ÖSV biathlon team on Christmas break with some catching up to do

Felix Leitner only came 27th in the elite field of 30, David Komatz came 29th with back problems. Tamara Steiner was the only ÖSV representative to come last in the women’s race. The victories again went to Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Johannes Thingnes Bö.

Laegreid excluded from mass start

The Frenchwoman also won the third Swiss race. Bö celebrated his third success in the last four competitions, this time ahead of two teammates. Although one of his teammates, Sturla Holm Laegreid, was missing in the last race at the 2025 World Cup venue. The overall World Cup third-place finisher had to watch due to a dangerous incident in the team hotel where a shot was accidentally fired. The 26-year-old fired a cartridge from his supposedly unloaded rifle in the accommodation on Friday during a dry run before the sprint competition. The projectile hit a wall. Nobody was injured.

Due to the blatant violation of safety regulations, Laegreid, who had been questioned by the Swiss police the day before, was excluded from the mass start. The IBU also announced further investigations into the incident in cooperation with Swiss authorities and reserved the right to impose further sanctions against the Norwegian. He also faces a fine. A police spokesman said Laegreid would be reported for “careless handling of weapons.”

Norwegian remorseful after complaint

Laegreid expressed his remorse in an IBU statement. “I am deeply sorry for this incident and I sincerely apologize to the entire biathlon family, my teammates and the hotel owner for what happened. This is a brutal reminder for me and all biathlon athletes of how important safety guidelines really are.” , the Norwegian was quoted as saying. The relay Olympic champion took his first podium places of the season in third place in the Lenzerheide pursuit on Saturday and second in Hochfilzen the previous week.

The ÖSV team in Switzerland, which was weakened by replacements, found itself far away from the same. Accordingly, only one trio was allowed to start in the mass start. Until the continuation in Oberhof at the beginning of January, you have two weeks to work on deficits. Lisa Hauser was absent from Lenzerheide due to a flu-like infection.