Women 12.5 km Mass Start Competition

France’s Justine Braisaz-Bouchet fired five fast shots in the last standing stage of the Beijing Women’s 12.5 km mass start, missing one that made no difference as her closest rivals, all missing two fell back, giving the French star the lead and the Gold medal in 40:18. Braisaz-Bouchet’s Gold medal was the second OWG medal of her career; she won a Bronze medal in the women's relay at the 2018 Pyeongchang OWG. She became the second French Olympic Champion in biathlon; Florence Baverel-Robert won Sprint Gold at Torino 2006. Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff with four penalties won the Silver medal, 15.3 seconds back. Eckhoff’s Silver medal gave her a complete set of Beijing medals after Gold in the mixed relay and Bronze in the pursuit. This was Eckhoff’s third consecutive OWG mass start medal and her highest finish in an OWG individual competition, coming after Bronze at both Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang. Her teammate Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, also with four penalties won the Bronze medal 34.9 seconds back. The Bronze medal was Olsbu Roeiseland’s fifth of these Games. She won Gold medals in the mixed relay, sprint and pursuit as well as Bronze in the 15 km individual.