Intentional or accidental?

“Victory stolen!” Excitement about crash in Antholz

Hanna Öberg(Bild: GEPA)

Excitement at the women's biathlon relay in Antholz! Sweden's Hanna Öberg stepped on the skis of her Norwegian opponent Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold shortly before the home straight and her pole caught Tandrevold between the legs - a fall was the result, Öberg won in the end.

After 4x6 kilometers, a duel between Sweden and Norway emerged. The final skiers Öberg and Tandrevold were in a neck-and-neck race - which ended dramatically.

Both increased the pace, Öberg started an overtaking maneuver before the last bend and unfortunately drove into Tandrevold's skis, her pole also got caught between the Norwegian's legs. The four-time world champion crashed, had to give up the victory and Öberg sealed the Swedish triumph without any further resistance (1:07.26.0 minutes/0 penalty laps+6 reloads).

Here is the dramatic scene in the video:

Swede apologizes
"I am so, so sorry for Ingrid. I feel really bad. I never wanted to bring her down on purpose," Öberg apologized on the Eurosport microphone after the race. "I didn't want to win like that."

On X, the fans' emotions ran high. "Öberg stole the victory from her. Shame on her," raged one user.

Tandrevold herself took it surprisingly sportingly: "We're getting a bit too close. It's hard to say whose fault it is. I can get annoyed, but it's rare that I get really angry. The others gave me a great starting position. I really wanted to serve us a win and I had the feeling that it was really within reach," she told the Norwegian broadcaster "NRK".

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold was disappointed at the finish.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

ÖSV biathletes in 14th place
The Austrian team of Tamara Steiner, Anna Gandler, Anna Juppe and Anna Andexer finished in 14th place with two penalties.

The highlight of the season for the biathletes is the World Championships from February 12 to 23 in Lenzerheide (Switzerland).