Norway's Johan-Olav Botn recalls friend's death as he wins Olympic 20K biathlon

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Johan-Olav Botn of Norway shot perfectly in his Olympic debut to secure the gold medal in the men’s 20-kilometer individual biathlon at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Tuesday.

Eric Perrot of France, the overall World Cup leader, missed one shot and finished 14.8 seconds behind to take silver. Botn's teammate, Sturla Holm Laegreid, was 48.3 seconds behind for third, also with one miss.

Norway’s seventh Olympic gold in the individual race was complemented by Laegreid's first individual Olympic medal.

Botn pointed to the sky as he crossed the finish line, remembering teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who was found dead in his hotel room in Lavaze, Italy, in December. Botn said his thoughts went to his friend after his last shoot.

“It was quite an emotional last loop for me,” Botn said. “I felt like I was racing with him. I hope he was watching and I hope he is proud of what I was doing.”

Perrot, also racing in his first Olympics, said it was “a crazy day and a crazy fight."

“No regrets, I gave it my all,” Perrot said. "I’m proud about that. Johan was just better than me today so congratulations to him.”

Laegreid also wept after the race, saying he was struggling with a personal situation that made racing difficult. He led the race for a while but said he cracked under the pressure.

“In the shooting, when I missed I went a bit defensive to secure the gold, but in this sport you can’t be defensive, you have to attack all the time,” he said. “Luckily I managed to turn the tables on the last shoot, and with amazing skis from the team, and (my) good shape, I was able to win bronze.”

Under cloudy skies, each racer left the start gate at 30-second intervals, skied four-kilometer loops five times and alternated shooting twice each in the prone and standing positions. The individual is the most challenging biathlon race format. Instead of skiing a 150-meter penalty loop for each missed shot, one minute is added to their overall time. The Südtirol Arena sits at 5,200 feet (1,600 meters) above sea level, making skiing more challenging.

Tommaso Giacomel of Italy, ranked second in the world, was sixth, 2:27 back, after missing three targets. Defending Olympic individual champion Quentin Fillon Maillet of France missed four and finished eighth, 2:49 behind. Perrot and Fillon Maillet were partnered on the gold-medal winning mixed relay team on Sunday.

American biathlete Campbell Wright drew cheers as he passed in front of the packed stands, smiling widely and waving his arms to encourage support. But he said his body wasn't responding as he wanted, which set him back. He was 27th with two penalties.

“I'll try again in a few days," Wright said, referring to Friday's 10K sprint race. "Just because you have a bad day doesn't mean you need to be in a (bad) mood. So I was trying to enjoy myself. Legs didn't show up. Hopefully they'll return to me."

Johannes Thingnes Bø won four gold medals and one bronze four years ago at the Beijing Games, but Norway rebuilt the biathlon team after he retired last year.

“I’ve felt like we have done a good job,” Botn said, “but we can always perform better.”

Norwegian biathlon coach Siegfried Mazet said coming into the Milan Cortina Olympics without Bø was different but he was confident in their medal chances.

“We have a new routine with the new guys,” Mazet said. “For sure we would love to see Johannes here. It’s not that I’m missing Johannes for the race, it’s just that I’m missing Johannes as a person.”

The women race their individual event on Wednesday.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

ADDS NAME OF TEAMMATE - Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, reacts after he won bronze as teammate Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold comforts him after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Eric Perrot, of France, reacts after finishing the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, reacts after competing in the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, reacts after finishing the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — Federal investigators have pulled intact data cards from a state police helicopter and Cessna plane that collided at a small airport in central Pennsylvania, killing the plane’s pilot.

Aaron McCarter, investigator-in-charge with the National Transportation Safety Board, called the recovery of the cards “very good news from a data standpoint” during a media briefing Friday morning. Neither aircraft would be required to have a cockpit voice recorder that is found in larger aircraft, McCarter said.

"We don't know exactly what kind of parameters are on these data cards, but in some cases we get fortunate" and the cards have robust flight data, McCarter said.

The data cards will be reviewed over the weekend as investigators try to determine why the Cessna clipped the helicopter during takeoff Wednesday night, McCarter said. The pilot of the plane was killed, and two people inside the helicopter were injured.

The crash at the small airport in Carlisle, about 110 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, involved a Bell 407 helicopter and Cessna 150, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Cessna was attempting to land when it veered to the side and collided with the rear of the police helicopter, which was hovering above a grassy area beside the runway as part of a training exercise.

The small plane struck the tail of the hovering helicopter, killing the Cessna pilot and sending both aircraft to the ground in pieces.

McCarter said Friday the helicopter was about 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 meters) away from the runway. He said as the Cessna approached, it appeared to "be out of control."

Both pilots were flight instructors, and they have strong evidence the Cessna pilot was made aware of the helicopter nearby, McCarter said. The flight path of the plane was unusual and its pilot had been doing maintenance on the Cessna before the flight, he said.

An aviation expert who viewed a crash video said it was his impression that the Cessna had a mechanical problem that caused it to veer off-course.

“I believe (the Cessna was) experiencing some type of flight control problem or mechanical problem of some sort,” said John Cox, a former airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems.

“The nose is awfully high and the airplane was veering off to the side, which the pilot would not want to do knowing the helicopter was there,” Cox said. He said investigators would consider all factors, including whether force from the helicopter's propeller could have affected the plane's flight.

“You have to keep an open mind as an investigator, so you look at all of it,” Cox said.

McCarter said the wreckage of both aircraft have been salvaged and will be moved to a Delaware facility for examination.

The pilot of the plane was identified as 57-year-old Paul William Sokoloski.

Both helicopter pilots, Cpl. Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills, were trapped until one pushed out a window, state police said. Corman is out of the hospital, and Mills was still recovering with a good prognosis, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday.

Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)