After winning one Olympic Sprint gold and three medals each, France and Norway enter the Antholz 2026 Olympic Biathlon Pursuits as overwhelming favourites. With just seconds separating the leaders, the stakes are high and the pressure immense — can Quentin Fillon Maillet and Maren Kirkeeide carry their narrow leads through five laps, 20 targets, and on to another victory?

The 2025/2026 season Pursuit winners

Lisa Theresa Hauser in Oestersund, Lisa Vittozzi in Hochfilzen, Lou Jeanmonnot in Annecy–Le Grand Bornand and Ruhpolding, and Elvira Oeberg in Oberhof won the women’s Pursuits in the first two trimesters of the 2025/2026 season. Elvira Oeberg was the only athlete who backed up her Sprint win with a Pursuit triumph. Jeanmonnot won twice after finishing second in the Sprint.

Quentin Fillon Maillet won in Oestersund, Eric Perrot in Hochfilzen, Johan-Olav Botn in Annecy–Le Grand Bornand, Tommaso Giacomel in Oberhof and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal in Ruhpolding. Like Elvira Oeberg, Giacomel was the only man to back up his Sprint win with a Pursuit triumph, doing so in Oberhof. Fillon Maillet clinched his win after finishing third in the Sprint, Perrot second, Botn fourth and Dale-Skjevdal 10th.

Who else was on the podium

Outside the four women’s Pursuit winners, Minkkinen finished second three times, Hanna Oeberg once and Anna Magnusson once. Both Swedes also achieved one third-place finish, as did Maren Kirkeeide, Dorothea Wierer and Camille Bened. On the men’s side, only Martin Uldal and Emilien Jacquelin managed to join the five winners on the podium, doing so once each.

Enter Antholz-Anterselva Sprint

Fillon Maillet, timing his golden Sprint to perfection, will feel good about his chances of defending his Beijing 2022 Pursuit title as he opens the Antholz 2026 Pursuit 13.7 seconds ahead of Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, 15.9 ahead of Sturla Holm Laegreid, 16.1 ahead of Emilien Jacquelin and 25 ahead of Sebastian Samuelsson. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (43 seconds behind), Martin Ponsiluoma (46.7 seconds behind) and Eric Perrot (although a distant 1:02.1 behind) seem strong enough on the skis to challenge. Botn’s range times (66th in the Individual, 88th in the Sprint) will most probably not cut it as he chases 58.2 seconds. Giacomel’s three misses and relatively modest skiing time by his standards, 43 seconds behind the fastest, don’t look promising.

Maren Kirkeeide, the current U23 Score leader, found reserves known only to herself as she powered through the final lap in the Sprint, erasing Oceane Michelon’s 9.2-second advantage after the second shooting, to win gold by 3.8 seconds. Lou Jeanmonnot will start 23.7 seconds behind Kirkeeide, Milena Todorova 40 seconds back, Lisa Vittozzi 40.6, Suvi Minkkinen 49.6, and the Pursuit World Champion Franziska Preuss one minute behind. Given that Jeanmonnot has eight World Cup Pursuit wins and has consistently been among the three fastest skiers at these Olympics, she must be considered the favourite.

Enter Olympic experience

Elvira Oeberg, Sebastian Samuelsson and Fillon Maillet have all won Olympic Pursuit medals. Fillon Maillet won gold and Elvira Oeberg silver at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Samuelsson claimed Pursuit silver at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Good to have in mind

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is having a nightmare season on the shooting range, with her standing accuracy hoovering at sub-par 64%. But - should she suddenly have a stable day with a riffle - she will be in the mix for her skiing speed is at an extraordinary high level.

Photo: IBU/Vianney Thibaut, Ola Wizor, Nordic Focus