Laegreid Wins Biathlon Sprint Globe in Dramatic Tie-Break

Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid secured his first World Cup Sprint Crystal Globe on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Oslo, adding to a remarkable run of success that includes four consecutive individual victories.

Laegreid finished the 10km sprint in 25:21.4, besting France’s Emilien Jacquelin by 3.9 seconds, with one penalty. Eric Perrot of France finished third, 4.6 seconds behind the leader, also with one penalty.

The win allowed Laegreid to overtake Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson in the sprint standings, tying him on 356 points but claiming the globe due to having more victories this season. Samuelsson finished seventh in the race.

“It’s incredibly bitter,” Samuelsson told Swedish television station SVT, expressing his disappointment at losing the globe.

Laegreid celebrated his achievement, noting the tiebreaker advantage. “This represents the best possible way to win, to have the same number of points but get it on a higher number of victories,” he said to NRK television.

Norwegian teammates Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen and Johan-Olav Botn also had strong showings, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

Laegreid recalled a similar situation from a few years prior, when he edged out Samuelsson for the title of best biathlete under 25. “Even then, Sebastian led until the last race, in which I overtook him. It feels similar now. I won’t hide that it tastes highly sweet,” he said.

Both athletes finished with 356 points in the sprint competition. Swedish television expert Björn Ferry lamented Samuelsson’s misfortune, saying, “It’s incredibly unlucky.” His colleague, Ola Bränholm, added, “I almost wish someone else had finished ahead of him, so at least they wouldn’t have had the same number of points.”

Samuelsson missed out on the opportunity to develop into the first Swede in history to win a discipline title, as Mikael Löfgren won the overall World Cup in 1993, before discipline-specific trophies were awarded. He also forfeited a prize of 14,000 euros, approximately 350,000 Czech Koruna.

“It’s incredibly frustrating and sad,” Samuelsson said, visibly upset after the race. “I went to change. I believe he’s really angry. It’s incredibly unlucky that it all comes down to one single placement,” said Martin Ponsiluoma, offering support to his teammate.

Laegreid promised his national team teammates a celebratory reward. “Of course, there will be extra beer on Sunday. The bar will be open at my expense,” he said, hinting at a post-race celebration.