Östersund pursuit: Giacomel just misses the podium as France’s Fillon Maillet wins

The extended opening stop in Östersund for the IBU World Cup concluded with Italy celebrating a strong men’s pursuit by Tommaso Giacomel. The Trentino biathlete reached the final shooting with a shot at victory, but a crucial miss at the last standing bout cost him the podium. He still powered the last loop to outsprint France’s Éric Perrot and finish fourth, 15.2 seconds behind the winner.

Quentin Fillon Maillet claimed the win, with Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson second and Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn third after battling to the line. The United States’ Campbell Wright, coached by Italians, placed sixth. Italy’s Lukas Hofer delivered a solid race in 16th with one penalty. In the overall standings, led by Botn on 245 points, Giacomel sits sixth with 133. “It went really well and I even shot for the win. The level is extremely high, even after the Boe brothers’ retirement,” Giacomel said.

Women’s day

It was a tougher day for the Italian women. Lisa Vittozzi finished 11th with two penalties, attributing mistakes to fatigue after five races in nine days. Dorothea Wierer surged early to as high as sixth and fought for the podium at midway, but three standing errors—compounded by some back trouble—dropped her down the order. Austria’s Lisa Hauser triumphed after catching and passing Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen late, with Sweden’s Anna Magnusson third.

The opening week in Sweden was still very positive for Italy overall, highlighted by Wierer’s earlier victory and Vittozzi’s return to the top level. Both are in the top ten of the women’s overall standings—Wierer fifth and Vittozzi tenth. The World Cup now moves to Hochfilzen, Austria, starting Friday.