the sprint finish. As they entered the arena, the German tore around the outside and inched closer to his rival before both lunged to the line.
Initially, Fourcade appeared to think Schempp had won it, as he cut a frustrated figure. But after a look at the photo finish, he realised he'd won his fourth Olympic gold. As we can see courtesy of NBC's Nick Zaccardi, there was nothing in it:
Having lost this event in a sprint finish four years ago to Svendsen, there was a sense of relief in Fourcade's celebrations. He also further cemented his status as one of the sport's all-time greats with this triumph.
Further back, Svendsen had made up ground on Lesser and Doll after going clear in the last round of shooting. In his final Games, he was able to grab a hard-earned bronze.
Slovakia's Anastasiya Kuzmina continued her brilliant form at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Saturday, as she raced to gold in the women's 12.5-kilometre biathlon mass start.
Kuzmina, who won silver in the individual and pursuit events, got off to a blistering start and was able to put a big gap between herself and the rest of the field. She finished in a time of 35 minutes, 23 seconds.
Darya Domracheva earned a silver medal for Belarus with a strong performance, while Norway's Tiril Eckhoff finished third after a battle with Hanna Oeberg of Sweden.
Pre-race favourite Laura Dahlmeier, who has won two golds at these Games, didn't have her best day and came home in 16th.
Beneath the top three from the biathlon event is a recap of a fascinating battle at the Alpensia Biathlon Center.
1. Anastasiya Kuzmina (SVK) - 35:23.0
2. Darya Domracheva (BLR) - 35:41.8
3. Tiril Eckhoff (NOR) - 35:50.7
Kuzmina Grabs 3rd Olympic Gold
The mass start event is often the most exciting on the biathlon schedule, with the racers in direct competition with one another.
There's also an extra pressure on the athletes, especially when they all tussle for position in the first round of shooting. While some made errors—including Dahlmeier, who picked up an early penalty—some, like Kuzmina, relished the challenge.
She was quickly into position in the first round of shooting, and after five flawless attempts, the Slovakian found herself in a tremendous position.
From that point on, the victory never appeared to be in doubt, as Kuzmina put the hammer down with her pace. Another immaculate round of shooting in the prone position gave her even more breathing room.
Per the IBU World Cup Twitter account, she cut a long figure near the halfway point of the race:
It wasn't until the final round of shots that Kuzmina missed, but by that point, she was a long way clear—so much so she was able to drape herself in her country's colours as she crossed the line.
It's no new experience for the Slovakian, who won back-to-back golds in the sprint event at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Canada, and the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
As the Biathlon facts&stats Twitter account relayed, the latest victory for Kuzmina puts her in an elite group:
With the winner a long way clear from the rest of the pack, much of the race's focus was on the battle for the minor medals.
Domracheva was able to separate herself from the rest of the competitors to take silver, as she earned just one penalty on her way around the 12.5-kilometre circuit. It was enough to give the Belarusian her fifth Olympic medal, having won three golds at Sochi.
As noted before the race, the medal meant the 31-year-old made biathlon Olympic history:
For the second successive Games, Eckhoff was able to win bronze in the 12.5-kilometre biathlon mass start, as she outlasted competition from Oeberg and Italy's Lisa Vittozzi, who came home in fifth and fourth, respectively. The Norwegian had a clean final round of shooting while her rivals for third faltered.
Dahlmeier will be disappointed not to have featured higher up, having already won twice at these Games. However, two golds and a bronze represent an excellent medal haul from the German in Pyeongchang.
Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe collected the gold medal in the men's 20-kilometre individual biathlon at Pyeongchang 2018 on Thursday, despite two misses at the shooting range.
Boe finished with a time of 48 minutes, 03.8 seconds, ahead of Jakov Fak's 48:09.3. The Slovenian shot a completely clean round at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre, as did Austrian Dominik Landertinger, who finished 14.2 seconds back.
Here are the trio's times:
Johannes Thingnes Boe—48:03.8 (NOR)
Jakov Fak—48:09.3 (SLO)
Dominik Landertinger—48:18.0 (AUT)
Here is the updated medal table:
Fredrik Lindstroem was the first out of the gate. While he ultimately finished eighth, he set a competitive benchmark of 49:25.9. He missed just one of his 20 shots, which earned a one-minute penalty.
Germany's Arnd Peiffer, who won the 10-kilometre sprint, was controlling the tempo midway through his run, but three penalties in his third shoot proved costly.
Not as costly as Martin Fourcade's misses, though.
The Frenchman, who won the 12.5-kilometre pursuit earlier in the Games, was bidding to become the first man to defend the individual biathlon title since Magnar Solberg did so in 1972.
He also had the opportunity to stand alone as the most decorated individual gold medallist from France in Winter Olympic history, per OptaJean:
Fourcade hit the target on his first 18 shots and was on course to win gold, but he suffered a disaster at the end, per IBU World Cup:
The misses left him with a mountain to climb following Boe's superb ski run, and he would finish in fifth, 42.4 seconds behind.
He was also surpassed by Sebastian Samuelsson, who gave himself a chance of a podium place with a strong time of 48:32.9. He finished just outside in fourth because of one miss that came in his third visit to the shooting range.
Swedish youngster Hanna Oberg produced a faultless performance on the shooting range to claim the gold medal in the women's 15-kilometre individual biathlon at Pyeongchang 2018 on Thursday.
