Marte Olsbu Röiseland from Norway hit a perfect 10-of-10 shot before roaring to victory in the women’s 7.5km biathlon sprint race on Friday, earning her second gold medal of the Games. 22-year-old Swedish prodigy Elvira Öberg skied a brilliant final lap to claim silver, 30.9 seconds behind Röiseland, with Italy’s Dorothea Wierer taking bronze.

Starting fifth in the pack, Röiseland, who won bronze in the 15km individual race, had a great first lap on skis, then landed five perfect shots from the prone position to take a 10.4-second lead in the first shot.

Once she had her nose in front, there was no looking back and she put the pressure on the rest of the pack shooting perfectly again, this time standing up, to consolidate her lead ahead of third and last lap of 2.5 km of the course. . She never let go, crossing the line 1min 16.1secs ahead of then-leader, compatriot Tirill Eckhoff, as many in the rest of the field struggled to match her precise shot.

Öberg, the sister of 2018 Olympic champion Hanna, had other ideas, blazing in the first round before landing five perfect shots and briefly taking a 0.4 second lead after the first shot. However, that lead quickly evaporated and, although she again shot perfectly upright, she was left to chase down Röiseland’s superb time of 20 minutes 44.3 seconds, just over a half in vain. – minute late. Italy’s Wierer was also perfect with her shot but slightly slower on skis as the evening crept over the National Biathlon Centre, and Norway soon began to celebrate again.

“I wanted to have an amazing race so badly,” Röiseland said. “It was so wonderful to get that last shot, it was the best feeling ever.” (Reuters)

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Norway’s Marte Roeiseland enjoys life after winning her third medal at the Beijing Games. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters