Ole Einar Bjørndalen anchored Norway to victory in the first Olympic mixed biathlon relay, claiming a 13th Winter Games medal to stand alone as the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time. Norway crossed the line at the Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex in 1 hour, 9 minutes and 17.0 seconds. The Czech Republic finished 32.6 seconds back for silver, and Italy was 58.2 seconds adrift for bronze.
Clean shooting after a bitter Tuesday
The relay arrived one day after Bjørndalen finished a disappointing 22nd in the mass start, where a poor final standing shoot ruined his race. He regrouped quickly. Tora Berger faulted twice on the range, but Tiril Eckhoff, Bjørndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen all shot cleanly to deliver a calm victory on the new Olympic stage.
Past Daehlie, alone on eight golds
The gold broke the record of 12 medals Bjørndalen had shared with retired cross‑country great Bjørn Daehlie. His tally now reads 8‑4‑1, matching Daehlie’s eight Winter golds. A later doping disqualification of Russia added a bronze to his final career count of 14.
“My shooting was really good. I was focused better today,” Bjørndalen told reporters afterwards. “I was really nervous before the race because in a relay you don’t go for yourself, you go for your team.”
The win was his second gold in Sochi, coming eleven days after he won the 10‑kilometre sprint at age 40. Sharing the podium with Svendsen, his long‑seen heir, the moment quietly reset a sport he had already defined for two decades.
