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)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic exited after playing the first half of the Denver Nuggets' regular-season finale against San Antonio on Sunday night for his 65th game played to qualify for NBA awards.

Jokic had 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot while playing 18 minutes, 15 seconds in the first half.

The NBA requires players to participate in 65 games to be eligible for MVP, All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year honors. The NBA allows two exemptions of 15 to 19:59 minutes played to count as an official game. Jokic had one exemption remaining.

Jokic was listed as questionable with an injured right wrist, but entered the finale having played in 64 games.

“Yeah, he’ll play the first half,” Denver coach David Adelman said before tipoff. “Then we’ll reconvene at halftime and see where he’s at, where the game’s at. It’s what the rules provide. So we’ll follow the rules.”

Denver needs a victory over the Spurs on Sunday to secure the third seed in the Western Conference. A Nuggets loss, coupled with a win by the Los Angeles Lakers, would drop the Nuggets to fourth and move the Lakers to third.

Jokic, who won MVP in 2021, 2022 and 2024, has been named to the All-NBA Team in seven of his 11 seasons.

Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama is sitting out the game after reaching eligibility in his previous game.

Wembanyama qualified for award eligibility by playing in his 65th game Friday, in San Antonio's 139-120 victory over Dallas.

Wembanyama competed in 64 regular-season games in addition to the NBA Cup Final, which does not count toward regular-season record or statistics, but does qualify as a game played.

Wembanyama suffered a left rib contusion and missed the second half of Monday's 115-102 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. He returned Friday to post 40 points and 13 rebounds in 26:13 minutes against Dallas.

He was listed as questionable due to injury management and was ruled out after the Spurs' afternoon walkthrough.

“Yeah, he’s doing well, but just a little sore and felt it was the appropriate decision,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. “He was probably, to be honest, the closest call of the group, but just right in that kind of in between.”

Spurs guard Stephon Castle was upgraded to available after missing the past two games with a left foot soreness.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) dunks against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell shoots against Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, left, Tyus Jones (5) and Jalen Pickett, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) passes as he is guarded by San Antonio Spurs center Mason Plumlee during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, left, looks to pass the ball as Memphis Grizzlies forward Toby Okani defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić pulls in a loose ball in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)