Friday 26 / April / 2024
Zhangjiakou, (China): Quentin Fillon Maillet of France won decisively in the 20-kilometre individual biathlon on Tuesday, adding a gold medal to the silver he won in the mixed relay over the weekend.
Fillon Maillet has dominated the biathlon world lately. He’s had 10 World Cup podium finishes this season, half being wins, making him the overall leader. Now he’s also an Olympic champion. He missed two of 20 targets and finished the course in 48 minutes, 47.4 seconds.
Anton Smolski of Belarus shot clean, hitting all 20 of his targets, and came in 14.8 seconds behind the Frenchman.
Defending individual Olympic champion Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway also missed two targets and took the bronze medal, 31.1 seconds behind Fillon Maillet. He had outsprinted the Frenchman in the mixed relay Saturday to secure the gold.
Boe and Russian skier Maxim Tsvetkov raced most of the course together, heading out with bib Nos. 1 and 2, but Tsvetkov missed his very last shot and finished 34.9 seconds behind Fillon Maillet.
Competitors raced 20 kilometres in five ski loops, shooting twice in the prone position and twice standing between each lap. In all other biathlon events, they ski a 150-meter loop for each missed shot, which takes about 20 seconds. But in the individual race, one minute is added for each miss, making shooting accuracy especially important.
