2022 Beijing Olympics – Biathlon – Mixed Relay 4x6km (W+M) – National Biathlon Centre, Zhangjiakou, China – February 5, 2022. Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway reacts after winning gold. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
February 5, 2022
By Philip O’Connor
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -A blistering skiing display by Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe brought his team back form the dead as they claimed victory in a thrilling sprint finish to win the gold medal in Saturday’s 4x6km mixed relay.
France took silver, nine-tenths of a second behind the Norwegians, with the Russian Olympic Committee team winning bronze, a further six-tenths of a second off the pace.
Boe’s brilliance allowed Norway to overcome some minor disasters as they seemed to set themselves up for victory only to throw the chance away before he rescued them at the end.
“It was a tough competition with a lot of changes, but Norway have four very good skiers so they are capable of strong comebacks,” Hanna Oeberg of the fourth-placed Sweden team told Reuters moments after the race was over.
Norway’s Marte Olsbu Roieseland survived trouble with her ski poles and rifle to build a lead of 21 seconds over the Italians at the first changeover, but Tiril Eckhoff let that slip with some wayward shots to allow Italy’s Dorothea Wierer to cruise into the lead.
By the second changeover France had the advantage closely followed by the Italians and Swedes as darkness closed in on the National Biathlon Centre.
With the flags fluttering in all directions in the swirling breeze, all three nations shot perfectly from the prone position to leave France’s Emilien Jacquelin with a 22.7 second lead entering his second lap.
Despite freezing temperatures, a pressure-cooker atmosphere was building inside the National Biathlon Centre and it exploded in the form of Boe as he took over from his brother Tarjei for the final lap.
A superb display of shooting allowed Eduard Latypov to maintain a lead for the Russians as many others struggled, but Boe’s blistering power put Norway back in the mix ahead of the last lap behind the French in third place.
The Norwegian closed the gap and then decided to bide his time before accelerating into the home stretch to blast past his opponents, triumphantly punching the air as he crossed the line.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; editing by Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris)
