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)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Hamas militant group said Monday it had dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.

Hamas did not say whether it planned to take the crucial step of disarming or handing over security to an international force, but described its decision as evidence of its commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction after years of war.

It was unclear if the move, announced by a lower-level official, would lead to any meaningful change on the ground.

The Board of Peace, the new entity led by President Donald Trump with the mandate of governing and rebuilding Gaza, said it was aware of the Hamas announcement but would assess the impact based on “actions, not promises.” The board stressed in a statement on X that the technocratic committee must control all weapons in Gaza, as laid out in the ceasefire agreement.

At a news conference Monday, Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run Government Media Office, said “only technical and professional staff” would remain in their positions to run the Palestinian enclave’s day-to-day affairs.

“All employees working in service provision are ‘state employees’ and are fully prepared to work under the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,” al-Thawabta said during a news conference in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem called it “a positive step forward on the path to implement the ceasefire deal.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the move, saying it was designed to avoid disarmament. “As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates,” he wrote on X.

The committee of technocrats, which is based in Cairo, is chaired by Ali Shaath, a Gaza-born engineer and former official with the Palestinian Authority. It has a mandate to restore essential services and oversee civilian affairs under the supervision of the U.N. and the Board of Peace.

In a statement on X, Shaath acknowledged the Hamas announcement Monday and said that in order for the committee to function effectively, there must be “a single governing authority operating under one legal framework” and “a unified security apparatus accountable to that authority.”

Nine months after the ceasefire was signed, negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Hamas has insisted on implementing the first phase before moving to discuss its weapons.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 73,098 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

Israeli strikes have lessened considerably since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, but they continue almost daily. Israel’s military says it targets Hamas and other militants, often asserting they were planning attacks. The strikes have also killed many civilians.

On Monday, Israeli strikes killed at least five people in Gaza, including three in Khan Younis in the south and two in an apartment in Gaza City, health officials said.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas operative in the Gaza City strike and a militant from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in the attacks in Khan Younis.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed.

Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run government media office, center right, speaks during a press conference at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run government media office, speaks during a press conference at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)