Biathlon World Championships: Norwegian Triple Success in Mass Start – Horn 13

At the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide, the Norwegian team showcased a stunning display of dominance in the men's mass start race over 15 kilometers. On Sunday, 23 February 2025, Endre Stroemsheim, aged 27, won his first individual World Championship title by finishing in 38:22.6 minutes with one penalty lap, edging out his compatriots Sturla Holm Laegreid and Johannes Thingnes Bö – the latter finishing just 0.3 seconds behind Laegreid after four penalty rounds. For Bö, it was a career milestone as he secured his 43rd World Championship medal in his final race.

Laegreid celebrated his second World Championship medal, finishing 12.4 seconds behind Stroemsheim, while the German athletes struggled with shooting errors. Philipp Horn and Philipp Nawrath, each having incurred two penalty rounds due to shooting mistakes, finished 13th and 16th respectively. Horn commented, ‘Emotionally, I would’ve liked to go on, but physically I was nearing my limits.’ He added that despite excellent shooting accuracy, his skiing performance was not enough to contend for a podium spot.

A detailed breakdown of the race showed that after the first shooting, eleven athletes went in clean, including Nawrath, while Horn had to take a penalty. In subsequent shooting rounds, the competition remained fierce with key moments – such as Stroemsheim’s flawless final standing shooting that lifted him to the top. In the final lap, Stroemsheim’s superior endurance allowed him to pull away on the uphill section, sealing his victory. After a brief World Championship break, the biathletes will resume competition in the World Cup event in Nove Mesto from 6–9 March 2025.