Jacquelin sees off Boe to take maiden pursuit world title

BySportsbeat

Updated 16/02/2020 at 18:48 GMT

Emilien Jacquelin shot a perfect round to become the new men's 12.5km biathlon pursuit world champion, after a frantic finish to the event in Antholz-Anterselva.

Emilien Jacquelin, champion du monde de la poursuite à Antholz-Anterselva, le 16 février 2020

Image credit: Getty Images

The Frenchman went head to head with Johannes Thingnes Boe in the dying stages, and saw off the Norwegian by just 0.4 seconds to claim his first every World Cup victory.

Boe paid the price for a missed shot on each of his first two visits to the launchpad which saw him punished with two penalty laps, while Alexander Loginov of Russia finished third 23.9 seconds behind.

Jacquelin's compatriot Martin Fourcade ended the event in fourth, but it was the 24-year-old that stole the headlines, as practice made perfect on the Italian course.

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"It's crazy, I knew I had everything to do well. To tell you the truth, I did a shooting session this morning with Patrick Favre, it's the first time I’ve done it, you have to believe that it paid off," Jacquelin said.

"It's incredible, it's a childhood dream come true, my dream was to imitate Raphael Poirée and Martin Fourcade

"I've been thinking about this since I was five years old. Sometimes I tell myself that I'm not the best son, the best brother, the best boyfriend, but I live for this sport.

"Now we're going to celebrate with everyone."