KHANTY-MANSIYSK, Russia (AP) — Tarjei Boe overtook Michael Greis on the final leg Thursday to give Norway the gold medal ahead of Germany in the mixed relay on the opening day of the biathlon World Championships.
Boe was 24 seconds behind Greis when he took over from Ole Einar Bjoerndalen on the final exchange but pulled away after the prone shooting.
The Norwegian team that also included Tora Berger and Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland finished the race in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 22.5 seconds. Germany, which also included Andrea Henkel, Magdalena Neuner and Arnd Peiffer was 22.9 seconds behind.
France rallied past Sweden on the last leg to take third, 1:16.2 behind the winner.
Berger put Norway in the lead after the first leg but Neuner shot clean and skied fast to give Peiffer a 24-second advantage over Norway after the women's part of the race.
"Tora ran a perfect leg. She managed give us the advantage over Germany and it was important for us," Bjoerndalen said. "Then Flatland didn't allow Neuner to run far away. I skied well in my leg but made mistakes at shooting ranges. Boe then was fantastic."
Greis, a three-time Olympic champion, missed two targets on the prone shooting and Boe shot clean to leave the range 3 seconds ahead of the German. Both missed a target from the standing position but Boe was the faster skier and gradually pulled away.
On the final leg, Martin Fourcade shot clean to overtake Carl Johan Bergman of Sweden and secure France its third consecutive podium in the mixed relay events this season. The world championships races also count toward the World Cup standings.
Russia's Svetlana Sleptsova left the host team without a chance after she missed six targets and ran two penalty loops to be 21st at the first exchange. Her teammates then advanced to finish sixth but more then three minutes behind the winner.
The championships continue Saturday with sprint races.
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