Medals update: Sweden wins first women's 4x6km relay gold in Beijing 2022 biathlon

The Swedish team spearheaded by sisters Hanna and Elvira Oeberg raced to their first women’s 4x6km relay gold medal in the Beijing 2022 biathlon competition on Wednesday (16 February).

The quartet of the Oebergs, Linn Persson, and Mona Brorsson took the lead at the last exchange to claim victory in a time of 1:11:03.9, adding to the silver Sweden won in the event in PyeongChang 2018. They finished 12 seconds ahead of the ROC, who had a hand on the gold medal in the second leg of the race. Germany rounded out the podium, winning the bronze in 1:11:41.3.

The 22-year-old Elvira Oeberg won her third medal of these Games, adding to the silvers she won in the women’s sprint and pursuit. Older sister Hanna now has three Olympic medals to her name after winning gold in the pursuit and the women’s relay four years ago. Persson and Brorsson were part of the team that won silver in the women's relay in PyeongChang.

"I really felt before today that I didn't want to be the only one coming home with a medal," Elvira Oeberg said. "I really wanted to share it with someone else and now I got to ski over the finish line and deliver a gold for us and this is really a team effort. It's so incredible.

The consistent quartet

The lead changed hands multiple times between Germany, Sweden and the ROC, with Italy also challenging for the podium early on in the race.

Consistency ultimately paid off for Sweden, with Hanna Oeberg going into the final exchange with a seven-second lead over Italy's Samuela Comola. The younger Oeberg added interest to their advantage, making no mistake in the prone and exited the standing section hitting all the targets with six shots.

"It's a special place to be in, in the front of an Olympic relay in the final leg," said Elvira Oeberg. "They couldn't have given me a better starting position, so I really tried today to focus on my own race and just do like I normally do in a sprint, for example, just do my thing. I'm really, really proud that I managed to keep it together. It's a special situation to be in."

Women’s 4x6km relay results:

1- Sweden – 1:11:03.9

2- ROC – 1:11:15.9

3- Germany – 1:11:41.3