Bjørndalen and Henkel win biathlon pursuits

March 21, 2009

Record winner Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway won the men’s 12.5-km pursuit race before home fans in Trondheim Saturday March 21 to increase his overall biathlon World Cup lead.

Fans at Granåsen in Trondheim. Photo: www.adressa.no

Germany’s Andrea Henkel meanwhile clinched the women’s 10-km pursuit race after a flawless performance on the shooting range.

Bjørndalen, 35, missed the target twice on his way to victory in 33 minutes 36.3 seconds, finishing 25.1 seconds ahead of Austria’s Simon Eder and 25.3 seconds up on Poland’s Tomasz Sikora. With four events left, Bjørndalen has 864 points, with Sikora on 828 and Russia’s Maxim Tchoudov on 709.

Six-time world champion Henkel posted her second World Cup win of the season and 16th of her career in 30 minutes 08.8 seconds, 12.9 seconds ahead of Russian Olga Zaitseva. Marie Laure Brunet of France was on the podium for the first time, 28.3 seconds behind Henkel. Sweden’s Helen Jonsson came in 10th but continues to lead overall, moving to 865 points. Germany’s Kati Wilhelm (832) made up some ground with a fifth-place finish, while team-mate Magdalena Neuner, who was 18th, remains third on 762.

The World Cup continues Sunday with mass start races, over 15km for the men and 12.5km for the women.

Source: MonsterandCritics.com