Ole Einar Bjorndalen moved Norway from 16th to first on the second leg of the men's World Cup relay, and then Emil Hegle Svendsen sealed the deal with strong shooting on the anchor leg. It was a rematch of a previous race where he faltered and allowed Russia's Dmitry Malyshko to take over - but today Malyshko made the mistakes. Sweden placed second.
Norway, Russia, Germany, France: it's hard to see a biathlon race where these guys aren't on the podium. Here's what you need to know about the biggest teams going into the 2013-2014 season - injury updates, shooting problems, psychological battles, promising juniors, team-naming squabbles. Read on.
Andrea Henkel of Germany vanquished Norway's Tora Berger for a second straight win at the "season start" biathlon races in Norway. But the home team had its revenge in the men's race, where Ole Einar Bjørndalen led a 1-4 sweep and Norway placed nine men in the top 12.
Sjusjøen, Norway, is hosting "Sesongstartskiskyting": opening races for the international biathlon season. Most European national teams were in attendance, and Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen and Germany's Andrea Henkel took home the wins in Saturday's sprints.
After blunders in Saturday's pursuit, Martin Fourcade of France was back to his winning ways in the mass start, and has become the first man since Raphael Poiree to sweep all of the crystal globes. American Tim Burke was in the pack fighting for second, but despite pushing Emil Hegle Svendsen to his absolute limit had to settle for fourth by just 0.3 seconds.
The 2013 IBU World Championships represent one of the best ever performances by the Madshus team athletes. No less than nine medals – eight gold and one bronze – were secured on the new Madshus REDLINE skate skis and Super Nano Ski boots.
Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen is off to one heck of a start at Biathlon World Champs with three wins in as many races. Brian Gregg found similar success in two out of three races over the long weekend, and Sophie Caldwell made the Scando Cup podium in a skate sprint.
Photos from the men's 12.5 k pursuit.
When Martin Fourcade used a formidable uphill sprint to take the lead with a kilometer to go, it looked like Emil Hegle Svendsen was out of the picture, relegated to silver. But the Norwegian somehow managed to drag himself back onto Fourcade's tails and slingshot around him into the finishing lanes, then win one of the closest World Championships photo finishes in recent memory.
Although he said he wasn't thinking about last year, when Martin Fourcade of France bested him in race after race and took home three World Championships titles, Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway certainly seemed like he was on a mission, notching the fastest ski time to earn his second gold in Nove Mesto.
In the timespan of just two seasons, Nove Mesto has transformed itself from a ho-hum IBU Cup venue to an exhilarating superstadium for biathlon - one where, as several athletes claim, the fans are even louder and more enthusiastic than those at the traditional capitals of Ruhpolding and Oberhof in Germany.
While Norway had seldom a worry en route to another mixed relay title, France and the Czech Republic capitalized on a late-stage meltdown by Russia's Dmitry Malyshko to earn their spots on the podium. The Czech medal was especially exciting to the home crowd, and the racers struggled to express how special the moment was.
After romping to a win in the sprint on Saturday, Martin Fourcade of France had to work far harder on Sunday, draining his reserves to outsprint Dmitry Malyshko at the end of the 15 k mass start. Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway staged an impressive comeback from two penalties to take third; Tim Burke was 17th in his first race back from illness.
Martin Fourcade celebrated vocifericously at the finish of today's World Cup sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany, but he clearly didn't expect Andriy Makoveev of Russia to make a late charge from bib 95. While Makoveev didn't get the win, he did make it onto the podium, placing third behind teammate Evgeniy Ustyugov.
The Russian men continued their exceptional weekend in Oberhof, with Dmitry Malyshko shooting perfectly and winning the pursuit unchallenged. Evgeniy Garanichev made up for his singly penalty and placed second, repeating his own finish from the sprint.
After anchoring the Russian relay team past Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen, Dmitry Malyshko picked up his first individual World Cup win in the sprint in Oberhof today. Russia put four men in the top six, thanks to a good team atmosphere and a strong service team. Svendsen was relegated to third.
Friday's World Cup relay turned into a barnburner in Oberhof, with Emil Hegle Svendsen desperately trying to make up nine seconds on Dmitri Malyshko in the final 2.5 kilometer on the newly-salted tracks. The Russian held strong, though, and gave his team the victory.
Tim Burke (USA) has not only recovered from his compartment syndrome scare two winters ago, but he has also finally regained his confidence after having surgery. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) won the mass start, but Burke was on the podium for the first time since 2010.
After erratic shooting kept him from his usual spot on the podium all season, Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway used calm and focus to best Martin Fourcade in the final stage of today's 12.5 pursuit in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Jakov Fak (SLO) earned his first regular-season victory last weekend in Hochfilzen, Austria, and on Thursday in Pokljuka, Slovenia, he built off that success in front of a home crowd. His slim 0.8-second win in the 10 k sprint over Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen was the first World Cup victory Slovenia has ever seen on home soil.