Oeberg delivers Sweden maiden biathlon relay crystal globe

Elvira Oeberg produced a stunning finish as Sweden claimed the women’s relay World Cup title in dramatic fashion in Nove Mesto.

Oeberg had faltered on the final range to drop into second place, knowing that only victory would be enough to overhaul Germany in the standings.

But with Elena Kruchinkina in front going into the final 100 metres, Oeberg put in one final burst and zipped past the Belarussian to take the victory.

That drew them level with Germany, who finished 12th on the day, in the standings, with Sweden taking the crystal globe with two wins to one for the Germans.

It was a dramatic race from start to finish, with Germany out of contention early, but Norway, Sweden and France were all in the hunt for the crystal globe.

The French faltered first, Chloe Chevalier doing a penalty loop on the prone of the third leg to drop them back down the leaderboard.

That appeared to open the way for Norway, but Ida Lien saw a 33-second lead become a deficit of more than half a minute when the nerves got to her on the standing shoot.

The younger Oeberg sister then had the chance to take a first crystal globe in the relay for the Swedes, provided she could win, and when she missed two shots on the final range, it looked like Germany might sneak it after all.

But Oeberg refused to give in and produced a blistering finish, to the delight of her teammates.

She said: “I am so, so tired. It was such a fight on the final leg. I am so happy that I managed to keep the lead. I have never experienced anything like this. We bring home the globe, it’s crazy.”

Julia Simon finished strongly for France as they came third, the same position as in the relay standings, while Norway had to settle for fourth.

Sportsbeat 2021