Svendsen Takes Ruhpolding 20K

Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen picked up his first victory since the opening weekend of the season by capturing the men’s 20K individual in 50:39.4 today at the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon in Ruhpolding. Second went to Martin Fourcade of France, 7.4 seconds back, while Dominik Landertinger of Austria finished third, 23.7 seconds back. All three men had a single penalty.

The first day of competition at the new Chiemgau Arena was perfect for shooting. In fact it was the best day of the season for shooting: cloudy with no wind. As a result, it became obvious early that it the classic biathlon competition would favor those who could overcome the fatigue of the long distance and shoot accurately. After the first prone stage, every athlete in the top 45 was error free, including the top three men. The first standing stage took a toll as the group dropped to the top 30. By the end of the second prone stage, the top five were still clean, but only half of the top 20 were still prefect.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Source: Biathlon World