Michelin wins from Simon as France rule; Wierer and Preuss retire
· Yahoo Sports
Oceane Michelin roared from fourth place after the final shooting to her biggest career success in the form of Olympic mass start gold ahead of team-mate Julia Simon from the dominant French team on Saturday.
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Czech surprise skier Tereza Vobornikova had led after the fourth trip to the shooting range but Michelin was only eight seconds back in fourth and fought back to get her first individual gold.
Simon missed a fourth Games gold by 6.6 seconds and Vobornikova, who had never been better than fifth in a World Cup race, took bronze.
Michelin delivers on biggest stage
Michelin, who is yet to top a World Cup race, won despite two penalty loops as the fastest skier. Simon and Vobornikova had one missed target each.
"It was just amazing. I’m very happy with this race, This is the fruit of a big job, a team job and I want to thank all the people who helped me with my biathlon and improve my biathlon," Michelin said.
Simon said she didn't have the strength to challenge for gold on the last lap but was delighted with her overall performance.
"Incredible. Before coming here, I had a goal to win a gold medal in the women’s relay, and I hoped for a medal in the individual races, but I leave with four medals. It is amazing," she said.
It was a fitting finale for the French team which dominated the Olympic events with six gold, four silver and three bronze from 11 races.
Wierer and Preuss bid farewell
Italian great Dorothea Wierer and German icon Franziska Preuss finished fifth and 28th respectively in their last career races, and bid farewell with a joint lap of honour post-race.
Both won world titles and the overall World Cup but never an Olympic gold. But Wierer got mixed relay silver and Preuss bronze in their last Games.
"It is really special. This is the place where I started shooting for the first time. I have the first memories here, and just to quit here, with so many good races I have done in the past years, is crazy," Wierer said.
"All this affection from the fans means more than a medal. It means that maybe I have done something good in this world, and it's a nice life experience."
Preuss said she was not bothered by another seven missed targets as she won't have to worry about her shooting any more.
"It is something special to end my career at an Olympic Games," she told broadcaster ARD.
"I was relaxed after the first miss. The result didn't matter. I just wanted to soak it all up. And that's what I did, it was a cool ending."
Team-mate Vanessa Voigt missed the last target to drop out of medal contention and finish seventh. Just one medal from the mixed relay is Germany's worst Olympic showing since the women joined the men at the Games in 1992.
France's Oceane Michelon celebrates at the finish line after the finish line of the Biathlon Women's 12.5km Mass Start at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa