Biathlon · International
Sturla Holm Laegreid leads Norwegian sweep of Oberhof pursuit podium
Laegreid, Tarjei Boe and Johannes Thingnes Boe occupied the podium one day after France swept the sprint.
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Norway responds to France's sprint sweep
Sturla Holm Laegreid earned his first Biathlon World Cup victory of the 2024/25 season in the men's 12.5 km pursuit at Oberhof on 11 January 2025. Tarjei Boe and Johannes Thingnes Boe followed him home, giving Norway all three podium positions immediately after France had achieved the same feat in the sprint. The shift was driven by the changing range picture. Fabien Claude initially led after strong prone shooting, but costly errors subsequently moved the French contenders out of the winning position. Laegreid remained in control over the closing part of the race despite two penalties in total. Both Boe brothers hit their final standing targets and secured their places behind him. The winner treated the final shooting visit as an opportunity he needed to take, then protected the advantage on the last loop.
Small margins separate the pursuers
The official table records Laegreid's time as 33:25.5. Tarjei Boe finished 5.2 seconds back with one penalty, while Johannes Thingnes Boe was third, 19.7 seconds behind, after three misses. Sprint winner Quentin Fillon Maillet finished fourth at 23.6 seconds, just one tenth ahead of Eric Perrot. Dmytro Pidruchnyi took sixth at 25.8 seconds, completing a strong pair of races for Ukraine after his fourth place in the sprint. Vebjoern Soerum, Niklas Hartweg, Endre Stroemsheim and Martin Ponsiluoma completed the top ten. The leaders' starting positions underline the pursuit's reshuffle: Laegreid began sixth, Tarjei Boe 16th and his brother 13th. Each podium finisher therefore improved substantially, while the three different penalty totals show that accurate shooting alone did not fully explain the final order. The combined result placed five Norwegians in the top nine. Norway's strength extended beyond its three medalists, while France still occupied fourth and fifth and Ukraine retained a place among the leading six.
Seppala turns 28th into a season-best finish
Finland's Tero Seppala also made a significant move, improving from 28th at the start to 14th at the finish. He was the only Finnish man in the pursuit and missed only once across four shooting visits. The Finnish federation described his result as his best placing of the season and reported the fifth-fastest performance when comparing the pursuit itself. Seppala was particularly satisfied with the quality of his shooting, although he still saw room to improve his skiing and equipment performance. He said the final lap demanded everything he had left. His recovery broadens the meaning of the day beyond the Norwegian podium: a competitor beginning outside the leading group could still make large gains by delivering a consistent four-stage race, even without reaching the medal positions. His single penalty came in the first standing stage; he hit every target in the other three. The federation placed his deficit at approximately 56 seconds, well below a minute despite the distance he had to recover from the start.
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