Biathlon: Hanna Öberg’s missed shots cost her the pursuit win

Hanna Öberg could not capitalize on her lead in the women’s pursuit at the Biathlon World Cup in Le Grand‑Bornand. Starting first after her sprint victory on Thursday, she quickly lost the advantage when France’s Lou Jeanmonnot moved past after the opening shooting.

Öberg rebounded with a clean second shooting and stayed with Jeanmonnot, but the race turned in the third bout. While the home favorite Jeanmonnot shot clean, Öberg missed two targets, which dropped her significantly down the field. Shooting coach Jean‑Marc Chabloz was frank in his assessment of that series, saying he was “not at all satisfied,” pointing to a wide miss on the second shot and a marginal rim hit on the fourth.

Öberg added that with one fewer miss she likely would have reached the podium, noting how tight the results were. Another miss in the fourth shooting left her with four penalties in total and outside the podium, finishing seventh.

Jeanmonnot took the victory, with Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen second and Italy’s Dorothea Wierer third. The result also shifts the overall World Cup lead to Jeanmonnot, as Sweden’s Anna Magnusson finished 16th and relinquished the yellow bib.

Swedish results: 7) Hanna Öberg, 10) Elvira Öberg, 16) Anna Magnusson, 23) Ella Halvarsson, 45) Anna‑Karin Heijdenberg.