Johannes Dale Skjevdal won gold in the men’s biathlon 15 kilometre mass start at the Winter Olympics, setting a new gold medal record for Norway at a single Winter Games.
The Norwegian athlete hit all 20 of his targets on the shooting range to secure victory. His performance contributed to Norway surpassing its previous record of 16 gold medals at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, marking the highest number of gold medals won by any nation at one Winter Games.
Sturla Holm Laegreid of Norway took silver, finishing 10.5 seconds behind his team mate. Quentin Fillon Maillet of France claimed bronze after overtaking Germany’s Philipp Horn on the final lap.
Dale Skjevdal was the only competitor among the 30 starters to record a perfect shooting score. The race consisted of five laps of a three kilometre course, with four shooting stages, two in the prone position and two standing. Each missed target required a 150 metre penalty loop.
Emilien Jacquelin of France and Tommaso Giacomel of Italy led in the early stages. Both fell back before the third shooting stage, and Giacomel withdrew from the race after reporting pain in his side.
Snowfall and variable wind affected conditions on the course. During the third shooting stage, stronger gusts led to several missed shots across the field. Dale Skjevdal maintained accuracy, extending his lead over Laegreid. Horn emerged in third place at that stage, with Fillon Maillet close behind.
A further set of five successful shots in the final standing stage secured Dale Skjevdal’s position at the front. Laegreid retained second place, leaving the contest for bronze to be decided on the closing lap.
With approximately 1.2 kilometres remaining, Fillon Maillet increased his pace and moved ahead of Horn on a downhill section. He maintained the advantage to the finish line to secure third place.
The result concludes the men’s 15 kilometre mass start competition at the Winter Olympics and confirms Norway’s record gold medal tally at a single edition of the Games.
