Nightmare Start Becomes Fateful for Norway: 'Very Sad'

Norway experienced a nightmare start in the opening event of the World Championships in Lenzerheide. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold incurred two penalty loops during her first leg of the mixed relay, and by the time of the exchange the team was two minutes and eleven seconds behind France.

"I feel really bad for the team. Disappointing yourself happens, but in a mixed relay it affects so many others," she told TV 2.

Debutant Maren Hjelmeset Kirkeeide (21) needed only two extra shots on her leg, though she lost valuable time on the course. After two stages, Norway was trailing by two minutes and forty seconds.

Sturla Holm Lægreid managed with just one extra shot and his performance saw Johannes Thingnes Bø move into the medal chase, finishing his leg only nine seconds behind the Czech team for bronze.

However, despite his strong performance, Thingnes Bø admitted that the gap was too great to overcome. "We were unfortunately too far behind to secure a medal on paper. We closed in toward the end—just one extra shot away—but it wasn’t enough," he said.

France claimed a dominant gold, while the Czech Republic edged past Germany for silver. Norway, finishing just three seconds behind the Germans, ended up in fourth place—a result that left the team and fans very disappointed.