Laegreid and Eckhoff claim sprint success in Oslo

Sturla Holm Laegreid and Tiril Eckhoff combined to give Norway a dream day in the Biathlon World Cup in Oslo as they took the men's and women's sprints respectively. Laegreid produced a dominant display to take victory in the men's shooting clear and finishing 22.4 seconds clear of overall World Cup winner Quentin Fillon Maillet.

Ad/> The Frenchman was all but assured of taking the small crystal globe in the sprint, needing just to finish in the top 37, and he did far better than that, finishing quickly to overhaul Sebastian Samuelsson in the final kilometre. BiathlonNorway take double success in Biathlon relays13/03/2022 AT 16:44 The Swede had to settle for the final spot on the podium, a result that helped him overtake Emilien Jacquelin in the overall standings, with the Frenchman finishing 30th.

Earlier in the day in the women's sprint, Tiril Eckhoff claimed her second World Cup win of the season, following her success in the pursuit in Kontiolahti. Last year's overall World Cup winner has struggled to recreate that form this year but impressed on home snow, taking victory from Austria's Lisa Theresa Hauser by seven seconds despite one miss.

Marte Olsbu Roeiseland had already wrapped up the sprint globe and now has a 106-point lead over Elvira Oeberg in the overall standings after finishing third. Great Britain's Amanda Lightfoot, who is retiring at the end of the season, finished 60th, to earn a spot in Saturday's pursuit.