OSLO, Norway (AP) Biathlon is a sport combining skiing and shooting, but French star Martin Fourcade proved Sunday you can win without any ammunition at all.
Fourcade, widely considered among the best biathletes in history with six straight World Cup titles, blundered ahead of Sunday's mass start race when he forgot to load his magazines.
When he discovered his error at the first shooting stage, a frantic scramble by French coaches and Fourcade's brother Simon ensued in an effort to supply him with ammunition.
The unorthodox plan paid off as Fourcade won the race as the only man not to miss a single shot. Still, it needed an International Biathlon Union ruling to dispel any doubts that Fourcade could not be disqualified for accepting the rounds mid-race.
Fourcade's win in the last race of the season meant he added the mass start discipline title to his overall World Cup honors. He beat Latvian Andrejs Rastogujevs into second place by 17.4 seconds, with Austrian Simon Eder third, 15 seconds further back.
Gabriela Koukalova won the biathlon World Cup mass start title on Sunday after coming second to Tiril Eckhoff in the last women's race of the season.
Czech Koukalova crossed the line 22.6 seconds behind Norway's Eckhoff, with Kaisa Makarainen of Finland third, 34.5 seconds off the lead.
Laura Dahlmeier, the overall World Cup winner, was leading the mass start standings ahead of Sunday's race, but a ninth-place finish meant the German ended up nine points behind Koukalova.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.