Oslo, Norway. Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) and Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) finished just 2.6 seconds and two places apart in the 10K Sprint yesterday afternoon.
The close proximity of the two US Biathletes is an indicator of how tightly packed the Men’s field was in this final Sprint of the World Cup season. Emile Hegle Svendsen picked up another victory, in 25:19.9, with no penalties confirming him as the sensation of the last month. Michael Roesch of Germany, also shooting clean took second, 24.5 seconds back, with Freidrich Pinter of Austria 31.1 back in third. From that point, it gets amazingly tight. Michael Greis grabbed the final podium position (8th place), 1:24 behind Svendsen.
This puts Hakkinen in 43rd with two penalties, 2:21.9 back, just 57.9 seconds from the top eight and Burke, with four penalties, 2:24.5 back, only one minute for the top eight. There were 37 finishers in the minute between Greis and Burke, demonstrating how closely matched the top biathletes are. Lowell Bailey, after a bout with food poisoning last week finished 62nd, with three penalties, 2:47.3 back.
Both the athletes and organizers were thrilled that the competitions actually occurred today. Oslo has experienced spring-like conditions all week, with heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday, combined with temperatures well above freezing. The warm temperatures are normal for this time of year, but the excessive rain caused big problems. The most obvious was the deteriorating snow conditions, turning the tracks into slush with ice well below the surface. The second issue was the buildup of water in the stadium and shooting range. The Holmenkollen stadium is built into the side of a mountain (solid rock), with a poor drainage system. Thus, the rain built up on top of the snow, which became ice and could not drain away naturally. The coaches box and whole range area was covered with large puddles alternating with patches of wet sloppy snow. On Wednesday, Norbert Baier, Chairman of the IBU Technical Committee commented, “”It could hardly be more difficult. We are trying to put in drainages in the stadium to get the water out.â€
At the same time, Austria’s Christoph Sumann: “I’ve never seen anything like it. I have no idea how competitions could be possible here tomorrow, especially with the women running before us in the Sprint that means a few hundred pairs of skis on the same course that we are supposed to use later. It’s crazy.â€
