Strongest teams post relay wins German women, French men victors

PRESQUE ISLE – Over the course of the six-day, 16-event 2006 Biathlon Junior Championships, 14 different countries won a medal in the four different types of races.

But on the final day at the Nordic Heritage Ski Center on Friday, the most powerful biathlon nations in the world stood on the podium to receive medals in the junior men’s and women’s relays.

The speedy skiers on the German women’s team overcame some trouble on the shooting range to win gold in the 3×6-kilometer race, while the French men got caught in a snowstorm but held off Russia by less than 10 seconds to earn a historic medal for their country in the men’s 4×7.5K.

Good shooting results are crucial in the relay, especially in the final leg. Each skier completes three skiing legs and two shooting stages in the order prone-standing, and each skier carries three extra bullets in which to try to hit all five targets. A skier who is unable to hit all five targets with eight bullets must ski a penalty loop for each missed target.

Shooting was poor in the men’s race, but so were the conditions. The wind shifted direction and the snow picked up midway through the competition, which is likely why some countries had two or three penalties in the first two legs and some, like France, had nine combined in the third and fourth legs.

But in the glow of their gold medal, the French weren’t thinking about their 13 penalties.

Instead, they preferred to think about the first-ever relay win for the junior men and that all 10 members of the French men’s and women’s team are taking home at least one medal.

It last happened for France in 1995 at the senior world championships in Antholz, Italy.

The French were in second place after the first leg, in which Alexis Boeuf had three penalties. But Damien Gehin moved the team into first in the second leg, followed by Langel and Vincent Jay.

Jay, who won silver in the sprint last Saturday, skied the slowest loop of the French team.

“After the first prone shooting, the snow changed and the skis were going worse and worse,” he said through a translator. “We’ve been here for 10 days with stress and pressure and we’re really tired. … I really wanted to make sure that [my teammates] had medals. I tried to do the best I could for them.”

Russia had 10 penalties, the best of the field, and made up a lot of time on the ski loop. When anchor leg Evgeny Ustyugov started, he was 1:33.9 back, but with clean shooting in the prone and two extra bullets to clean in the standing, he had the Russians 9.3 seconds back at the finish.

The German men, meanwhile, hadn’t had anywhere near the success they likely expected when the world championships started a week ago. After 16 penalties and a second leg in which they were fifth, Jens Zimmer skied the third leg in 20:56.7 with just two extra bullets to move into second, and Christoph Stephan kept them on target for a medal in the anchor leg.

“It was at first great pressure for us because everybody knew that we were strong … but our shooting was very bad this week, so we are happy to have a medal,” said Daniel Boehm, who skied the second leg for Germany.

The U.S. men, anchored by Newt Rogers of Fort Kent, were last out of 11 teams. Their 17 penalties were in the middle of the pack, but slow skiing placed them 13:28.3 behind.

The German women battled with the Norwegians, the French, and the Russians. As they have all week, the Germans relied on fast skiing to help them come out on top.

Germany was third after Stephanie Mueller finished the first loop, more than a minute behind Norway’s Julie Bonnievie-Svendsen. Magdalena Neuner powered the Germans into second place with a speedy 20:17.5 loop, 17 seconds behind Norway.

Mueller and Neuner combined for 10 of Germany’s 12 penalties. That’s where Caroline Hennecke came in.

Running just behind Norway’s Birgitte Roeksund, Germany’s Hennecke shot clean in the prone position while Roeksund needed all three extra bullets. That put the Norwegians out of it, and they eventually finished fourth.

“It was very exciting for us,” Neuner said. “We have a plan that the strongest [skier is in the middle leg], but our shooting wasn’t so good. We are very happy that Caroline had done a very good job. It was very exciting.”

Meanwhile, France’s Marion Blondeau, already a three-time medalist this week, also cleaned the prone along with Russia’s Ekaterina Shumilova. Hennecke needed two extra bullets in the standing to one for Blondeau, but Hennecke’s lead allowed her to hold off the French by 29.7 seconds.

Shumilova needed three bullets in the final stage, and Blondeau skied the fastest overall leg of the day in 19:41.30 to cruise to a silver medal. Russia wound up with nine penalties and was 1:00.4 behind the winner.

“I had to give everything,” Blondeau said through a translator. “… It was all or nothing on the shooting range.”

The U.S. women, including Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield, finished 13th out of 13 teams with 18 penalties. They were 18:34.3 behind Germany.

The world championships closed with representatives from Martell, Italy, which is the site of the 2007 championships, accepting a flag from Nordic Heritage Ski Center organizers.