JT Boe Seals Season Sprint Sweep with Oslo Victory

Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe finished this afternoon’s Olso Holmenkollen men’s 10 km sprint exactly like finished every other sprint this season, in first place. Today’s one-penalty, wire-to-wire win in 25:13 gave the man wearing the Yellow/Red Bib sprint victory number eight for a clean sweep of the 2022/23 BMW IBU World Cup season. As has been the case all season, once JT set the bar after the standing stage, no one was able to come close to his stunning ski speed on the last loop; this time adding 16 seconds to his lead, guaranteeing victory.

Eight Sprint Wins “Crazy”

JT was elated with his unique sprint sweep, smiling and relaxed, “That is crazy! I mean eight wins in the sprint…It is my favorite distance but eight out of eight is crazy!”

Last win “a mental fight”

The Norwegian star admitted that the road to this last sprint win of the season was not easy. “It was a mental fight to aim for one more. I really wanted to try and then Covid came and set me a little bit back. It did not look like that today. I felt good and I am just glad it worked out and I am able to race the final races.”

Regarding his seventeenth win of the season, JT added, “My mindset is very strong. I am aiming for a victory in every race and that helps me a lot on the track. When you are tired you just push hard and hopefully take the win.”

Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma shot clean in second place, 23.9 seconds back. Germany’s Benedikt Doll also shot clean in third place, 28.9 seconds back.

Latvia’s Andrej’s Rastorgujevs with one penalty finished in a season-best fourth place, 46.5 seconds back. JT’s teammate and second in the World Cup Total Score Sturla Holm Laegreid shot clean in fifth place, 48 seconds back. Doll’s teammate Johannes Kuehn shot clean in sixth place, 55.9 seconds back.

BMW IBU World Cup 9 Oslo Holmenkollen Men's 10 km Sprint

Globes to JT, Vetle and Norwegian men’s team

After the undefeated season, JT obviously took home the World Cup Sprint Score crystal globe for the third time in his career. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen also received his globe for the World Cup Individual Score today, with the Norwegian men’s team also gathering on the podium to accept the World Cup Nations Cup globe.

Good conditions: fast clean prone stages

Holmenkollen greeted the last men’s sprint of the season with overcast skies, -1C and swirling winds on the shooting range, as well as excellent track conditions after recent snowfall left the venue covered in a fresh layer of winter white. The wind was not a big issue as Laegreid opened the day for the favorites with a clean prone stage. Doll after his big clean-shooting win in Oestersund, matched Laegreid, as did Rastorgujevs, who was two seconds faster than both of his rivals.

JT’s Road Back

A week off from competition changed nothing for JT; he cleaned prone sixteen seconds faster than anyone else. He described the road back to the top. “The Covid was not so hard on me. I felt healthy after one day; I took five days off and had two days with negative tests before I started to train very slowly. I trained slowly and crossed my fingers that the shape would be good. I could have travelled to Oestersund but with the cold weather there, it was not the best for the lungs. With Covid you never know, so I took some extra days off to get ready for here.”

Clean Standing Shooting

Laegreid made it a perfect day by cleaning standing and moving atop the leaderboard. Doll went to 10-for-10, just 5 seconds slower than Laegreid. Rastorgujevs missed his last shot but went out third. JT came to standing with a big lead that he squandered part of, with a penalty loop. Still, he left for the last loop with a 16-second gap on the field. Ponsiluoma, after the third fastest prone time, cleaned standing, leaving only 7 seconds behind the Yellow/Red Bib.

Ponsiluoma’s clean shooting was a breakthrough, his first clean slate of the season. “I have been struggling with zero shooting so I am really happy to make it in the last sprint. The sprint is my favorite race…Skiing has been good all season; (now) shooting has been better and better after Christmas.” After a perfect shooting day, Doll with a stunning last loop, left standing five seconds behind Laegreid, the German finished 21 seconds faster than the Norwegian. As usual, JT had an excellent last loop, pushing his 16-second lead to 32 seconds at the finish for a 2022/23 season sprint sweep. Ponsiluoma faded in the last loop, but held on to second, crossing ahead of Doll, setting the podium.

Self-confident Doll

Doll thinks everything has finally fallen together in the last couple of weeks after the disappointment of not medaling at the IBU World Championships. “In the sprint, clean shooting is important. At the moment I feel really self-confident at the shooting range. It started in Oestersund; it feels easy to shoot and a lot of fun. When you have good skis, it is easier to shoot and when you have good shooting, you are more motivated on the tracks. Today, I combined everything again."

Fotos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Igor Stančík