Freed Hits Personal Best in First Individual Olympic Race

The individual is one of biathlon’s most unforgiving disciplines: 15 kilometers of racing where every missed target adds a full minute to an athlete’s time. It’s a true test of resilience, demanding not only speed on skis but perfection on the range. First-time Olympian Margie Freed rose to the occasion, delivering a personal best 21st place finish while shooting an outstanding 19 for 20, her best-ever four-stage shooting performance to date.

After her finish, Freed said: “I have a lot of friends and family here who I know would support me no matter what, but I wanted to give them a show today!”. And she did just that. 

Teammate Deedra Irwin, who currently holds the best-ever Olympic finish by an American biathlete in history with her seventh place result from Beijing 2022, placed two U.S. women in the top 35 in today’s race, finishing 34th, despite three misses on the range. To put the individual race in perspective, if Irwin hadn’t missed those three targets, she would have earned herself a silver medal. Nevertheless, a stellar day on skis for the 33-year-old, holding the 18th-fastest ski time of the day in the field of 90. 

Joanne Reid, in her first individual race in nearly three years, raced to 68th, missing four targets on the day. Lucinda Anderson, in her Olympic debut, stumbled on the range, missing eight targets, but showcased her ski speed on course, holding the 27th overall ski time of the day. 

The women’s individual podium saw a French 1-2 with Julia Simon winning the first individual gold for France, and Lou Jeanmonnot racing to silver. Bulgaria’s Lora Hristova stunned the crowd with a perfect 20 for 20 on the range to secure bronze.