Biathlon today

I finally figured out how pursuit works. The sprint race that is the qualifier was the earlier sprint in the Olympics. If you’re a follower of biathlon, you’re probably thinking “duh”, but I had no idea.

Anyway, today’s women’s race was really exciting. I find the “chase ‘em down” variety of biathlon a lot more exciting than the “race the clock” variety. And since biathlon and cross country are the main things on during the day and some of the only things broadcast in their entirety and live, I guess I’ll have to learn to love them.

Magdalena Neuner of Germany won gold. Silver went to Anastazia Kuzmina of Slovakia, and Marie Laure Brunet of France won the bronze. American Sarah Studebaker finished 46th. Considering she wasn’t even expected to qualify for pursuit, that’s a pretty good accomplishment.

In men’s biathlon, there was a mistake with the start. Bjoern Ferry of Sweden won gold, followed by Christoph Sumann of Austria and France’s Vincent Jay, who started the day in first place. Ultimately, this race boiled down to who shot better. American Jeremy Teela was in the hunt for a while, but finished 24th. Lowell Bailey finished 36th. Tim Burke finished 46th.