The Norwegian secured the win in the Südtirol Arena with just a 0.4-second lead over his compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid, while Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel completed the podium.
Under brilliant sunshine, the world’s best biathletes treated 12,000 spectators in Antholz to a real thriller. Tarjei Bø won the sprint after a clean shooting performance, crossing the finish line in 23:51 minutes. His teammate Sturla Holm Laegreid took second place despite missing a shot during his standing stage but making up time on the skis. In the end, he was just 0.4 seconds shy of victory.
Giacomel impresses in front of home crowd
Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel also stepped onto the podium. The 24-year-old from Trentino finished with the third-best time, despite completing two penalty loops. It was an incredible performance by Giacomel, who outpaced all other athletes on the track and finished just 2.6 seconds behind the winner. After his mass start victory in Ruhpolding, this marks Giacomel’s second podium finish of the season. Martin Uldal came in fourth, rounding out yet another impressive team result for Norway. Johannes Thingnes Bø, however, had to settle for ninth place this time, losing the overall World Cup lead to Laegreid.
Local hero Lukas Hofer from Montal finished 29th after three shooting mistakes. Among the other Italians, Didier Bionaz (16th), Elia Zeni (32nd), and Daniele Cappellari (35th) also qualified for Sunday’s pursuit race.
The women’s pursuit is scheduled for 1:00 pm tomorrow, followed by the men's relay at 2:55 pm.
Biathlon World Cup in Antholz (ITA):
Men, Sprint 10 km
1. Tarjei Bø (NOR) 23:51.0 minutes (0 misses)
2. Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) +0.4 (1)
3. Tommaso Giacomel (ITA) +2.6 (2)
4. Martin Uldal (NOR) +20.5 (1)
5. Dmytro Pidruchnyi (UKR) +22.0 (1)
6. Jakov Fak (SLO) +26.8 (0)
7. Vitezslav Hornig (CZE) +27.6 (0)
8. Eric Perrot (FRA) +29.3 (1)
9. Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) +35.7 (2)
10. Jonas Marecek (CZE) +39.2 (0)
11. Philipp Horn (GER) +39.3 (2)
12. Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE) +44.2 (3)
13. Tero Seppala (FIN) +49.8 (1)
14. Joscha Burkhalter (SUI) +50.6 (1)
15. Philipp Nawrath (GER) +52.0 (2)
16. Didier Bionaz (ITA) +57.2 (1)
29. Lukas Hofer (ITA) +1:32.2 (3)
32. Elia Zeni (ITA) +1:35.1 (1)
35. Daniele Cappellari (ITA) +1:36.4 (0)