Isak Leknes Frey anchored the Norwegian men, and Gillone Guigonnat the French women, to Relay victories on the final day of the IBU Open European Championships in Sjusjoen. Frey won his sixth gold medal at the Open European Championships, tying him with Tomasz Sikora, Alexei Volkov, and Erlend Bjørntegaard as an all-time record holder.

Frey anchors Norway to gold

Frey, winning his fourth medal at the Open European Championships in Sjusjoen, anchored Norway (S. Gerhardsen, K. Kalkenberg, M. Nevland) to victory in the Relay in 1:17:08.4. Norway completed the race with one penalty loop and eight spare rounds. Powered by a phenomenal Leonhard Pfund and posting the fastest team skiing time, Germany (E. Seidl, S. Kaiser, D. Riethmueller), despite 2+10, finished second, 6.5 seconds behind Norway. France (A. Guigonnat, D. Levet, G. Paturel, V. Lejeune), locked in a direct battle with Norway until the final shooting, claimed the bronze medal, 55.2 seconds behind the winners, after skiing one penalty loop and using 13 spare rounds.

Frey finished the Open European Championships with two gold and two silver medals, more than any other athlete.

Guigonnat clinches gold for France

In a more closely contested battle than anticipated, France (C. Henaff, V. Galmace-Paulin, S. Chauveau, G. Guigonnat) claimed the gold medal in the Relay in 1:12:53.1, using eight spare rounds. Germany (M. Braun, H. Kebinger, J. Kink, M. Fichtner), with nine spare rounds, finished second, 16.6 seconds behind. Norway (E. Kalkenberg, K. Erdal, J. Arnekleiv, G. Ytterhus), also with eight spare rounds, secured the bronze medal, 56.0 seconds behind France.

Gillone Guigonnat completed a stellar Championships with gold medals in the Sprint, Pursuit and Relay.

France won five gold medals as the most decorated nation in Sjusjoen.

Photo: M. Nordnes: IBU Photo Pool