KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia, February 8 (R-Sport) – Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen made Olympic history Saturday by winning the men’s 10 kilometer biathlon sprint in Sochi to become the joint most successful Winter Olympian with 12 medals.
Bjoerndalen won by 1.4 seconds over Austria’s Dominik Landertinger at Sochi's Laura Biathlon and Ski Complex, with third for Jaroslav Soukup of the Czech Republic, 4.4 seconds further back.
Russia came within less than a second of winning its first medal at its home Winter Olympics as Anton Shipulin came in fourth, his medal chances wrecked by a costly miss in the second shooting stage.
Bjoerndalen matches fellow Norwegian Bjoern Daehlie’s record achievement of 12 medals, achieved in cross-country skiing, and as a 40-year-old becomes the oldest male individual gold medalist in Winter Olympic history.
A medalist at every Winter Olympics since 1998, Bjoerndalen will extend his record if he makes the podium in any of the five remaining events he could take part in during the Sochi Games.
Combining skiing with cross-country skiing, biathlon has its roots in military training exercises. For each missed target in a sprint event, athletes must ski a 150-meter penalty loop.
The women’s 7.5 kilometer sprint continues the biathlon program Sunday.
