Norwegian biathlete Johan-Olav Botn wins Olympic gold two months on from teammate’s tragic death

Botn shot clean to seal his first Olympic gold medal, just two months after discovering his teammate’s body on a training camp

Johan-Olav Botn won Olympic gold on his maiden appearance at the Games (Getty Images)

Norwegian biathlete Johan-Olav Botn produced a superb shooting performance to win Olympic gold in the men’s 20km individual on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old pointed to the sky as he crossed the line in memory of teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who was found dead by Botn in his hotel room on a training camp shortly before Christmas.

Botn had led the overall World Cup standings before the Christmas break but missed the next races on the circuit to attend Bakken’s funeral, while illness has prevented him from reaching his early-season form since then.

But he was back at his imperious best in Antholz-Anterselva on Tuesday, shooting all 20 targets without a miss, and stormed through the final lap before dedicating the win to his friend and teammate.

He said: “At the last shooting, my thoughts and feelings went toward my good friend Sivert Bakken who tragically died this Christmas. It was quite an emotional last loop for me. I felt like I was racing with him. I hope he was watching and hope he was proud of what I was doing.”

Bakken, who took a break from the sport in 2022 after being diagnosed with the heart condition myocarditis, was found dead in his hotel room on 23 December, while on a team training camp in Italy. He was 27.

Botn told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: “When I crossed the finish line there and saw that there was a one next to my name, I broke down a little.”

The Olympic debutant’s final time was 51:31.5. He is only the second male biathlete to win Olympic gold on his first attempt, after Frenchman Vincent Jay won the 2010 10km sprint in Vancouver with a clean shoot.

French overall World Cup leader Eric Perrot was second with one miss, meaning an extra minute was added on to his time, finishing 14.8 seconds behind Botn.

Botn pointed to the sky in memory of his teammate (Getty Images)

Botn’s compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid, last year’s overall World Cup crystal globe winner, won bronze - his first individual Olympic medal - and finished 48.3 seconds back.

He was joined on the podium by Eric Perrot of France and his compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid (Getty Images)

In the individual races every target missed adds an additional minute onto the athlete’s time, making clean shooting paramount.

The men ski five laps of four kilometres, stopping at the shooting range in between each lap, alternating two prone and two standing shoots.

Perrot missed on the final shoot and faded on the final lap, seeing his chances of an individual gold to go with his mixed relay gold from Sunday disappear.

He told French TV: “It takes a lot to be an Olympic champion, and big congratulations to Johan-Olav, who was phenomenal with his 20 for 20. These are magical moments.

“I just need to put aside the big ambition that I've always had, but what a joy. These are childhood dreams.”

Defending champion Quentin Fillon Maillet of France missed four targets and finished eighth, nearly three minutes behind Botn, while home favourite Tommaso Giacomel was sixth with three missed targets.