Men 15 km Mass Start Competition

Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe, taking control of the Beijing Men’s 15 km Mass Start after the second prone stage, went unchallenged to the finish, despite four penalties, to win his second individual Gold medal at these Games in 38:14.4. The Norwegian also won Sprint Gold last week plus Mixed Relay and Relay Gold and Bronze in the 20 km individual giving him five medals in Beijing, upping his career OWG medal total to eight. Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma, with two penalties won the Silver medal 40.3 seconds back. 2021 IBU Sprint World Champion Ponsiluoma’s Silver medal was his first-ever OWG medal and just the sixth individual podium of his career. Boe’s teammate Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, with three penalties won the Bronze medal, 1:12.5 back. Christiansen’s medal was his second of these Games; he anchored Norway’s Gold medal men’s relay earlier this week.

The 2022 Olympic Winter Games biathlon competitions wrap up on Friday with the men’s and women’s mass starts. The burning questions that will be answered are: Will Quentin Fillon Maillet add one more medal to his already historic total? Can Marte Olsbu Roeiseland become the first woman to win three individual Olympic titles in a single OWG? Both have good chances to reach those historic heights in the shadow of the Great Wall of China, but challengers abound.