LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland : Sweden’s Elvira Oeberg hit a sensational series of five final shots to snatch the gold medal in a thrilling finale to the 12.5km mass start on Sunday, the final women’s race of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships.
France’s Oceane Michelon took the silver after a frenetic final push came up short, finishing just under 10 seconds behind Oeberg, with Maren Kirkeeide of Norway taking the bronze.
Unseasonably warm temperatures influenced both the shooting and skiing conditions, affecting the flight of the .22 calibre bullets and demanding more energy on the 150m penalty loops that were incurred by each miss.
Lena Haecki-Gross brought the home crowd to their feet by emerging in the lead from a chaotic first shoot that saw 23 of the 30 racers miss at least one shot, with Germany’s Franziska Preuss and Jeanne Richard of France hot on her heels.
Preuss’s accurate shooting kept her in with a chance but her skis appeared sluggish on the choppy, wet snow, and she struggled to hold off the chasing pack, opening the door for Oeberg’s final burst.
The 25-year-old Oeberg arrived at the final shoot just behind Preuss and Lou Jeanmonnot of France and showed nerves of steel to hit all five targets, allowing the Swede to power away from the range in pole position.
The drama increased as misses by Preuss and Jeanmonnot saw them eclipsed by the rest of the contenders, with Michelon and Kirkeeide seizing the opportunity, and though the French racer managed to halve Oeberg’s lead over the final lap, a tremendous final climb ensured that Oeberg would cross the line first.
Such was the tension in the Swedish camp that Oeberg was not handed a Swedish flag on the final straight to cross the line with; instead, that honour went to her sister Hanna, who flew it high as she crossed the line in last place.
That Hanna finished almost six minutes behind Elvira following an early fall that broke her rifle and ruined her race made no difference, the sisters embracing in tears to celebrate Elvira’s first individual world championship gold.
“It feels completely unbelievable, I didn’t think it was going to be possible today,” Elvira told broadcaster SVT. “I hit my shots and the others missed, and I went out on the final lap thinking, this might do it… this is what you dream of.”
