Biathlon · International
Oberg sisters power Sweden's comeback win in Oberhof mixed relay
Sweden recovered from two penalty loops to beat France in the closing Oberhof race on 12 January.
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Sweden recovers from an early setback
Sweden won the mixed relay at Oberhof on 12 January 2025 after recovering from two penalty loops during the men's portion of the race. Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma were followed by Hanna Oberg and Elvira Oberg, whose closing legs turned the competition toward the Swedish team. Elvira left the final standing stage seven seconds behind France's Lou Jeanmonnot after using one spare round. She then erased that gap and moved ahead on the course. The IBU described the result as Sweden's second World Cup mixed-relay victory and the first for this particular quartet. Twenty-three teams started the closing race of the Oberhof programme. Its late reversal completed a weekend in which Elvira had already reached the pursuit podium after starting 37th, supplying a second striking comeback.
Split times trace the path back to first
The official result records Sweden's finish in 1:04:24.1, with two penalties and ten spare rounds. France was second, 12.8 seconds behind, after one penalty and seven spares. Norway took third at 1:11.4 with one penalty and nine spares. Samuelsson had kept Sweden only 2.0 seconds behind at the first exchange. Ponsiluoma's two penalties changed that picture: at halfway the team was 1:00.6 off the lead. Hanna brought the deficit down to 17.9 seconds at the last handover, and Elvira completed the recovery. The table also shows Jeanmonnot shooting her anchor leg without an extra round, demonstrating that France was not simply surrendering the race through late errors. Switzerland finished fourth, Germany fifth and Italy sixth. Sweden's greater penalty total makes the win particularly instructive: strong enough skiing and accurate enough later shooting could still overcome a substantial earlier loss.
The sisters make the decisive gains
The Swedish federation's analysis puts the turning point in Hanna Oberg's third leg. She passed Austria, took significant time from the German leader and continued advancing after her first shooting visit. A fast, clean standing series helped her deliver Sweden in third at the final exchange. Elvira then closed toward Norway and France before prone. She hit all five targets, stayed close to Jeanmonnot and briefly established an advantage on the next lap. Her required standing spare restored a French lead, but that lead lasted only until the decisive climb, where Elvira passed directly. Sweden reported the fastest team skiing time, 49 seconds better than France, while Elvira was quickest across all three laps of her leg. Samuelsson had also delivered the fastest ski performance on the opening leg. Those details establish the recovery as a four-athlete result, with the sisters providing the final transformation after the men had kept the team within a recoverable distance. Ponsiluoma's contribution after the penalties also mattered: he used the fastest final lap on his leg to pass three teams before the handover, restoring seventh place and giving Hanna a more workable target.
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