Biathlon: Anna Magnusson takes second after thriller in pursuit in Hochfilzen

Anna Magnusson claimed second place in the women’s pursuit in Hochfilzen, securing her fourth consecutive podium and increasing her lead in the overall World Cup standings.

Wearing the yellow leader’s bib, Magnusson arrived at the final shooting together with Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi and France’s Lou Jeanmonnot. Magnusson cleared all five targets, but lost a couple of seconds when she stumbled leaving the range. Vittozzi, meanwhile, was slightly quicker and moved ahead, while Jeanmonnot missed twice and dropped out of the victory fight.

Magnusson chased Vittozzi hard on the final loop but had to concede before the finishing straight. Despite finishing second, she celebrated across the line, noting afterward that she had been “pretty tired” on the last lap. Her ski speed ranked only 26th on the day, but she missed just one target across the four shootings.

Elvira Öberg delivered a powerful comeback, climbing from 29th to fifth place with the third‑best course time, and briefly challenged for the podium. SVT expert Björn Ferry praised the race as biathlon at its best, calling it “a battle of brains out there.”