Full Biathlon Shooting Collapse for the Norwegians: 'It's a Disaster'

At the World Championship sprint in Lenzerheide, the Norwegian biathlon team experienced a series of missed shots that derailed their medal hopes. Karoline Knotten, who was in position to challenge for a medal, recorded four misses in the prone position, effectively ending her chance at the podium. Her teammates, including Maren Hjelmeset Kirkeeide, Ragnhild Femsteinevik, and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, also struggled on the shooting range under uneven conditions, accumulating multiple penalty rounds.

TV2 commentator Marius Skjelbæk remarked, “It is, unfortunately, a Norwegian disaster in Lenzerheide,” after noting that Kirkeeide had managed three misses on the prone shooting. Expert Ole Kristian Soltenberg even quipped that one might need to hire an accounting firm to tally the Norwegian penalty rounds.

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who had a poor start in the mixed relay that knocked Norway out of medal contention, could only muster one penalty per shooting bout on Friday. As a result, she finished well behind the leaders, starting the skiing leg more than a minute adrift of the pace set at the shooting range.

The crisis contrasted sharply with the successful performance of the French team. Justine Braisaz-Bochet, despite one miss, demonstrated exceptional skiing speed to win the sprint, finishing 9.8 seconds ahead of Germany’s Franziska Preuss. The Finnish athlete Suvi Minkkinen claimed the bronze, while Lena Häcki-Gross finished a distant fourth.

The collapse marks another low point for the Norwegians in this championship and highlights the fine margins that can determine success in biathlon at the international level.