Botn wins gold in men's 20km Biathlon

Silver Medalist Eric Perrot of Team France, Gold Medalist Johan-Olav Botn of Team Norway and Bronze Medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid of Team Norway poses for a picture during the medal ceremony for the Men 20km Individual on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Anterselva Biathlon Arena on February 10, 2026 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)

Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn overcame much despair and psychological distress to win the gold medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday. He and Sturla Holm Laegreid locked up the medal podium for Norway, with France’s Eric Perrot getting silver in the men’s 20-kilometer individual in Biathlon at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena. Botn, who lost one of his teammates in a tragic discovery, went 20 for 20 on the range to lock up the gold his friend and country. 

Frenchman Quentin Fillion-Maillet was back in the competition to defend his gold from Beijing and keep France out front as the dominant team. Competitors from Norway, Germany, and Italy were his biggest challenge in going back-to-back. 

In the first run of shooting, Norway, and Germany weren’t close to perfect at the range, allowing Maillet to set the bar comfortably. He missed one target, leaving himself vulnerable for the remainder of the race. Martin Uldal missed one in his start to the shooting discipline. Botn went perfectly in his first visit, as one of the best shooters in the world. His teammate Laegreid also went clean at the range, leaving the pair to keep Norway alive. 

Sweden looked great at the halfway point, with Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma going ten-for-ten. Finland’s Olli Hiidensalo was in the hunt, remaining perfect through three visits to the range. Perrot was France’s only hope, as he missed just once through three visits. 

Hiidensalo went perfectly through all the shooting, gaining a two-minute lead on the leader. He came across the finish line in 53 minutes and change. Perrot took a 58-second lead on the Finn, giving him a shot at setting a great time with only one miss. Both the Swedes missed enough to take them out of medal contention, allowing Perrot to get in place to do it. He had more than two minutes to take the lead away from the Finn by a 1:14. 

Botn was perfect in their last visit to the range, beating Perrot’s out time by 11 seconds, but there was still a lap to the finish to complete for the Norwegian. With four-tenths of a kilometer left, Botn remained ahead of Perrot to give him the top spot and the potential gold medal. His teammate Laegreid managed to cross the line to take the bronze medal.