In an exhilarating turn of events at the Biathlon World Championships in Antholz, Lisa Vittozzi secured a remarkable victory with a flawless shooting performance in the 10km pursuit on Sunday. Vittozzi emerged triumphant, finishing 28.8 seconds ahead of Norway’s Olympic sprint champion Maren Kirkeeide, who had to contend with three penalty laps, and 34.4 seconds in front of Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen.
The Austrian team, featuring Anna Andexer, Lisa Hauser, and Anna Gandler, struggled with errors that hampered their performances. Andexer, who entered the race as a promising ninth from the sprint category, finished as the best Austrian but could only manage a 21st place after making a mistake in her very first shot of the day. Hauser and Gandler placed 29th and 30th respectively, with Hauser managing two perfect shots on the prone but faltering during the standing shots, ultimately making three errors.
Vittozzi’s path to gold was marked by her impressive shooting, as she quickly took the lead following five successful shots in just around 20 seconds during the second prone stage. While Kirkeeide made a strong comeback after the third shooting, pressure took its toll, leading to three errors that halted her charge. Having achieved a complete set of Olympic medals now, Vittozzi—who previously won silver and bronze with the mixed relay team—demonstrated her strength as the individual world champion in 2024.
Looking ahead, the schedule for the biathlon competitions includes the relay events on Tuesday and Wednesday for men and women, respectively, followed by mass start races on Friday and Saturday. While the men’s mass start will proceed without Austrian representation, Andexer and Hauser will have another opportunity to compete in the women’s final events, hopeful for an improved performance.