33 years old and still a monster athlete: Benedikt Doll. © ANSA / MARTIN DIVISEK

Shortly before the end of his career: Doll with a monster race

The biathlon squad is stopping in Oslo this weekend. The men's mass start was on the program on Saturday. A German and a Swede in particular caused a sensation. The two Azzurri, on the other hand, disappointed across the board.

March 02, 2024

From: mv

After the entertaining Women's mass start The men's also made them want more. In rainy conditions, the spectators saw directly at the first shooting that the big favorite Johannes Thingnes Bø had to say goodbye to the top places with three (!) errors. Nevertheless, the Norwegian team was able to celebrate a home victory: Sturla Holm Laegreid left his competitors behind and crossed the finish line with a lead of 1 seconds. The German Benedikt Doll came second. It was a very special podium finish for him.

The 33-year-old only recently had his End of career after this season announced. After finishing in a disappointing 74th place in the individual competition on Friday, he showed a much improved performance on Saturday and ended up with just two penalties in the final standing stage. For a long time it even looked like a victory for him, but the damned last shooting proved to be his undoing. But the 4th shooting wasn't just ideal for Doll, Tarjei Bø was also very weak there. With three mistakes, the race was already over for Bø after the last shooting - in contrast to Doll.

Tommaso Giacomel showed a poor performance at the mass start in Oslo. © ANSA / ANDREA SOLERO

Two Swedes also showed a strong performance. On the one hand, Sebastian Samuelsson, who was in the lead for a long time and only had to give up after the damned last shooting and fell back to 13th place. And on the other hand, Jesper Nelin, who only had to make a penalty loop after the 2nd prone stage. The 31-year-old celebrated his first career podium finish at the mass start in Oslo thanks to a strong 3rd place. And there was almost more potential: on the last lap he was ahead of Doll for a long time, but at some point his body gave out and the German passed him.

“Azzurri” disappoint

The two “Azzurri” who took part in the mass start showed a very weak race. Both Tommaso Giacomel (7) and Didier Bionaz (6) clearly made too many shooting errors. Unfortunately, this is also reflected in the result: While Giacomel is in 22nd place, Bionaz finished the race in 26th place.

The World Cup weekend in Oslo will conclude on Sunday with a single mixed relay (12.45 p.m.) and a mixed relay (14.45 p.m.). In the SportNews-Live ticker you won't miss anything again.