Dale-Skjevdal wins mass start as Norway clinch record-breaking 17th gold, Laegreid second

Updated
Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway crosses the finish line for the men's 15km mass start
Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway crosses the finish line for the men's 15km mass startReuters / Eloisa Lopez

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway hit a perfect 20 for ⁠20 on the shooting range to storm to victory in the men's biathlon 15km mass start at the ‌Winter Games on Friday.

That gave Norway a record for gold medals by ‌any nation at a single Winter Olympics, surpassing ‌its own previous record of 16 at Beijing 2022.

Check out the full medal table here!

Dale-Skjevdal's compatriot Sturla ‌Holm Laegreid took the silver, 10.5 seconds behind, with ‌Quentin Fillon Maillet of France storming past Germany's Philipp Horn on the last lap to secure bronze.

Dale-Skjevdal was the only biathlete in ‌the 30-man field not to miss a ⁠shot on the day, ‌and it paved the way for a gold medal for the ​hugely talented but often erratic 28-year-old.

"There are ​a lot of feelings. Olympic champion. Damn, it's sick, it's a dream... I have no words," Dale-Skjevdal told ​Norwegian TV.

Gold medallist Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway, silver medallist Sturla Holm Laegreid of Norway and bronze medallist Quentin Fillon Maillet of France after the race
Gold medallist Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway, silver medallist Sturla Holm Laegreid of Norway and bronze medallist Quentin Fillon Maillet of France after the raceReuters / Eloisa Lopez

The 30 biathletes faced five laps of the three-kilometre course, shooting twice ​from the prone position (on their stomach) and twice standing, with each miss costing them a trip around the 150-metre ⁠penalty loop.

Emilien ​Jacquelin of France and Tommaso Giacomel of Italy made the early running, but both fell away before the third shoot, with Giacomel quitting the race entirely after experiencing pain ‌in his side.

Heavy snowfall on Thursday and unpredictable wind made conditions challenging, but the Norwegians exerted all of their experience to gradually take a stranglehold on the race.

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway in action during the men's 15km mass start
Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway in action during the men's 15km mass startReuters / Pawel Kopczynski

The blustery wind picked up considerably and caused chaos at the third shoot, but Dale-Skjevdal fired another series of perfect shots to take a lead over Laegreid, and Horn came out in third with Fillon Maillet hot on his ‌heels.

Dale-Skjevdal's fourth series of five hits secured the gold, and, ​with Laegreid comfortably in the silver medal position, it ‌came down to the battle for bronze.

Nestled in fourth spot, Fillon Maillet made his move with 1.2 km left, and though Horn did his best to answer the surge, the Frenchman burst away from him into ⁠a long, curving downhill ⁠stretch. By the bottom ‌of it, the bronze was his.

The final standings in the 15km mass start
The final standings in the 15km mass startFlashscore

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