With a perfect run, there was never any doubt. Johannes Thingnes Bø went for a superior gold at the pursuit start in the WC in Oberhof. – Johannes Thingnes Bø is world champion at the start of the hunt with the most perfect race of them all. 20 hits on the fastest. Then it’s outclassing, said news’s commentator Andreas Stabrun Smith after the fourth shooting. It is the first time since he won the WC joint start in Anterselva in 2020 that Thingnes Bø shoots 20 hits in a race. Sturla Holm Lægreid also followed behind with 20 hits, but in the match against Thingnes Bø he had no chance despite that and was more than a minute behind from the last shooting. In the end, he finished 1.11.2 ahead of Lægreid, while Sebastian Samuelsson sprinted past Tarjei Bø in the battle for third place. THE PODIUM: From left: Sturla Holm Lægreid, Johannes Thingnes Bø and Sebastian Samuelsson. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Celebrated in front of the public On the last round it was almost a round of honor for both Thingnes Bø. Inside the race, he stopped completely and stood on his knees, while apparently making a shooting gesture towards the audience with his fingers. – Now he is unbeatable. Johannes Thingnes Bø enters as world champion at the start of the hunt. He kneels to the audience. Sits down and celebrates with them before crossing the finish line. It’s a wonderful way to mark, said Stabrun Smith. Thingnes Bø received criticism from German Roman Rees when he booed the audience during the start of the hunt in Anterselva earlier this winter. – A bit of arrogant behavior has to be put up with every now and then. If not, the sport will turn grey, and the sport will lose out, said Thingnes Bø at the time. Chase start curse Thingnes Bø went for his fourth sprint gold in the WC/Olympic context on Saturday and his eighth individual gold in the aforementioned championships. One gold that has been missing from the collection, however, is gold at the start of the hunt. When he won his first World Cup gold in the sprint in 2015, he shot himself completely away at the start of the chase in Kontiolahti with eight laps and came 31st. Four years later in ØstersuÖstersundn on his way to gold, before he missed three times in the last shooting and to finish was 8.3 seconds behind gold winner Dmytro Pidruchnyj. At the start of the Olympic hunt last year, there were seven penalty rounds and Thingnes Bø dropped from first to fifth place. Thingnes Bø stood before Sunday’s race with three WC silvers and one WC bronze in the chase, but on Sunday it went all the way for the Norwegian, who thus took his 15th WC gold and 20th gold in total in the WC and Olympics.
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Johannes Thingnes Bø broke the curse
