16:22
Swede is flying in
How does the distance behave on the route? In the interim ranking at kilometer 8.8 the lead is just ten seconds. Samuelsson comes flying in from behind. Tarjei Bø’s deficit, however, remains the same.
4:20 p.m
(Preliminary) decision postponed
This time it’s Sebastian Samuelsson who gives chase. The Swede hits all the targets and is one of the strongest runners in the entire field. His solid lead shrinks to 16.8 seconds. In third place, Tarjei Bø stays on the ball. He is also 19 seconds more than in the race. Everything points to a decision in the final shooting.
16:19
A mistake by Nawrath
The other athletes still have to go over the timing before Philipp Nawrath is already back in the stadium. Shooting from a standing position for the first time. Let’s go! He takes a lot of time before the first shot, but then the cartridge sits. This time it’s the third shot that eludes him. Where the target fell just short during prone shooting, Nawrath now has to do a lap. But the lead should easily be enough.
16:17
Nawrath so far without any errors
So far the German has had a perfect race. After ten hits, he doesn’t back down on the cross-country ski trail and puts another three seconds between himself and the Norwegians.
16:16
The lead is getting bigger
The Swede Samuelsson misses another target and goes into the penalty loop. The beneficiary of this is Tarjei Bø, who is now a small distance behind. But there are now 40 seconds on the leader. Vebjørn Sørum moves back up to third place. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen works his way up to fourth place. With a clean slate after ten shooters, Strelow has already gained five positions. Sebastian Stalder, on the other hand, falls behind. Two shooting errors mean 17th place in the interim ranking.
16:13
The second shooting
Once again Philipp Nawrath arrives at the shooting range lonely and abandoned. Things get down to business one last time in the prone position. The fourth shot is a marginal hit and the German is lucky that the target falls. But it can continue like this. He pulls away with zero mistakes before his pursuers even turn into the shooting range.
16:12
The skis are running
Even before the second shooting, Philipp Nawrath doesn’t let up on track. At kilometer 4.6 he keeps the distance to Tarjei Bø and Sebastian Samuelsson at 34 seconds. Fabien Claude can’t quite keep up on the track and loses a little more than 10 seconds.
4:10 p.m
Stalder strong
Sebastian Stalder also got through without any problems and moved up to seventh place. Johannes Kühn also remains error-free. Benedikt Doll gives up a bit because he has to do a penalty lap. He ranks 13th behind his teammate Strelow. The best Austrian is Simon Eder in 24th place.
16:06
Persecutors disperse
Now all eyes are on the pursuers. Only Tarjei Bø remains clean and is allowed to leave the shooting range without a penalty. The Norwegian returns to the second lap 31.5 seconds behind Nawrath. He is followed by Fabien Claude, who also puts all the targets in white.
16:04
Nawrath pulls through
Philipp Nawrath arrives at the shooting range alone. How well does he cope with these unfamiliar conditions? The first hit is right! And he also fires the other four shots right in the middle and knocks down all the targets. In doing so, he asserts his leadership before the others have even been able to fire a bullet.
16:03
Nawrath tackles it quickly
Philipp Nawrath sets the pace! He was able to increase his lead over the Norwegians to 25.3 seconds within the first 1.3 kilometers. Behind them a chasing trio of Tarjei Bø, Vebjørn Sørum and Sebastian Samuelsson has formed.
16:02
Early start Johannes Thingnes Bø
What was that? Johannes Thingnes Bø wanted to leave too early, noticed this immediately and turned back. Let’s wait and see whether this early start will have any consequences for the Norwegian.
16:01
There are 12.5 kilometers
The biathletes have to complete a total of 12.5 kilometers today. Two athletes, including Roman Rees, had to withdraw from the competition.
4:00 p.m
Let’s go!
Dinner is served! Philipp Nawrath is the first to get onto the track and is alone there for 19 seconds. Only then can Tarjei Bø leave. A second later, Vebjørn Sørum is already stuck to the ends of his skis and the two of them will probably work together to narrow the gap. If you’re still looking for Johannes Thingnes Bø, you’re not getting along particularly well with the fluorine-free skis. He starts the competition in 18th place, 1:35 minutes behind the German.
15:54
The main pursuers
But Philipp Nawrath will certainly have to look backwards quickly, because many top-class Norwegians are flying in from there. Above all, Tarjei Bø wants to quickly catch up with the Germans. Vebjørn Sørum follows in third place. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal and Endre Strømsheim come onto the track after 47 and 48 seconds respectively. The strong runner from Sweden, Sebastian Samuelsson, also slipped in between. Driven by the home fans, the local hero wants to catch up by 27 seconds.
3:48 p.m
Austrians have to fight
The Austrians don’t have a lot of things coming together in Östersund. Felix Leitner qualified as the best sprinter in 26th place for today’s pursuit race. David Komatz and Simon Eder surround the Swiss Finello in starting positions 34 and 36. All three are let out of the starting house within three seconds. The team is completed by 25-year-old Magnus Oberhauser in 40th place.
3:42 p.m
All hopes rest on Stalder
Sebastian Stalder is currently in the best early form in the Swiss team. He finished the sprint in 12th place and was allowed to take to the track exactly one minute after Philipp Nawrath. Niklas Hartweg, on the other hand, is still struggling a bit with his form. Not everything fits together for him yet, so from rank 50 he can almost only move forward. In between there is Justin Finello, who will start the pursuit in 35th place.
3:34 p.m
Hunted Nawrath in the yellow jersey
Similar to the women, the men are also very strong this winter. After Roman Rees took part in the sprint in the yellow jersey, today it is Philipp Nawrath who can put on the yellow jersey. For the first time in his career, the 30-year-old was able to celebrate a victory and it was enough to put him at the top of the World Cup. But that’s not all. Justus Strelow is second overall in the World Cup and Roman Rees is third, one point behind. Rees will most likely not be able to keep this place because he will have to sit out due to illness. Nawrath will be the first to sprint out of the starting block, followed from a German perspective by Johannes Kühn (8th) with 57 seconds and Benedikt Doll (10th) with 59 seconds behind. Justus Strelow has 1:17 minutes to catch up in 15th place and last but not least David Zobel can still get there in 30th place.
3:25 p.m
Welcome
Good day and welcome to the men’s pursuit race in Östersund, Sweden. After the women have already presented, the men want to follow up with an exciting race from 4 p.m.