Biathlon: Bjorndalen looks to make history
Berlin (AFP) – Norway’s Ole Einar Bjorndalen is set to underline his status as one of the history’s best biathletes if he can add to his five Olympic gold medals at the Vancouver Winter Games.
The 35-year-old won four golds at he 2002 Games in Salt Lake City to add to his first gold success in Nagano four years earlier, and he is amongst the favourites for the 20km individual race when the action starts in Whistler.
No other athlete has won more Olympic gold medals in the biathlon.
The defending World Cup champion won silver in the 20km Individual race at Salt Lake City when Germany’s Michael Greis snatched gold, but Bjorndalen is set to battle Russia’s Evgeny Ustyugov and compatriot Emil Hegle Svendsen.
Ustyugov and Svendsen have been in great form this season with Svendsen claiming both the sprint and mass start triumphs at Rupholding, Germany, last weekend ahead of his Russian rival Ustyugov.
In Whistler, as in the season-to-season World Cup, male and female biathletes will compete in five disciplines: Individual Start, Pursuit, Sprint Massed Start and Relay.
Over the shorter sprint distance, Germany’s Magdalena Neuner is a name to watch out for.
With pin-up looks, Neuner was the undisputed biathlon queen in the winter of 2007/08.
Two years ago, she won the World Cup and finished the season with six World Championship gold medals in her collection – three each from the 2007 and 2008 championships.
A back injury, and a sudden drop in accuracy, blighted the 22-year-old’s form last winter, but she seems to be hitting her stride in time for the Olympics.
Germany’s women, traditionally very strong on the biathlon circuit, have started the winter slowly leaving Sweden’s Helena Jonsson and Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek to set the pace.
German stars like Neuner, Kati Wilhelm, Martina Beck and Simone Hauswald are all expected to contest the medals, but may have timed their bid for form too late.
Russia’s Ustyugov is one to watch in the event and is rivalling Bjorndalen’s domination of the sport.
The Russian has a reputation for excelling in the pursuit which sees the pack chasing the winner of the sprint event.
The biathletes start at intervals based on their sprint times with the winner going off first and Ustyugov is one of the world’s best.
One of the most colourful sights in biathlon is the frantic racing at the beginning of the Mass Start where the 30 best-ranked competitors begin in an arrow formation to avoid crashes.
Germany are expected to feature amongst the medals in both the mens and womens relay, while Norway’s men will lay down a challenge with both Svendsen and Bjorndalen in their ranks.
