Johannes Thingnes Boe clinches fifth Biathlon World Cup crystal globe with dominant victory in Canmore

Johannes Thingnes Boe clinched his fifth Biathlon World Cup crystal globe with a 12.5km pursuit victory in Canmore.

The younger of the two Boe brothers set off with more than a minute advantage in Canada following his sprint win on the previous day.

Boe led from the start and took gold in a time of 34 minutes and 38 seconds, clinching his fifth big crystal globe with a dominating 1172 points.

Sebastian Samuelsson took silver after overhauling bronze medallist Eric Perrot of France in the final few metres, with the Swede taking the spoils in a dramatic photo finish by just 0.4 seconds.

Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi fought off the dynamic French duo of Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet to take the women’s pursuit crystal globe.

The Italian used her shooting prowess to storm ahead in Canada, leaving each shooting bout without a missed target whilst her opponents were forced onto the penalty loop.

Faster skiers, the French crawled back each time, but were left with too much to do. Vittozzi took her second pursuit win of the season and clinched the overall pursuit title for the first time.

“Really, I didn’t know. It’s wonderful! It is amazing,” she said.

“I tried to stay focused on my work, even if I was a little bit nervous this morning but I managed the pressure in the right way. I am really happy.”

Jeanmonnot took silver with three penalties, whilst Braisaz-Bouchet grabbed bronze after using her ski speed to rebound from 19th position after the second prone.

The 2023-24 Biathlon World Cup season concludes in Canmore on Sunday.