ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — In the final biathlon event of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, France's Oceane Michelon overcame a missed target in the final shooting stage in the 12.5-kilometer mass start race to take gold.
In heavy snow and low visibility, Michelon left the range in fourth place but moved ahead on the ski trails to complete the five laps in 37 minutes, 18.1 seconds. She said she was thrilled to have her first victory at the Olympics.
“On the final loop, I said, ‘Come on, enjoy it, come on girl, you can do the job and have a good end to the Olympics,'” she said. “When I was on the last downhill, I saw I was able to win gold, and I just had to enjoy the race and I put all my energy into it.”
Michelon's teammate, Julia Simon, also moved up in the final 2.5 kilometers, crossing the finish line 6.6 seconds back and securing the silver medal. Czech biathlete Tereza Vobornikova had been leading after the final shooting but had to settle for bronze after being overtaken by the French powerhouse team, finishing 7.4 seconds behind Michelon.
Simon said it was a difficult race.
“It was tough for everyone, but we were lucky, because the snow is getting stronger now than during the race,” she said. “It is also the last race of the Olympic Games, so everyone started to be very tired, and it was a difficult battle. I was there mentally, and it was the big difference today.”
Vobornikova said she couldn't describe how happy she was to earn a podium spot.
“When I was leaving the last loop, I had to look back, and I just couldn’t imagine that this would be the finish, that I will be the third one. I am just so proud of myself, and for my team, that we did it, and we have an Olympic medal,” she said.
Anna Magnusson of Sweden, the only biathlete to hit all 20 of her targets, finished fourth, 26.6 seconds back.
“I’m very proud of shooting clean four times,” Magnusson said. “It was a perfect race, but it was not enough today. Being fourth was harder than what I thought before, but I will be proud of this race after.”
The lead changed hands after every shooting bout.
Seventeen biathletes hit all five of their targets in the first prone stage and Simon was first out, followed by Dorothea Wierer of Italy. Simon cleaned her second prone shooting, but a miss on the third bout moved her down to eighth place, while Michelon moved up, followed by Elvira Oeberg of Sweden. The final shooting resulted in another reshuffling and led to the ski race at the end.
Wierer, favored by the fans who roared with excitement each time she hit a target, missed two, and at one point was sitting in 16th place, but she cleaned her last standing shooting and crossed the line 30 seconds back in fifth place.
Wierer, who turns 36 in April, had announced her plans to retire after these Olympics, along with Germany's Franziska Preuss, who finished 28th with seven misses. Wierer and Preuss held small flags and skied a short loop together in front of the packed stands, and then celebrated their final race with champagne.
Wierer said it was special to end her career at the Anterselva biathlon range.
“This is the place where I started shooting for the first time,” she said. “I have the first memories here, and just to quit here, with so many good races I have done in the past years, is crazy. I still have to realize everything. And it was so nice to compete here with all these fans, with the family, with all my team, and it was just crazy, and I’m really proud of that.”
Wierer and Preuss did not win individual medals during the Italy Olympics, but Wierer secured a silver and Preuss a bronze in the mixed relay race. Simon was on the gold-winning French team for that race. She also won gold in the 15-kilometer individual race and the women's team that included Simon and Michelon won the women's relay.
“Before coming here, I had a goal to win a gold medal in the women’s relay, and I hoped for a medal in the individual races, but I leave with four medals,” Simon said. “It is amazing.”
Olympic mass start defending champion Justine Braisaz-Bouchet of France finished a disappointing 27th place, 3:12.2 back, after missing six targets.
Only the top 30 biathletes compete in the mass start race — based on World Cup rankings and Olympic performance. They ski five, 2.5-kilometer loops, shooting twice in the prone position and twice standing.
Anne Buenemann de Besche was the first Danish female biathlete to qualify for an Olympic mass start. She finished in 29th place.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Oceane Michelon, of France, competes in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Gold medalist Oceane Michelon, of France, center, jumps on the podium during a victory ceremony next to silver medalist Julia Simon, of France, left, and bronze medalist Tereza Vobornikova, of Czechia, after the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Dorothea Wierer, of Italy, front left, competes in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Oceane Michelon of France competes during the Biathlon Women's 12.5km Mass Start at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
French fans hold a photo of Oceane Michelon of France the Biathlon Women's 12.5km Mass Start at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Franziska Preuss, of Germany, chases Dorothea Wierer, of Italy, as they celebrate their retirement after the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Franziska Preuss, of Germany, and Dorothea Wierer, of Italy, who both announced their retirement from the sport, celebrate after the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Oceane Michelon, of France, looks back as she skis to the finish line to win gold in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Elvira Oeberg, of Sweden, center, skis with other athletes into the shooting range in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Julia Simon, of France, competes in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Oceane Michelon, of France, skis to the finish line for gold in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
