ANTERSELVA, Italy – Norwegian athlete Johannes Dale-Skjevdal delivered a flawless performance on the shooting range Friday, hitting every single one of his 20 targets to capture gold in the men’s biathlon 15-kilometer mass start event at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
His victory marked a historic moment for Norway, as the nation now holds 17 gold medals at these Games – breaking their own world record for most golds won by any country at a single Winter Olympics. The previous mark of 16 golds was set by Norway at the Beijing 2022 Games.
Fellow Norwegian Sturla Holm Laegreid claimed silver, finishing 10.5 seconds behind his teammate. France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet secured the bronze medal after overtaking Germany’s Philipp Horn during the final lap.
Among all 30 competitors in the race, Dale-Skjevdal was the sole athlete to achieve perfect shooting accuracy throughout the event. This exceptional marksmanship proved decisive for the 28-year-old, who is known for his talent but has struggled with consistency in the past.
“There’s a lot of feelings. Olympic champion. Damn, it’s sick, it’s a dream … I have no words,” Dale-Skjevdal shared with Norwegian television following his victory.
The competition consisted of five laps around a 3-kilometer course, with athletes required to shoot from both prone and standing positions twice each. Every missed shot resulted in a penalty lap around a 150-meter loop.
Early leaders Emilien Jacquelin of France and Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel both struggled as the race progressed. Giacomel was forced to withdraw completely due to side pain before the third shooting segment.
Weather conditions proved challenging, with heavy snowfall from Thursday and unpredictable winds affecting the competition. However, the experienced Norwegian team managed to take control as the race developed.
Strong, gusty winds created havoc during the third shooting round, but Dale-Skjevdal maintained his perfect accuracy to move ahead of Laegreid. Horn held third place with Fillon Maillet close behind.
After Dale-Skjevdal’s fourth perfect shooting series secured his gold medal and Laegreid maintained his comfortable silver medal position, attention turned to the bronze medal battle.
Fillon Maillet made his decisive move with 1.2 kilometers remaining in the race. Despite Horn’s efforts to respond, the French athlete pulled away during a long downhill section to claim the bronze medal.
