Medals update: Norway wins men's 4x7.5km gold in Beijing biathlon

Shooting clean in the anchor leg, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen clinched an unlikely victory for Norway to claim the men’s 4x7.5km relay in the Beijing 2022 biathlon competition on Tuesday (15 February).

Biathlon giants Norway showed they could win even when the chips were down, fighting their way back from seventh place at the first exchange to snatch the victory from early leaders ROC.

The ROC would rue lost opportunities after they led for most of the contest before the gold slipped from their hands after anchor Eduard Latypov missed four of his five shots on the final standing stage and forced him to complete penalty loops.

Sjaastad Christiansen shot clean to lead his team to victory in a time of 1:19:50.2, with France finishing 27.4 seconds adrift in a time of 1:20:17.6. A devastated Latypov still managed to get his team onto the podium, clocking 1:20:35.5 for the bronze.

Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet raced into the history books, winning his fifth Olympic medal of Beijing 2022 becoming the first biathlete to achieve this feat at the same Winter Olympics and the first male to do this in any sport since 1980. Fillon Maillet won gold in the men’s 20km individual and 12.5km pursuit and silvers in the men’s sprint, 4x7.5km relay and the mixed relay.

Men’s 4x7.5km relay results:

1- Norway – 1:19:50.2

2- France – 1:20:17.6

3- ROC – 1:20:35.5