France takes gold in biathlon mixed relay at Winter Olympics

ANTERSELVA, Italy -- France captured gold in the mixed 4x6km relay, the opening event in biathlon at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, while host nation Italy claimed silver and Germany secured bronze on Sunday.

Under clear skies at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena, a total of 21 teams took part in the competition, with nearly 20,000 spectators lining the course and stands to cheer on the athletes.

The race quickly developed into a tightly contested four-team battle before France pulled clear to win.

French anchor Julia Simon sealed victory with flawless, fast shooting of 10 hits from 10 shots, combined with a powerful skiing performance, as France totaled a winning time of 1:04:15.5. The decisive moment came on the third leg when Lou Jeanmonnot cleaned her standing shooting, surged away from her rivals and handed over to Simon with a 19-second advantage. Simon, Jeanmonnot, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Eric Perrot used a total of seven spares to secure the title.

The win marked Simon's first Olympic gold and second medal overall, following a silver in the same event four years ago. Maillet increased his Olympic medal tally to six, including three golds, while Jeanmonnot and Perrot earned their first-ever Olympic medals.

Perrot, 24, said the victory was an emotional and unforgettable moment for the French team. Reflecting on helping France secure its first gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Games, Perrot admitted it was still hard to fully comprehend the achievement, describing the day as "amazing" and expressing his desire to share the moment with his family and teammates.

"It was stressful. It was more stressful to see on the TV than when I was racing myself. I tried my best not to be completely crazy, but I enjoyed it a lot," he added.

Italy, consisting of Lisa Vittozzi, Dorothea Wierer, Lukas Hofer and Tommaso Giacomel, finished 25.8 seconds behind France with five spares used. It was the third mixed relay medal for both Wierer and Hofer, who had previously won bronze at the 2014 and 2018 Games.

Germany, with Franziska Preuss anchored the team following Vanessa Voigt, Philipp Nawrath and Justus Strelow, incurred one penalty loop and used three spares, finishing 1:05.3 behind France. The result marked Germany's first-ever Olympic medal in the mixed relay.

Defending champion Norway missed out on a mixed relay medal for the first time, placing fourth at 1:37.2 back, after anchor Maren Kirkeeide picked up two penalty loops in standing shooting.

Norway's Karoline Offigstad Knotten acknowledged the frustration of narrowly missing the podium while also praising the level of competition. She noted that Italy's Vittozzi and France's Simon delivered outstanding performances, adding that the medal outcome was ultimately shaped by shooting penalties, with Germany's Preuss and her teammate Maren Kirkeeide incurring one and two penalty loops respectively.

"It just shows how hard it is, and the pressure there is on the last standing. It's a bit short end of the stick today, but we will come back stronger," Knotten remarked.

Sweden recovered from two penalty loops by first-leg skier Sebastian Samuelsson to finish fifth, while Finland placed sixth.

The biathlon competition continues on Tuesday with the men's 20km individual race.