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.
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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)
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)
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)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are flirting with records on Wall Street Tuesday following a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies, as Hasbro jumps but Coca-Cola slips. Hopes are also building that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year to boost the economy following a discouraging report on the strength of U.S. shoppers.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, and at one point in the morning was sitting just above its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was adding 243 points, or 0.5%, to its own record, as of 12:35 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields fell after a report showed U.S. retailers made less money at the end of last year than economists expected. Shoppers spent roughly the same amount in December as they did in November, less than the modest growth that economists expected.
That could signal a loss of momentum for overall spending by U.S. households, which is the main engine of the economy. It also comes ahead of two more anticipated reports coming later in the week. On Wednesday, the U.S. government will give the latest monthly update on the unemployment rate, while a Friday report will show how bad inflation is for U.S. consumers.
Altogether, the data should help the Federal Reserve decide what to do with interest rates. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold, and too-hot inflation could keep it on pause for a long time. But a weakening of the job market, on the other hand, could push it to resume cuts more quickly.
One of the reasons the U.S. stock market has remained close to records is the expectation that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates later this year. Lower rates can give the economy a boost, though they can also worsen inflation.
Following Tuesday’s disappointing report on sales at U.S. retailers, traders upped bets that the Fed could cut interest rates three times or more this year, according to data from CME Group. Most still see two cuts as more likely.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.14% from 4.22% late Monday.
On Wall Street, mixed reactions to the latest profit reports from big U.S. companies helped to keep the market relatively in check.
Coca-Cola fell 2% after its growth in revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. It also gave a forecasted range for growth this upcoming year for an important underlying measure of growth whose midpoint was less than analysts’ expectations.
S&P Global dropped 7.2% after giving a forecast for profit in the upcoming year that fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company famous for its stock indexes has been struggling recently with worries that competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology may steal customers for its data services. Its stock came into the day with a loss of 15% for the year so far.
But Hasbro climbed 7.8% after topping analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. The toymaker credited strength for its “Magic: The Gathering” game in particular, and it announced a program to send up to $1 billion of cash to investors by buying back its own stock.
DuPont rose 4.2% after the chemical giant reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a forecast for profit in 2026 that topped analysts’ expectations.
Outside of earnings reports, Warner Bros. Discovery climbed 2.2% after Paramount said it upped its offer to buy the entertainment company.
Paramount is increasing its offer of $30 per share by 25 cents per share for each quarter that its buyout has not closed past the end of this year. It’s to show how confident Paramount is that its deal would get an OK from regulators at the government. Paramount also said it would pay $2.8 billion to help Warner Bros. Discovery get out of its buyout deal with Netflix.
Paramount Skydance’s stock added 1.2%, while Netflix rose 1.8%.
In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied for a second day on expectations that a newly elected parliament will help the country’s prime minister push through tax cuts and other moves to boost the economy and markets. The Nikkei 225 rose 2.3% to another record.
Gains for other Asian markets were more modest, while indexes were mixed in Europe.
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
Specialist James Denaro works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Michael Milano works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Chris Lagana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, as the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 50,000 level for the first time. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
