Elvira Oberg and Johannes Thingnes Boe complete dominant sprint-pursuit doubles in Pokljuka at Biathlon World Cup

Elvira Oberg and Johannes Thingnes Boe both secured a sprint-pursuit double in Pokljuka with victories in the 10km and 12.5km pursuits respectively.

Oberg followed up Thursday’s triumph in the 7.5km sprint in Slovenia with a comfortable win in the pursuit, leading from start to finish thanks to some flawless shooting.

Boe then followed with a dominant victory of his own, as the Norwegian finished over one minute in front of Quentin Fillon Maillet to maintain his grip on the yellow bib ahead of compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid.

Oberg finished over 17 seconds ahead of Dorothea Wierer to move just 31 points behind overall leader Julia Simon, who finished third after missing two targets.

There was a season’s best fourth place for Slovakian Paulina Batovska Fialkova while third-placed overall Denise Herrmann-Wick lost ground on the leaders with a sixth-place finish.

“I was really tired out there on the tracks today, so I felt that I needed to do a good job on the shooting range,” said Oberg, who claimed her third career pursuit win.

“To do this, starting with bib number one, shooting clean and staying there the entire race gives me so much confidence.

“I am living my dream; this is exactly where I want to be. I am so, so proud that I managed to get here. It’s amazing.”

Boe then followed up his victory in the 10km sprint on Friday with an emphatic victory in the 12.5km pursuit, despite missing two targets.

Reigning champion Fillon Maillet missed just once to secure his first World Cup podium of the season but could not get any closer than one minute and five seconds behind the Norwegian, who secured his third pursuit victory of the season.

The victory meant Boe extended his victory over Laegreid at the top of the overall standings to overall 100 points, with last year’s runner-up finishing fourth in Slovenia behind countryman Tarjei Boe.