Emil Hegle Svendsen, the third-winningest man in World Cup history, said earlier this year that he was losing motivation for biathlon. Well, with perfect 20/20 shooting and a monster win in Östersund, Sweden, he's remembering exactly what he loves about the sport: winning.
The 2014 Olympics in Sochi were an unmitigated disaster for German cross country skiing and biathlon. We look back on why, using our own observations and a 235-page Germany Olympic committee analysis of the country's performance in Sochi. With problems identified, the question becomes: what about now?
Martin Fourcade used his blazing ski speed to win his second biathlon gold of the Games. But silver medalist Erik Lesser did something more personal: he repaid his grandfather Axel, a cross-country skier, who was in second place in the 1976 Olympics before colliding with a spectator and withdrawing from the race. Evgeniy Garanichev of Russia, meanwhile, became the first athlete to win a medal on their birthday when he took bronze.
A 20-year-old Norwegian, Johannes Thingnes Bø, racked up his second career victory in Annecy, France, in Sunday's 12.5 k pursuit, winning by nearly 40 seconds. Canada's Nathan Smith cut his personal best in half, rising from 16th to eighth.
Martin Fourcade seemed to have everything under control, Tim Burke seemed to be out of the picture after two penalties - how much can change in the final lap of a biathlon race. Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic held off Fourcade in the 15 k mass start to earn his first win, while an audacious charge past several top racers left Burke just off the podium.
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.
"Sometimes you go down in order to go higher.” That’s what Martin Fourcade said Saturday after finishing 48th in a cross-country World Cup race before resuming his winning ways in the biathlon World Cup opener 20 k individual race Wednesday.