Hochfilzen, Tirol, Austria, December 20. Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) missed the final shot in standing today, his only penalty to finish 51st in the10K Sprint.
The snow that started during the Women’s 15K Individual on Thursday continued yesterday and intensified this morning. More than 18 inches of new snow was on the ground as by the time the men started today.
With his one penalty, Bailey finished 2:27.3 behind Lars Berger of Norway, who won in 25:23.1. The win was the first World Cup victory for the 29-year-old Berger and his first clean shooting race since he was 15 years old. Norwegian teammate Alexander Os, with one penalty followed 37.9 seconds later. Third went to Dmitri Iarochenko of Russia, 39.8 seconds back, also with clean shooting.
Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) had one more penalty than Bailey, yet finished 17 places farther back in 68th, 2:41.3 back. Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK) also had two penalties while finishing 77th, 2:58.8 back. Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) was 101st, with four penalties, 4:13.8 back and Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN) in his second ever World Cup start finished 110th. Nordgren missed three prone shots, but cleaned standing, crossing the finish line 4:51.1 back.
Snow continued to intensify during the Women’s 7.5K Sprint, which the Russian women dominated. Svetlana Sleptsova, with one penalty, powered to a 23:21 win, with teammate Ekaterina Iourieva, shooting clean, 2.7 seconds back. Vita Semerenko of Ukraine also shooting clean finished third, 16.6 seconds back.
Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, NY) almost mastered the miserable shooting conditions by hitting nine of the ten targets on her way to 54th place, 2;41.6 back. Tracy Barnes (Durango, CO) finished 87th with two penalties, 4:26.6 back, with Laura Spector (Lenox, MA) with three penalties in 90th, 4:37.3 back and Lanny Barnes, with four penalties, in 97th, 4:37.3 back.
Competition in Hochfilzen concludes with relays on Sunday starting at 10:45 CET (4:45 EST).
Watch live results and streaming video of all competitions at www.biathlonworld.com.
The US Biathlon website has an RSS feed, available by clicking the RSS logo on our homepage to get the address and all of the latest biathlon news.
The United States Biathlon Association is the National Governing Body for the sport of biathlon in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Biathlon Union. The US Biathlon Association supports the US Biathlon Team and development of the sport on all levels within the United States.
TD Banknorth is the title sponsor of the US Biathlon Team. adidas®, Stewart Filmscreen®, Lapua, and Exel Ski Poles are supporting sponsors of the US Biathlon Team. |