Martin Fourcade described the final loop of Monday’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit as “one of the worst” in his whole life. That's ironic because he won by 14 seconds to definitively capture his first Olympic gold, but it didn't come easy and there was plenty that could've gone wrong.
Both Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) and Darya Domracheva (BLR) hung on to their sprint wins from Friday and turned them into pursuit victories on Saturday, but not without a little bit of trouble from Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) and Kaisa Makarainen (FIN).
Both Darya Domracheva of Belarus and Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway - last year's runners-up in the World Cup overalls standings - finally picked up their first wins of the new biathlon season, suggesting that maybe the favorites will be in shape in time for the Olympics after all. Susan Dunklee (USA) placed 32nd and Macx Davies (CAN) 42nd to lead the North Americans.
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.
Aided by an early bib and a mid-race snowstorm, Lars Berger - who was left off the Norwegian national team this year - earned his sixth win but the first in three years. He beat Martin Fourcade of France, who had two fewer penalties but was stuck in slow snow conditions. Ole Einar Bjorndalen of Norway was third.
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.
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.
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.
In late March, Norwegian biathlon ace Emil Hegle Svendsen complained to broadcaster NRK that the national team coaches were not spending enough time with the athletes, and that he hoped to see some changes. He was speaking out of frustration: after the World Cup title had seemingly been within his reach – indeed he wore the yellow bib several times – Svendsen ended up second to Martin Fourcade of France in the rankings. Despite winning...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Going into today’s men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay, the field was wide open. France, with double gold medalist Martin Fourcade and silver medalist brother Simon Fourcade, was a prerace favorite. But last year’s top two teams, Norway and Russia, hadn’t dominated in the individual races, and neither had host country Germany. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Carl Johan Bergman had won two medals, and three Swedes had finished in the top ten. Slovenia and...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – With more than 250 racers contesting yesterday’s World Championships 7.5 and 10 k sprints, there was plenty of news that didn’t make it into our race reports – both from international stars and from our own interviews with U.S. and Canadian athletes. Here are some of the notable bits that we couldn’t fit in: – Bronze medalist Carl Johan Bergman of Sweden wasn’t really expecting a medal yesterday, but he was expecting...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – There were plenty of errors at the IBU World Championships mixed relay today, mistakes that were big enough to have a surprising and significant impact on the outcome of the race. France’s third-leg racer, Simon Fourcade, received the tag from Marie Dorin Habert in second place, just 11 seconds behind Norway. But he imploded in spectacular fashion, using all six of his spare rounds, hitting the penalty loop, and losing almost two...
In case there was any doubt: the King still reigns. Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway had stood on the podium just once this season, and hadn’t won a World Cup race since December 2010. But on Sunday in Kontiolahti, Finland, the legend upped his tally of victories to 93 – a number that seems impossible for another athlete to ever match. At 38 years old, Bjørndalen also became the oldest athlete to ever win a...
This interview originally appeared in
Today’s World Championships relay in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, was somewhat unusual, with a large number of spare rounds, quite a few penalty loops, and a small spread between teams at the finish . What wasn’t unusual? Norway finished on top, defending their Olympic gold from last year. Things got off to an inauspicious start, with at least three crashes and one broken pole in the first kilometer of racing. Lowell Bailey of the U.S. was among...
The eyes of the ski world may have been focused on Oslo today, where the Norwegian women ran away with the win in the 4 x 5 k relay, but the biathlon world is focused on Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, where World Championships kicked off today with a mixed relay. And while the result was the same – Norway on top by a solid margin – the route to victory was a lot more challenging for Norway’s...
On Friday morning at 9:30 a.m., the United States will hold its first World Cup race since 2004. The IBU World Cup circuit will be making stops in Presque Isle, Maine, this weekend, and then in nearby Fort Kent next weekend. While it might take almost as long to get to “The County” from the U.S. as from anywhere else, the races should be spectacular. If you can’t make it to Maine, the event will...
So far this season, three Norwegian men have dominated the World Cup biathlon circuit, taking wins when it suits them and not always playing nicely together. 22-year-old Tarjei Boe currently sits atop the overall World Cup rankings, followed closely by teammate Emil Hegle Svendsen. Veteran Ole Einar Bjorndalen, who has won 92 World Cups in his career but only one this year, is third, giving the Norwegians a clean sweep of the standings halfway through...