Winner of the sprint the day before and having left about fifteen ahead of his closest pursuer, his older brother Tarjei, Johannes Boe offered a recital to the some 23,500 spectators massed in the stands and along the loops of Oberhof: perfect shot and fast, he won with a clear lead of more than a minute.

Not without having taken the time to clench your fist before leaving the shooting range and taking a break, one knee on the ground, before crossing the finish line.

His compatriot Sturla Laegreid, also clear behind the rifle, finished 1 min 11 sec later.

Only the Swede Sebastien Samuelsson, finally almost two minutes behind Boe (+1:54. with 2 faults), prevented a new Norwegian hat-trick by narrowly depriving Tarjei Boee of third place

Norwegian Sturla Laergreid, second in pursuit, at the Worlds in Oberhof, February 12, 2023 © Christof STACHE / AFP

The youngest of the siblings is definitely out of reach.

"I felt from the first shot that it was my day, I was very calm. There is not much that could stop me today (Sunday)", he admits.

"We don't play in the same league, he's an alien, admires Laegreid. I don't think I can compare myself to him, that's why today, the silver medal is worth it. 'gold."

At the foot of a challenge never before taken up in biathlon when arriving in Oberhof, even by Ole Einar Bjoerndalen or Martin Fourcade, namely to win the four individual events in the same edition of the World Championships, Boe (29) is halfway there. -path.

The next stage, the individual, is scheduled for Tuesday, and the last, the mass start, on Sunday.

He assures him that he does not dream of a Grand Slam and that he will be "very happy (if he) wins another gold medal next week" with the Norwegian relay.

Norwegian Johannes Boe, crowned pursuit world champion, on February 12, 2023 in Oberhof © CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP

In the meantime, his record now shows six individual world titles, fifteen in total.

World Cup and Worlds confused, he has just won an eighth individual victory in a row, his thirteenth since the start of the season (in sixteen races).

New disappointment for Quentin Fillon Maillet: a shooting failure, where he committed seven faults, including three on his first lying shot, did not allow him to rank better than twelfth, more than three minutes from Boe.

The five-time Olympic medalist in 2022 started in ninth position, 1 min 09 sec behind the race leader.

Double world title holder, Émilien Jacquelin, 36th in the sprint more than two and a half minutes from Boe the day before, had decided not to start in agreement with the management of the France team.

Antonin Guigonnat finished in the top 15 (14th, 5 faults), Fabien Claude narrowly out of the top 20 (21st, 6 faults).

© 2023 AFP