Biathlon: Johan-Olav Botn, the strong man at the start of the season
In the mad density of the Norwegian team, he had remained in the background for a long time. No junior World Championships. No IBU Cup title, even though he could have won it in 2024 had he not been promoted to the next level. A first World Cup podium at the age of 24, when Sturla Holm Lægreid, Martin Uldal, Sivert Guttorm Bakken and Endre Stroemsheim had already won. And no World Cup race in 2024-2025 despite 11 podiums (3 wins) in the IBU Cup.
But Johan-Olav Botn never let this later development bother him, continuing to stand out for his sheer volume of training and continuing to believe in himself. With the retirement of the Boe brothers, the Norwegian coaching staff placed their trust in him for the first World Cup stage in Östersund (Sweden). And it’s an understatement to say that the native of Starheim, in the west of the country, seized his chance. After his authoritative victory in the individual race on Wednesday 3 December, he did it again in the sprint onSaturday 6 December.
Each lap faster than the last
Starting with bib 41, he managed his effort on the track. He started cautiously (48th at 16.5 at the first intermediate), then accelerated, constantly improving his lap times: 7 min 50 on the first, 7 min 29 on the second, 7 min 15 on the last. In the end, only Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma managed to beat him in ski time. It was without doubt the worst conditions in terms of speed,” he explained toEurosport. A lot of athletes went too fast at the start of the race. I had the impression that I was slow, but others suffered much more than I did. And yet, he confided to NRK that he was “finding it hard to get back to whereI was”.
In a race where the podium was made up of 10/10 biathletes, he once again shot perfectly at the targets. Just like three days earlier in the individual event. ” I had some success on the shooting range”, he toldEurosport. Although the film didn’t show the targets for his standing shot, he didn’t hit a single string on his lying shot.
World Cup leader but Olympic target
In the pursuit on Sunday 7th (15:20), he will start 11 seconds ahead of Martin Uldal, 14 ahead of Quentin Fillon-Maillet and 25 ahead of Sturla Holm Lægreid. “This is a new situation for me. For the last two races, I’ve been on my own. I hope I won’t be too stressed”, he told La chaîne L’Équipe.
Before looking ahead to the battle for the overall lead: “It’s my dream, but not my goal. The yellow bib is just a bonus. My goal is to be at the Olympics. He seems to have already scored a few points in that direction.
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- Östersund: Jeanne Richard, Océane Michelon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot dominate the women’s relay, the first race of the winter season
- “It’s a great team effort”: on their first outing of the winter in Östersund, Les Bleues have already won the World Cup
- Östersund: France’s Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin and Eric Perrot second in the relay won by Norway
- “A good relay in tempo”: behind the Norwegians in the Östersund relay, the French get their winter off to a good start
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- Östersund: Sweden win the mixed singles relay ahead of Norway, Fabien Claude and Camille Bened third for France
- “It’s important in a career”: Camille Bened takes her first World Cup relay podium finish in the mixed singles relay in Östersund
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- Östersund: Emilien Jacquelin, Eric Perrot, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot win the mixed relay for France
- Östersund World Cup: Corinne Niogret’s debrief (relays)
- Östersund: Dorothea Wierer triumphs in the individual event ahead of Sonja Leinamo and Camille Bened, who takes her first solo podium finish
- “It’s the fruit of a lot of hard work”: an emotional Camille Bened talks about her third place in the Östersund individual event
- Camille Bened as told by her first coach Martin Bouchet after her podium finish in Östersund: “She was already a great fighter who never gave up”.
- Östersund: Johan-Olav Botn takes his first World Cup win by winning the individual, Eric Perrot best Frenchman
- “I’m in seventh heaven”: Johan-Olav Botn, who was ill at the start of the week, ran the perfect race in Östersund.
- “We’re where we should be”: a tricky first individual race for the French team, far from the podium in Östersund
- Östersund: Océane Michelon third in the sprint, victory for Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen ahead of Anna Magnusson
- Östersund: winner of the sprint, Suvi Minkkinen takes the yellow bib as World Cup leader
- Suvi Minkkinen, winner of her first World Cup victory in the Östersund sprint: “It’s incredible”.
- “It’s a great day for me”: 993 days later, Anna Magnusson is back on a World Cup podium in Östersund.
- The pride of Océane Michelon, scorer of her first World Cup 10/10 to finish on the podium in the Östersund sprint: “I went all the way”.
