By Anietie anii-bassey
Italy celebrated a landmark moment at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games on Sunday as Lisa Vittozzi captured the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in biathlon, producing a flawless performance in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit.
Roared on by a home crowd estimated at 20,000, Vittozzi hit all 20 targets across four shooting stages and crossed the finish line in 30 minutes, 11.8 seconds. As she realized what she had accomplished, she bowed toward the grandstands, pumped her fists and then collapsed onto her back in the snow, overcome by emotion.
“It’s amazing to win here in front of my family and friends,” Vittozzi said. “It was my dream, and now I have the gold medal. I will need some time to realize what I have done today. I am very happy. I am enjoying this moment, because I will remember it forever.”
The victory marked a powerful comeback for the 29-year-old, who battled a back injury last season and endured stretches of inconsistent shooting that threatened to derail her momentum. On the Olympic stage, however, she delivered under pressure, combining steady marksmanship with controlled aggression on the skis.
Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide claimed silver despite missing three targets, finishing 28.8 seconds behind Vittozzi. Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen was perfect on the range, hitting all 20 shots to secure bronze, 34.3 seconds back.
For Vittozzi, the gold added to an already successful Games. A week earlier, she teamed with Tommaso Giacomel, Lukas Hofer and Dorothea Wierer to win silver in the mixed relay. Sunday’s triumph elevated her from key contributor to national icon.
Wierer, one of Italy’s most experienced biathletes, mounted an impressive charge of her own in the pursuit. After starting 44th — 2 minutes, 12 seconds off the lead following three misses in Saturday’s sprint — she missed just one target in the pursuit and climbed to ninth place, finishing 1 minute, 30 seconds behind Vittozzi.
The pursuit format, which staggers the start based on results from the sprint, often produces dramatic swings. Athletes ski five laps, stopping four times to shoot — twice prone and twice standing. Each missed shot requires a 150-meter penalty loop, a costly detour that can quickly undo gains made on the course.
Kirkeeide, competing in her Olympic debut, acknowledged the intensity of battling for gold. “Winning a second Olympic medal is amazing,” she said. “It’s really fun to be able to race here and to be fighting for the top spot.”
The final shooting stage proved decisive. With gold within reach, Kirkeeide’s legs trembled as she took aim.
“The last shooting was really hard for me,” she said. “My legs were shaking, but I tried my best, and on the last lap, I tried to push with everything I had to be able to earn a medal.”
She admitted the pressure played a role in her two misses at the final standing stage. “Mostly the fact that I was shooting for a gold medal,” she said. “You really want to hit all the targets. Sometimes it’s not so easy.”
Minkkinen, meanwhile, executed one of the most composed races of her career. Her clean shooting kept her within striking distance throughout, and she held her form on the final lap to secure Finland’s spot on the podium.
“My goal for these Games was to win a medal,” Minkkinen said. “At the same time it’s only three athletes who get it. Then I just try to focus on doing the race I can be happy with myself afterward. Today I was able to do a perfect race so it’s an amazing feeling to really get the medal here.”
Notably absent from the podium was France, a traditional powerhouse in the sport. French contenders Oceane Michelon and Lou Jeanmonnot began the pursuit in second and third positions, respectively, but costly errors on the range ended their medal hopes. Jeanmonnot missed three shots and finished fourth, 49.4 seconds behind Vittozzi, while Michelon’s four misses left her fifth, 57.1 seconds back.
The absence of a French athlete from the podium marked the first biathlon race of these Games without a French medalist, underscoring the shifting competitive landscape.
For Italy, however, the day belonged to Vittozzi. After years of steady progress, setbacks and rebuilding, she delivered a performance defined by precision and poise. On home snow, under the weight of expectation and the noise of thousands, she achieved perfection on the range — and with it, a historic Olympic gold.
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