Today’s sprint was the second of a three-race IBU World Cup event in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Russia swept the day in both women’s and men’s events, as Svetlana Sleptsova and Ivan Tcherezov won their respective fields.
Tcherezov shot cleanly in both stages and took the win over Domi Landertinger (AUT) by 11 seconds. In third by 42 seconds was Thomas Frei (SUI) with one penalty.
Tim Burke of the U.S. had another stellar result, placing 8th with two penalties and finishing 1:00.7 behind first. Burke was the only racer in the top ten with 2 penalties and he was just 18 seconds outside the podium. Teammate Jeremy Teela had a strong result today as well, tying for 26th place, just 19.4 seconds out of the top 10. Lowell Bailey had two penalties and finished 38th.
The top Canadian biathlete today was Jean Phillipe Leguelec, who placed 35th.
In the women’s 7.5km race Russia claimed the top two spots, as Svetlana Sleptsova and Anna Bogaliy-Titovets finished first and second. Sleptsova, who shot clean in both stages, had a 43 second lead over her teammate who had one penalty and finished 43 seconds back. In third, with two penalties, was Germany’s Magdalena Neuner.
Canada’s Zina Kocher, who has had a terrific season so far with several top-30 results, posted her best World Cup finish today in 10th place. Despite 3 penalites Kocher was just 1:43 off the winning pace.
