Norway men enjoy Biathlon World Cup relay victory on home soil
BySportsbeat
Updated 18/03/2018 at 16:27 GMT
Norway stormed to victory on home soil in the men's 4x7.5km relay competition in the IBU Biathlon World Cup.
(L-R) Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe, Tarjei Boe, Lars Helge Birkeland and Henrik L'abee-Lund pose on the podium after winning the IBU Biathlon World Cup Men's 4x7,5 km Relay event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, on March 18. 2018.
Image credit: Getty Images
Johannes Thingnes Boe anchored a strong side of Tarjei Boe, Henrik L'Abee-Lund and Lars Helge Birkeland on the course in Oslo Holmenkollen, which marked their third win out of four races, having come third in Oberhof last month.
They also had the fresh memory of a silver medal victory in the men's relay at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang last month driving them on.
Missing just three shots in total, including Birkeland and Johannes Thingnes Boe shooting clear, they finished almost a minute ahead of nearest rivals Austria with a time of 1:13:13.7.
Despite the determination of Austrian anchor Julian Eberhard in reducing the deficit, they finished 50.3 seconds later missing five shots in all.
They edged ahead of third-placed Russia, who came in 56.9 seconds after the winners, anchored by Anton Shipulin.
Meanwhile, Olympic champions Sweden slipped to fourth place, with anchor Fredrik Lindstroem struggling to overcome an early 1:15.8 deficit conceded by Martin Ponsiluoma in the first leg.
The relay standings after four races have Norway way in front on 228 points, with just 11 points separating second and fourth place: Sweden have 184 and France 180, while Germany trail on 175 and Russia on 173.
And Norway lead the men's nation rankings with 6090 points, ahead of France and Germany.
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