In four visits to the range the 22-year-old outsider took out all 20 targets to come home in 41 minutes, 7.2 seconds.
Despite just a single miss on the range Germany's Laura Dahlmeier, already a two-time gold medallist in South Korea, could only manage the bronze medal with her time of 41:48.4.
Meanwhile, Slovakian Anastasiya Kuzmina claimed the silver medal, her second of the 2018 Winter Games, as she finished 24.7 seconds down on Oberg.
The full result is available at Pyeongchang2018.com.
Here is the latest medal table following the thrilling action at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre:
As the first of the major contenders to start Kuzmina set the early pace.
Renowned for her speed on the skis but not necessarily her accuracy at the range, the 33-year-old was solid in the shooting on Thursday.
She had only two misses and held her nerve to go clean in the final round, waiting almost 10 seconds to take out her final target.
Her time of 41:31.9 looked set to be difficult to beat.
But the absence of any one-minute miss-penalties for Oberg put her in the driving seat and she produced a powerful final lap to cross the finish line in the gold-medal position.
Dahlmeier, 24, looked the only competitor left on the course who could be capable of topping the young Swede and she gave herself a chance by going clean on her final three visits to the range after a single miss on her first.
However, she did not have the speed on the final lap to cut the deficit to Oberg and she in fact lost time to eventually finish behind the impressive Kuzmina.
Defending Olympic champion Darya Domracheva looked as though she might be in contention for a medal until a disastrous final visit to the range in which she missed three of the five targets and eventually finished in 27th place.
Martin Fourcade won gold for France in the men's biathlon 12.5-kilometre pursuit on Monday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The Frenchman defended the pursuit gold he won in Sochi, Russia, four years ago. Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson and Germany's Benedikt Doll took silver and bronze, respectively.
Samuelsson finished 12 seconds off Fourcade's winning time, which cemented the current world champion's spot as one of the most celebrated athletes in this event in modern times.
Fourcade was already considered a dominant force in the sport and collected his fourth Olympic biathlon gold on Monday in a time of 32 minutes and 51.7 seconds, establishing himself as one of his nation's greatest competitors, per OptaJean:
It was after the third shoot that he excelled on Monday and moved clear of his competition, having started eighth in the running order and timing his push for gold to perfection.
Here's an updated look at the overall medal table at the 2018 Winter Olympics:
Julian Eberhard of Austria sought to move clear of the pack early on, although a chasing trio of German skiers ensured he never moved out of reach, with Arnd Peiffer moving up ahead.
Peiffer made the most of Eberhard's prone miss in the second shoot to clinch a nine-second lead, although Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe was another figure steadily chipping away at his lead.
Fourcade made his move at the third shoot, however, and showed great composure to hit a seamless set and edge ahead.
Boe remained second, with 20-year-old Samuelsson in third, with a little more than two kilometres remaining in the race. But Fourcade's 30-second-plus cushion looked likely to be decisive.
It's in that position that some may show a wobble under pressure, but Sara Germano of the Wall Street Journal detailed how Fourcade's cool head prevailed to ensure he remained ahead of the other contenders:
The 29-year-old has been crowned king of the men's pursuit at the last two World Championships and came to Pyeongchang in hot form, having been disappointed to not medal in the men's 10-kilometres sprint on Sunday.
Gracenote Olympic highlighted how Monday's triumph was further proof of Fourcade's status as arguably the best this event has ever seen:
Peiffer started at the head of the pack and led for a large portion of the race but slipped back to finish eighth, while compatriot Simon Schempp was 12 seconds faster and ended in fifth.
Bronze medallist Doll was the only German to finish on the podium, while Samuelsson's silver medal at his debut Winter Olympics puts the youngster in position for a bigger challenge to the throne in future Games.
Germany's Laura Dahlmeier claimed her second gold medal of the 2018 Winter Olympics as she triumphed in the women's 10-kilometre biathlon pursuit in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Monday.
Dahlmeier missed just once in her four visits to the shooting range to help her hold off Anastasiya Kuzmina, who claimed the silver medal.
Slovakian Kuzmina had caught Dahlmeier despite starting 54 seconds behind her, but she squandered her chance of a gold medal with two misses on the range in the third round of shooting.
Anais Bescond of France was pipped to silver by just two-tenths of a second and pushed into the bronze-medal position at the line after a fierce final-lap battle with Kuzmina.
Having won the 7.5-kilometre biathlon sprint on Saturday, Dahlmeier created history on Monday as she became the first woman to complete the sprint-pursuit double at the same Games, per Gracenote:
Her triumph means Germany now have four gold medals at Pyeongchang 2018, more than any other nation.
Here is the latest medal table:
It was Dahlmeier's coolness on the range that saw her to victory in the end.
She had the advantage of starting ahead of the rest of the field because of her sprint gold, but it was abundantly clear she would not have the pace on the skis if it came to a straight race with Kuzmina.
The pair both missed once on the second visit to the range, but when it came to the first standing shoot Dahlmeier went clean and Kuzmina missed twice.
The 24-year-old German then avoided any penalties by going clean again in the fourth and final round of shooting, while Kuzmina missed once.
As a result Dahlmeier cruised to victory by almost 30 seconds before a thrilling battle to the line for silver, which Kuzmina just edged with a final push.
Defending women's pursuit champion Darya Domracheva of Belarus had to settle for 37th place at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre after accruing six penalties for misses.
