Martin Ponsiluoma secures Olympic gold for Sweden in pursuit biathlon race

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — In an upset for the French men's biathlon team, Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden dominated on the shooting range Sunday to take the gold medal in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, while Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid won silver — six days after making an unexpected personal confession during a post-race interview.

Emilien Jacquelin of France led the field coming into the last shooting stage, after cleaning his targets using his characteristic but risky rapid fire technique. But the speed got the best of him and he missed two, allowing Ponsiluoma, who hit all his targets, to exit the range first. Laegreid also cleared his targets and left the range in second place, leaving Jacquelin with bronze.

Ponsiluoma, winning the first medal in biathlon for Sweden in these Winter Games, crossed the finish line with a time of 31 minutes and 11.9 seconds. Laegreid was 20.6 seconds behind him while Jacquelin was 29.7 seconds back.

The Swede said he feared getting caught on the last lap.

“I was really afraid of the chasers," he said. “I was nervous, but I felt (safe) on the last part of the loop, so I just tried to enjoy it. Doing this at the Olympics is really big. I’m super proud of the race today. I did everything I wanted: I was skiing really fast, shooting fast, the focusing was amazing. So, it was my day today.“

Laegreid said he took the race one step at a time.

“Ski one meter at a time. Shoot one shot at a time. Do my best with what I can right now and, in the end, we can count the results," he said.

At the post-race press conference, Laegreid applauded Jacquelin's aggressive tactics and the two men addressed comments both have made in the media this week.

Laegreid drew national attention on Tuesday after the men’s individual race when during an tearful interview with Norwegian television, he revealed on camera that he had been unfaithful “to the love of my life” in an apparent attempt to win her back. He released a statement the following day, saying he regretted sharing his personal story, which detracted from teammate Johan-Olav Botn 's gold medal.

After Friday's sprint race when Laegreid finished third and Jacquelin fourth, the Frenchman joked to VG Sport that he “was beaten by an unfaithful guy,” and vowed to strike back during the pursuit race.

When asked about it on Sunday, Jacquelin said he says what he thinks, but that may not always be wise.

He said after he saw Laegreid's interview, he felt sad for him “because honesty sometimes is not the best thing in our society. Sometimes we should say nothing. In a way you can think what you want. Is it good or not. It’s on your mind what you think. But having honesty and say what you say, what I say after the sprint, it’s part of a duel."

He said they have since discussed it and “everything is fine.”

Laegreid said he took Jacquelin's comment “with a sense of humor.”

“Of course we talked about it later when I met him at the hotel and there was no hard feelings but even though we had squared up I think he used it a bit for energy today,” Laegreid said. "For him to be in the mode he was today, if this was what he needed and then attacking like he doing it is for me really impressive.

"And I told him after the race, the way he attacked today, the way he was giving a show was really honorable to watch."

Olympic biathlon pursuit champion Quentin Fillon Maillet, having won the sprint race days before, started off 14 seconds ahead of the field, but missed three shots during his two prone shooting stages, dropping him down to eighth place. He finished seventh, 1:13.5 behind the Swede.

The pursuit biathlon start list is based on how the racers finished in the previous sprint race, with the sprint winner going off first, and all others starting in the seconds-back order based on their sprint finish. Biathletes must ski a 150-meter penalty lap for each missed target.

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

Emilien Jacquelin, of France, crosses the finish line for bronze during the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Emilien Jacquelin, of France, crosses the finish line for bronze during the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Sturla Holm Laegreid of Norway competes during the biathlon Men's 12.5km pursuit at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden competes during the biathlon Men's 12.5km pursuit at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Martin Ponsiluoma, of Sweden, crosses the finish line for gold during the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Martin Ponsiluoma, of Sweden, crosses the finish line for gold during the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

It's Kimi Antonelli's Formula 1 title “to lose”, or so his Mercedes teammate George Russell says. At the Monaco Grand Prix this week, for once they might both lose.

The 19-year-old Antonelli has won four races in a row for a vast 43-point lead and, between him and Russell, Mercedes has won every Grand Prix this year.

Ferrari and hometown hero Charles Leclerc went fastest in first practice Friday to show they might end that streak.

The Canadian Grand Prix spiced up the title race as Russell and Antonelli battled wheel-to-wheel for lap after lap, only for an engine failure on Russell's car to spoil the show.

“You’ve got such a buffer, it feels like you can only keep it, or you can lose it. And I think it’s his to lose," Russell said Thursday. “So, my mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race. I just need to continue being the guy who’s coming out on top, even if he’s the one at the moment who’s getting the results.”

Mercedes has had the car to beat all year but it might be Ferrari in front in Monaco. Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's cars have a smaller turbocharger which might give them a quicker kick of power out of the many slow corners.

“If there’s one track I would bet on us, it’s probably Monaco,” said Leclerc, who's fresh off signing a new contract at Ferrari.

Leclerc backed up that talk in Friday's first practice session, going fastest by .226 of a second ahead of teammate Hamilton. Max Verstappen was third fastest, .513 off the pace, bumping Antonelli and Russell down to fourth and fifth.

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar crashed into the barriers to cause a brief stoppage.

Monaco's tight and twisty streets create a race unlike any other. Three-time champion Nelson Piquet likened it to riding a bicycle around your living room.

This year, it feels almost like a different class of racing altogether.

For the first time, there's a de-facto speed limiter reducing electrical power when the car is going over 200 kmh (124 mph) on safety grounds, and the new-for-2026 moving aerodynamic parts for straight-line speed won't be used in Monaco. Essentially, the track is being treated like one big corner.

Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren have put miniature “winglets” on their cars for extra downforce instead of the components that would usually move the wings.

Monaco races tend to be processions, but qualifying is tense and often spectacular, all the more so because grid position is extra important when overtaking in Sunday's race is near-impossible.

With Cadillac on the grid for 2026, there will be two more cars on track for a total of 22. That could make qualifying more of a lottery, especially the extra-crowded first session.

Old-school glamor and modern glitz collided Thursday night as F1 used a swarm of 3,000 drones over Monaco's port to announce a 10-year contract extension for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Monaco pioneered the mix of casinos, celebrity and street racing that fuel Las Vegas' F1 project. Since its 2023 debut following F1's boom in the United States, Las Vegas has become a contender to surpass Monaco as the standout social event on the calendar.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali called Las Vegas the “premier destination for great racing, world-class entertainment, global business leaders, A-list celebrities and influencers” on Thursday. It was a description that until recently only applied to Monaco.

Las Vegas was the first race F1 promoted in-house, in effect a big bet on the U.S. market and one that so far seems to be paying off.

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Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the first free Formula One practice at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg of Germany steers his car during the first free Formula One practice at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during the first free Formula One practice at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the first free Formula One practice at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco steers his car during the first free Formula One practice at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Winner Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, center, of Italy, smiles after being sprayed by his team following the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver George Russell, of Britain, walks through the paddock at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)