Norwegian biathlete Boe skis to gold, his 3rd Olympic medal

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway skied fast enough to overcome a missed target and win the Olympic gold medal in the biathlon sprint race Saturday.

Boe covered the 10-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 0.4 seconds to win his third medal of the Beijing Games. He also took gold in the mixed relay and bronze in the individual race.

Quentin Fillon Maillet of France also missed one target but couldn’t match Boe’s speed, finishing 25.5 seconds behind for silver. Fillon Maillet won gold in the individual and silver in the mixed relay — out-sprinted by Boe. He’s also the overall World Cup leader.

Tarjei Boe, also with a single miss on the day, took bronze, 38.9 seconds behind his younger brother. Maxim Tsvetkov of the Russian team shot clean but finished 40.6 seconds behind in fourth.

Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden, the World Cup sprint leader, missed one target and finished fifth.

Boe dominated the sprint races for three seasons but has struggled this year. He won one sprint race in France and was third in another. His success at this year’s Olympics make him a favorite for the upcoming pursuit and mass-start races.

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