Germany’s Magdalena Neuner won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s biathlon 12.5km mass start at the Vancouver Games on Sunday. Russian Olga Zaitseva won the silver medal and Germany’s Simone Hauswald took bronze.
Neuner was trailing after the final shoot but the six-times world champion outsprinted her nearest rivals to finish in a time of 35 minutes, 19.6 seconds with two penalty loops. Zaitseva crossed the line 5.5 seconds behind, beating German Simone Hauswald in a battle for second place.
“I really wasn’t expecting anything like this at all, and then bingo another gold medal”, said Neuner.
The German biathlon queen now has won three medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics after taking gold in the 10km pursuit and finishing second in the 7.5km sprint to claim silver. The 23-year-old German will be hoping to win her third gold medal when she competes in the relay on Tuesday.
“She is not just a star but a true champion,” said German International Olympic Committee vice-president Thomas Bach.
Germany are the most successful nation in the Olympic biathlon with now 16 gold, 18 silver and 8 bronze medals. The team is on target to repeat the successes of the Turin and Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Bach paid tribute to the German biathlon stars. “The girls are just fantastic. That was a fabulous final sprint finish”, he said.
Three-times Olympic champion Kati Wilhelm had a disappointing race, missing the shooting target three times to forfeit any chance of winning a medal.
source: www.dw-world.de
Recent Comments