Biathlon legend Bjørndalen earns 20km World Cup title in Östersund

Ole Einar Bjørndalen earned the men's 20km title in Ostersund ©IBU

Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen earned the first individual title of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season by winning the men’s individual 20 kilometre event in Östersund, Sweden.

The biathlon legend, winner of eight Olympic and 19 world titles in a stunning career, was one of 30 men to shoot clear in the first prone stage of the event, but countryman Tarjei Boe posted the fastest time at the first checkpoint.

A penalty, though, saw his challenge falter, with 27-year-old being replaced at the head of the race by Germany’s Simon Schempp, who produced a fearsome pace as he looked to build a commanding advantage over his rivals.

Austria’s Dominik Landertinger and the Norwegian pairing of Emil Hegle Svendsen and Bjørndalen, however, remained in contention for podium finishes after posting impressive times at the midway point of the race.

Bjørndalen benefited from having a later start time and was handed a boost when Schempp missed his final target at the second race, which saw him receive a penalty.

The vastly experienced 41-year-old, given special permission by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to concentrate on his career despite being elected as a member of IOC Athletes' Commission last year, took full advantage of the mistake and shot clean to take over as race leader.

Bjørndalen built an unassailable lead over the field and finished in a time of 50min 14.50sec to claim gold, with Schempp ending 27.10 seconds adrift in second.

Simon Schempp had to settle for second place in Sweden ©Getty Images

It marked the first time since 2005 that Bjørndalen had shot clean at each stage of the 20km race and he admitted afterwards he had been confident of a good race ahead of the event.

“I felt strong before the start, I did not think about winning but knew I could have a good race,” he said.

“I was really calm, but you can never be sure of the win until the finish.

“I have lost a couple of races on the last downhill here, so I was careful not to fall."

Russia’s Alexey Volkov completed the podium, ending the competition without accruing any penalties, with his time of 50:52.70 seeing him finish more than a minute clear of Svendsen.

The World Cup is set to continue tomorrow with the women’s 15km individual competition.