Biathlon-Peerless Thingnes Boe claims pursuit gold for Norway

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe held off the challenge of American Campbell Wright to win gold in a thrilling men’s 12.5km pursuit at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships on Sunday.

Thingnes Boe, who won the sprint gold on Saturday, completed the course in 32 minutes 26.9 seconds to claim a record-extending 22nd individual world gold, 8.6 seconds ahead of Wright.

Eric Perrot of France, who like the American hit 19 of his 20 shots, took the bronze medal.

The 31-year-old Norwegian winner, who has said he will retire at the end of the season, had two misses in the shooting but managed to stay ahead of Wright, despite seeming to slow down considerably over the final 800 metres

It was Thingnes Boe’s third pursuit gold in a row at the World Championships, while New-Zealand-born Wright, who switched to competing for the U.S. in 2023, picked up his second silver medal in two days after another fine performance in the sprint.

Earlier in the afternoon, Franziska Preuss displayed nerves of steel to gold for Germany in the women’s 10km pursuit at the International Biathlon Union World Championships, with Sweden’s Elvira Oeberg taking silver and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet of France bronze. 

Preuss hit all 20 shots to win in a time of 26 minutes 58.9 seconds, 39.1 seconds ahead of Oeberg, who passed Braisaz-Bouchet late on the final lap to snatch silver by 1.9 seconds after a frenetic sprint to the line.

Preuss, runner-up to Braisaz-Bouchet in the sprint, opened up a big lead before the final shoot and calmly rattled off her last five standing shots to turn the final two kilometres into a victory lap as she claimed her first individual world gold. 

(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)