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Men's biathlon: Bjoerndalen overcomes two shooting mistakes to win gold medal
By Mark Long
Associated Press
MIDWAY, Utah — Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway skied more than 30 miles in the last three days.
He might be a little fatigued, but he's far from finished.
Bjoerndalen overcame two shooting mistakes to win the gold medal in the men's 20-kilometer biathlon Monday, just two days after finishing sixth in the 30-kilometer freestyle cross-country event.
"I can't explain how I feel right now. Everything went perfect," said Bjoerndalen, who plans to compete in three more biathlon events.
Frank Luck of Germany won the silver and Victor Maigourov of Russia took the bronze.
Jeremy Teela was the top American, coming in 14th and tying the best American finish in the history of the Olympic sport. The other Americans, Jay Hakkinen and Dan Campbell, finished 26th and 76th, respectively.
There were no upsets on the men's side.
Bjoerndalen, Luck and Maigourov are each three-time Olympians and have a combined nine Olympic medals and 35 world championship medals.
Bjoerndalen, gold medalist in the 10K at the Nagano Games four years ago, missed two of 20 targets but compensated with a strong cross-country performance to win in 51 minutes, 3.3 seconds.
"I'm very happy," he said. "This is my best race so far this year. ... This is the kind of race I've been practicing for for a long time now. It's finally paid off."
The Norwegian watched — and celebrated — as the final few competitors missed targets to solidify his victory. He was later questioned about his reactions during post-race interviews.
"It's not good for fair play, but you're thinking only of yourself at this moment," Bjoerndalen said. "And this is a feeling you cannot control."
Bjoerndalen didn't hide his emotions all day.
He jumped onto the medals platform when his named was announced and then thrust his skis and poles into the air before grabbing a Norwegian flag and waving it wildly during the ceremony.
Then he hopped off the platform, threw his flowers into the bleachers and climbed into the stands to celebrate with family and friends.
Competitors skied five laps, stopping at the range for five shots after each of the first four laps They shoot twice in the prone position and twice in the standing position.
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February 11, 2002
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