Winter Olympics 2022 - Fillon Maillet wins individual biathlon gold as Thingnes Boe settles for bronze

Updated 08/02/2022 at 14:31 GMT

Defending Olympic champion Johannes Thingnes Boe had to settle for bronze in the men's 20km individual biathlon as France's World Cup leader Quentin Fillon Maillet produced a brilliant performance to oust the Norwegian. Anton Smolski, the only athlete to hit all 20 targets in the shooting, grabbed silver.

'Untouchable' - Emotional Fillon Maillet storms to biathlon gold for France

French biathlon star Quentin Fillon Maillet won his first Olympic gold medal by outpacing his big rival Johannes Thingnes Boe in the men's 20km individual race, with the Norwegian defending champion having to settle for bronze.

It was a measure of revenge for Fillon Maillet, who narrowly lost a sprint to the finish against Thingnes Boe in the mixed team team relay on Saturday as France finished second to Norway.

Fillon Maillet and Thingnes Boe both missed two targets -- leading to time penalties -- but the Frenchman was faster on the skis to finish in 48:47.4. Belarus' Anton Smolski, the only athlete to hit all 20 targets in the shooting, grabbed silver 14.8 seconds behind while Boe finished 31.1 seconds behind.

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Fillon Maillet has been dominant on the World Cup circuit this season and now adds a first Olympic title to a resume that also includes two world championship golds.

Thingnes Boe, the 2018 champion in the individual race, had a great chance for another gold before missing a shot on the final range. That meant he had a near-impossible gap to make up, and while he reduced the deficit by nine seconds the Frenchman held on for gold. When it became clear that his time would not be beaten, Fillon Maillet shared a hug in the finish area with Martin Fourcade, the retired French biathlon great who won three gold medals in Pyeongchang in 2018.

'No one is gonna steal it from you' - Fourcade congratulates Fillon Maillet after biathlon gold

Russian Olympic Committee's Maxim Tsvetkov, who led as he crossed the line, also missed a shot on the final range to miss out on the podium. Benedikt Doll of Germany suffered a similar fate and would have grabbed silver if not for a miss in the fourth shooting.

Russian Olympic Committee's Eduard Latypov, a medal hopeful heading into the race, missed out on the top ten after three missed shots.

Both Fillon Maillet and Thingnes Boe will have several chances to add to their medal hauls with another four biathlon events coming up in Beijing, including the team relay where France and Norway will again be among the favourites.