ZHANGJAIKOU, China >> Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway moved ahead of his French and Russian rivals in the final meters of the mixed relay to take gold today in the first biathlon race of the Beijing Olympics.

Boe, Quentin Fillon Maillet of France and Eduard Latypov of the Russian team left the range close together after the last round of shooting and raced for position until the final stretch, when Boe sprinted for the win.

Norway, which came into the relay as the World Cup leader, also got strong performances from Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and Tarjei Boe. But they trailed early in the race when Tiril Eckhoff struggled on the range.

Fillon Maillet was joined on the French team by Emilien Jacquelin, Julia Simon and Anais Chevalier-Bouchet. The Russian team of Latypov, Uliana Nigmatullina, Kristina Reztsova and Alexander Loginov was leading after the last hand-off but failed hold on.

Temperatures hovered around minus-16 degrees C (3.2 degrees F) and a steady wind blasted the skiers as they worked their way around the 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) course.

Sweden, Germany and Belarus followed the front three to the line while the United States came in seventh.