The men’s biathlon sprint only knows one name this season: Johannes Thingnes Bö. When the Norwegian won in Oslo, Benedikt Doll also made it onto the podium.
Seven races, seven victories: Johannes Thingnes Bö also won the last biathlon sprint of this World Cup season. The already established overall World Cup winner was once again unbeatable at the World Cup finals in Oslo on Thursday (March 16, 2023) on the 10-kilometer route. Bö could even afford a mistake in standing to clinch the win thanks to his outstanding running form after 25:13.0 minutes. The dominator had skipped the last races in Nove Mesto due to a corona disease.
Doll with “good feeling and good legs” in third place
Even Benedikt Doll could not stop the high-flyer of the last few years. The 32-year-old once again delivered a strong race and remained flawless. In the end, he was 28.9 seconds behind Bö. The Swede Martin Ponsiluoma (0 errors/+23.9 seconds) landed one place in front of him. “I would also have liked to have won the long-distance duel with Ponsi (Ponsiluoma, editor’s note), but he really put his foot down again“, Doll said after the race at the sports show microphone. “I had a good feeling today and good legs. But if you look at the running times of gusts, it’s crazy.“
Johannes Kühn was also convincing on the shooting range and on the course and ended up sixth with a strong result in the top ten (0/+55.9). Philipp Nawrath caused a small surprise from a German point of view, who also made it into the top ten with one penalty in ninth place and rounded off the strong German team result. Roman Rees was 18th (1/+1:24.5 minutes), David Zobel 24th (1/+1:39.3). Justus Strelow finished the race in 33rd place.
Doll without fault and blame
In perfect external conditions, Doll completed a very good first lap. The shooting range also ran like clockwork, so that the most experienced biathlete in the German team was able to hope for a top placement early on. This was nourished again after Doll had completed the second round with the fastest time of the first 17 starters. Five more perfect shots then finally flushed him into the narrow circle of favorites for the day’s victory.
Who will grab the last little crystal ball?
Johannes Thingnes Bö was the winner of the overall World Cup even before the World Cup final at Holmenkollen. The 29-year-old has already achieved 13/14 successes in individual races this season. He also won three of his five gold medals in individual races at the World Championships in Oberhof.
At the weekend, the biathletes in Oslo still have to compete in the pursuit on Saturday and in the mass start on Sunday. While Bö is already in the pursuit of the small crystal ball, the decision in the mass start promises to be exciting: Here, the Norwegian Vetle Sjastad Christiansen leads the ranking with 22 points ahead of his compatriot Johannes Dale. Sturla Holm Lagreid and Bö still have a chance of winning the discipline classification.