Perfect Dale-Skjevdal wins mass start as Lægreid misses gold again
· Yahoo Sports
Norway's Johannes Dale-Skjevdal shot to Olympic biathlon gold in the men's 15 kilometre mass start on Friday for the biggest success of his career.
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He had never taken gold at a major championship before but was perfect on the range to win in 39 minutes 17.1 seconds, 10.5 seconds ahead of compatriot Sturla Holm Lægreid.
Fellow Norwegian Johan-Olav Botn had previously won the individual race at these Games but was off the pace in eighth on Friday.
Lægreid, celebrating his 29th birthday, sealed a joint-record fifth biathlon medal at one Games - but no gold this time. He made headlines earlier in the Olympics for revealing an affair.
France's Quentin Fillon Maillet grabbed bronze despite four misses in a supreme skiing effort to edge out Germany's Philipp Horn.
France had won the mixed relay and men's relay at these Games while Fillon Maillet took sprint gold.
He was bidding to win every possible biathlon gold over two Olympics, but his hopes were all but over after a miss on his first standing shooting followed by three more failures.
Italian Tommaso Giacomel, second in the current World Cup standings, was well-placed on home snow early on but appeared to be suffering a fitness issue and withdrew.
The women's mass start on Saturday wraps up the biathlon action at the 2026 Winter Olympics. France has also won two women's biathlon golds in Anterselva.
Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid leads the Norwegian skiers at the Men's 15 km Mass Start biathlon at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa(L-R) Norway's runner-up Sturla Holm Laegreid, Norway's winner Johannes Dale-Skjevdal and Sweden's third-placed Martin Ponsiluoma celebrate at the finish line after the Men's 15 km Mass Start biathlon at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa