Johan-Olav Botn won the sprint at the summer biathlon championships on roller skis in Otepää, Estonia, on Saturday morning. The Norwegian hit 8 of 10 targets and stopped the clock at 25:13.3. Teammate Einar Hedegart finished second in 25:53.1, 39.8 seconds back, and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen was third in 25:59.0.
Reports differ on the name of the event. Langrenn.com calls it the open Estonian championships, listing the results as the "Summer Biathlon Open Estonian Championship 2026". Ski-nordique.net also refers to the Estonian championships. NRK, however, calls the race the Baltic championship in roller-ski biathlon.
Two misses, still clear
Botn missed two targets but still won by almost 40 seconds, ski-nordique.net reported. According to Langrenn.com, he was "in a class of his own" in the sprint and won by more than half a minute. NRK wrote that nobody could do anything about him.
Christiansen also shot 8/10. NRK put him six seconds behind Hedegart, and ski-nordique.net said he was 45 seconds off Botn's time.
Norway takes the top five
Norwegian athletes took every place from first to fifth:
BiathlonFrance biathlon: Seven men fight for five World Cup spots in Geilo- 1. Johan-Olav Botn (NOR), 8/10, 25:13.3
- 2. Einar Hedegart (NOR), 7/10, 25:53.1
- 3. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen (NOR), 8/10, 25:59.0
- 4. Ole Tafjord Suhrke (NOR), 7/10, 26:13.0
- 5. Isak Leknes Frey (NOR), 8/10, 26:14.0
Johannes Dale finished 15th after five misses. Martin Uldal and Sturla Holm Lægreid did not race, ski-nordique.net noted.
Hedegart beats national-team athletes
Langrenn.com called it an especially good day for Hedegart. The 25-year-old won two golds and a bronze in cross-country skiing at the Milano Cortina Olympics. After the season he decided to commit to biathlon and joined the Norwegian federation's recruit team. In Otepää he hit 7 of 10 targets and, according to NRK, beat several national-team athletes. Ski-nordique.net wrote that Hedegart is starting to silence the sceptics.
A test at the World Championships venue
The Norwegian team has spent the whole week at a training camp in Otepää and used the championships as a race test. Langrenn.com said the race gave them a chance to test their form against some of the world's best. Otepää will host the World Championships this coming winter and, according to Langrenn.com, is notorious for difficult wind conditions.
