Germany Rallies to Win the Gold

Germany came from behind to take gold in the women’s 4x7.5-kilometer Olympic biathlon relay on Thursday, narrowly edging out the favorite, Russia.

The German team of Ursula Disl, Martina Zellner, Katrin Apel and Petra Behle were only third after the second leg, but stormed back to win in a time of 1 hour 40 minutes 13.6 seconds.

Russia, current leaders in the World Cup relay ahead of Germany, looked to have the race sewn up after Galina Koukleva skied the second fastest time of the day in the second leg.

But third skier Albina Akhatova could not keep the pace, and Russia had to settle for silver, 11.6 seconds back.

Norway took their fourth biathlon medal of the Games with a third-place finish, 23.7 seconds off the pace, after a poor day at the range with four penalties.

Surprise early leaders Slovakia, seeking the country’s first Olympic medal, were ahead after the second leg, but their medal chances faded in the third leg after a poor shooting cost them two 150-meter penalty laps. Slovakia finished a distant fourth.

Russia, a heavy favorite, won the gold medal at Lillehammer in 1994.

In biathlon, each skier shoots twice, once prone and once standing, and has eight shots to make hit a target five times. However, only five rounds can be loaded into the rifle. The other three have to be loaded one at a time. For each miss beyond three, the competitor must ski a 150-meter penalty loop.

Unlike the individual races, in the relay all teams start at the same time.

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MEDALISTS

Biathlon

WOMEN’S 4X7-5K RELAY

Gold: Germany

Silver: Russia

Bronze: Norway