Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi delivered a flawless performance to win gold in the women’s 10-kilometre biathlon pursuit at the Winter Games, thrilling home fans at the Antholz-Anterselva arena. Vittozzi hit all 20 targets under intense pressure to finish 28.8 seconds ahead of Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide, who overcame two late misses to claim silver. Suvi Minkkinen of Finland completed the podium with bronze.
The pursuit start order was determined by the results of the sprint, with Kirkeeide leading the field and Vittozzi starting 40.6 seconds behind. The race consisted of five 2-kilometre laps interspersed with four shooting bouts. Bright sunshine and light winds created challenging conditions, and each missed shot required a 150-metre penalty loop.
The battle intensified on the second shooting stage. Kirkeeide missed her targets, while France’s Lou Jeanmonnot, who had been skiing near the lead, also faltered. Vittozzi, however, hit all five targets and took the lead. Kirkeeide soon regained momentum, entering the third shoot in front, and the competition narrowed to a duel between the Norwegian and the Italian, as Jeanmonnot dropped out of medal contention with two further misses.
Vittozzi continued her perfect shooting through the third stage, keeping pace with Kirkeeide. Despite the Norwegian’s strong skiing, the outcome remained uncertain until the final shoot. Kirkeeide missed two shots under pressure, while Vittozzi maintained her composure and cleared all five targets to ski away and secure gold.
Kirkeeide faced two penalty loops but mounted a determined comeback, overtaking Minkkinen on the final lap to secure silver. The Finnish athlete took bronze, rounding off a dramatic and competitive pursuit race.
