Johannes Thingnes Boe’s blistering pace proved the difference as he claimed his fourth gold medal of the World Biathlon Championships with another devastating display in the 20km individual. The Norwegian missed twice from the range but still finished over a minute clear of compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid. Stream the 2023 Biathlon World Championships live on Eurosport and discovery+.
Johannes Thingnes Boe kept his hopes of a grand slam at the World Biathlon Championships alive with a third victory, this time in the men’s 20km individual.
It was the one discipline which he had not previously won at the World Championships, but Boe is proving untouchable this season and even on a day when his shooting was not perfect, his margin for error was huge.
A miss on the second and third shoots meant that Boe was under threat from compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid and France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet going into the final shoot.
However both men missed their 20th and final shots, having gone clear to that point.
That meant that Boe was never going to be under threat, and such was his speed that he ended up taking the victory by 1:10.7, meaning even if Laegreid had shot clear, he would not have beaten his team-mate.
The Norwegian had to settle for second, his third podium in as many races in Oberhof, with Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson coming through to take the bronze just ahead of Fillon Maillet.
Boe now just needs to win Sunday’s mass start to complete the clean sweep of the individual titles in Oberhof, a feat that has never previously been achieved.
He was almost joined on the podium by brother Tarjei once again, only for the elder sibling to miss a target on the final shoot to see his top-three hopes evaporate.
