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Gunning for gold
Biathlete on his way to medal history
By Donna Kemp Spangler
Deseret News Olympic specialist
SOLDIER HOLLOW — Norway's star biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen took one more step toward history, winning another gold medal here in the men's 10K sprint race.
A gold in Saturday's pursuit competition would make him the first biathlete to win three gold medals in the same Olympic Games.
But that isn't on Bjoerndalen's mind.
"I make two gold medals now," he said after finishing in 24 minutes, 51 seconds to claim his second victory of the 2002 Winter Games. "For me, it is not so important to make another gold. It is more important to have a perfect race."
Sven Fischer of Germany won the silver despite missing one target. He was timed 25 minutes, 20 seconds. Austria's Wolfgang Perner was 24.2 seconds back, but perfect shooting gave him the bronze by just a fraction over Germany's Ricco Gross.
"You cannot imagine my joy," Perner said about winning his first Olympic medal in his third Olympic Games. "That I had no missing shots at the Olympics is very great for me."
The Germans dominated in the women's 7.5K sprint, with Kati Wilhelm winning her first gold medal in 20 minutes, 41 seconds and veteran Uschi Disl winning her seventh Olympic medal by taking home the silver, 16 seconds behind. Sweden's Magdalena Forsberg claimed her second bronze in as many events.
"It was wonderful to shoot without any mistakes," said Wilhelm. "It was the best shooting of my life."
In the sprint races, competitors shoot twice — prone and standing. For each missed target, they must ski a 150-meter penalty loop. The top 60 competitors of this race will compete in the pursuit competition at Soldier Hollow at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The pursuit, a new Olympic event, means the winners of this race will start at the front of the pack, giving them a distinct advantage.
U.S. men and women didn't do well compared to the winners, but they did well enough to qualify for the pursuit race. Many of them will just start in the back of the pack.
American men did much better than the women, with Alaskans Jeremy Teela placing in the top 20 and Jay Hakkinen finishing 26th.
"My skiing was excellent," Teela said. But missing two targets put him one minute and 35 seconds behind gold medalist Bjoerndalen.
Vermont's Lawton Redman, who did not compete in Monday's 20K, said he was pleased with his skiing but missed two targets, barely making the pursuit by finishing 54th.
"I'm pretty happy," he said. "I wanted to make the pursuit."
Kara Salmela of Minnesota was the top women's U.S. finisher at 49th. She skied better than she did in Monday's 15K event, but with three missed targets, her shooting is still off.
"It is much different shooting in front of people who are yelling your name," Salmela said. "When I put more pressure on myself, I don't shoot well."
After placing 31st in Monday's race, Alaskan Rachel Steer placed a disappointing 60th. That means she will be the last to leave the starting line Saturday. Steer wasn't sure what happened.
"I have a really hard time recovering from a race," she said. "But every race I learn something. It just may take a little longer to figure out (what went wrong)."
E-MAIL: donna@desnews.com
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February 14, 2002
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