Lisa Vittozzi secures Italy’s first Olympic gold medal in biathlon with pursuit win

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This article was published 15/02/2026 (203 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Lisa Vittozzi secured Italy’s first Olympic gold medal in biathlon, hitting all 20 targets in the 10-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday. 

Vittozzi bowed, pumped her arms and collapsed in the snow after crossing the finish line with a time of 30 minutes, 11.8 seconds to the roar of a crowd of 20,000 fans. 

Maren Kirkeeide of Norway missed three targets but trailed by just 28.8 seconds for silver. Suvi Minkkinen of Finland cleared all 20 targets and came in 34.3 seconds back for bronze.

Vittozzi overcame a back injury from last season and periods of inconsistent shooting to become an Olympic champion.

“It’s amazing to win here in front of my family and friends,” she said. “It was my dream, and now I have the gold medal. I will need some time to realize what I have done today. I am very happy. I am enjoying this moment, because I will remember it forever.”

Vittozzi was on the Italian team, with Tommaso Giacomel, Lukas Hofer and Dorothea Wierer, that won silver in the mixed relay a week ago.

Wierer started the pursuit race in 44th place, 2:12 back having missed three targets in Saturday’s sprint race. She only missed one shot in the pursuit and finished ninth, 1:30 back.

Kirkeeide said winning a second Olympic medal was amazing, and it was “really fun to be able to race here and to be fighting for the top spot.”

“The last shooting was really hard for me,” she said. “My legs were shaking, but I tried my best, and on the last lap, I tried to push with everything I had to be able to earn a medal.” 

The last shooting stage was difficult — she missed two under great pressure, she said.

“Mostly the fact that I was shooting for a gold medal,” she said. “You really want to hit all the targets. Sometimes it’s not so easy.”

Minkkinen said her goal for these Games was to win a medal.

“At the same time it’s only three athletes who get it,” she said. “Then I just try to focus on doing the race I can be happy with myself afterward. Today I was able to do a perfect race so it’s an amazing feeling to really get the medal here.”

The pursuit was the first race that France did not have a biathlete on the podium. 

French biathletes Oceane Michelon and Lou Jeanmonnot started second and third, respectively, but too many misses knocked them out of contention. Jeanmonnot missed three and finished fourth, 49.4 seconds back, while Michelon missed four, which set her 57.1 seconds behind Vittozzi for fifth place.

Canada’s Benita Peiffer, of Whistler, B.C., finished 58th, six minutes 31.2 seconds back after missing six targets.

The pursuit biathlon start list is based on how the racers finished in the sprint race. Biathletes must ski a 150-meter penalty lap for each missed target. 

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics