Kirkeeide of Norway wins Olympic biathlon sprint in her debut

Maren Kirkeeide of Norway won the women's 7.5-kilometre biathlon sprint in her Olympic debut, shooting clean and finishing in 20 minutes, 40.8 seconds; France's Oceane Michelon was second and Lou Jeanmonnot third.

Maren Kirkeeide of Norway won the women's 7.5-kilometre biathlon sprint at the Milan Cortina Winter Games in Anterselva, Italy, marking her Olympic debut. She hit all 10 targets and completed the race in 20 minutes, 40.8 seconds. The race took place in snowy conditions and featured skiers starting at 30-second intervals. The sprint is the shortest biathlon discipline and sets the starting order for the pursuit race. Race details: - Kirkeeide shot 10-for-10 and finished in 20:40.8 to take gold. - Oceane Michelon of France also shot clean and finished 3.8 seconds behind Kirkeeide in second place. - Lou Jeanmonnot missed one shot and finished third, 23.7 seconds back; she has been on the podium in each race she entered earlier at these Games. - Julia Simon missed two standing shots and finished 34th, 1 minute 55.8 seconds behind the winner. - Elvira Oeberg and Dorothea Wierer missed multiple shots and finished 27th and 44th, respectively. - Marte Olsbu Røiseland, the previous sprint champion, has retired and did not compete. Summary: Kirkeeide's clean sprint victory gives her the lead position heading into the pursuit, which uses sprint time gaps to set start order. Only the top 60 finishers in the sprint advance to the pursuit, which is scheduled for Sunday.