February 13, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia took the first
Kuzmina finished 1.5 seconds ahead of the young German star, Magdalena Neuner who took the silver – both Kuzmina and Neuner each had a single penalty. The bronze medal went to the 23-year-old Marie Dorin of France, who shot clean, but finished 10.5 seconds behind Kuzmina. Dorin’s medal winning
Kuzmina was thrilled and excited to win today, as she suffered a serious hand injury on New Year’s Eve that required surgery and put her Olympic hopes in doubt. She commented on the surgery and fast return to competition. “We were able to do the surgery very fast, thank God, and it took only six weeks to recover and as the race today showed, it worked very well.”
Regarding her surprise victory, Kuzmina added, “It was actually a big surprise to me. After I missed the first shot, I never expected to win at all. However, the skis were good and did their job and here I am.”
Neuner who can usually almost out-ski a single penalty was not as fast today on the Whistler Olympic Park tracks as she usually is. “I’m a little angry at myself because I was not as good as I normally am on my last lap, even though I felt good,” she said. Still, Germany’s “Golden Girl,” who won three World championships as a 20-year-old was happy with her silver medal. “I missed just one shot. I am not disappointed. It’s a silver medal!”
While the top two women each missed on shot, the next eight were all perfect on the shooting range on a totally still afternoon, ideal for shooting. At the same time, the tracks were fairly hard despite the recent heavy rains and 40-degree temperatures. This was the result of the organizers salting the entire 2.5km loop used by the women.
Leading the North American women was Sara Studebaker from Boise Idaho, who had a single standing penalty while finishing 45th, 2:09.7 behind Kuzmina. Just 2.4 seconds behind her was Squamish, BC resident Canadian Megan Tandy, who shot clean. These two were the only US and Canadian qualifiers for Tuesday’s 60-starter Pursuit competition.
“That was such an exciting race, I really enjoyed it. I think that was the loudest I’ve ever been cheered on. I actually had to take a minute while out on the course to let it sink in so that I could focus again. It was just overwhelming. I was able to stick with my plan through the competition. Despite my worries I managed to stay really calm and I was relaxed coming into the race. Especially after I hit all the targets in prone I was really self-confident and could pull off a good ski to the finish,” said Studebaker.
Tandy is one of two 21-year-olds on the Canadian squad. She and teammate Rosanna Crawford from Canmore, the last woman to qualify for the Canadian Olympic Biathlon team both shot clean. “I feel absolutely awesome about the shooting,” said Tandy, “That’s actually the first time I’ve hit 10 for 10 in a really major competition. So definitely, a home Olympics was the time to bust that out.”
Crawford, who finished 72nd, 3:09 back, is the younger sister of Torino cross-country gold medalist Chandra Crawford. Canadian head Coach Geret Coyne was thrilled with the young Crawford’s day. “What a great effort for her first-ever Olympic competition. I could not have expected more from her.”
Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., who was expected to be one of Canada’s medal hopes in Whistler finished a disappointing 65th, with three penalties, at 2:46.2 back. The rest of the Canadian and US women all finished close together with Megan Imrie from Canmore in 76th, 3:21.4 behind, Laura Spector of Lenox, MA in 77th at 3:22.5 back, Lanny Barnes of Durango, CO, 78th, at 3:30.4, and Haley Johnson of Lake Placid, NY, 3;36.8 behind.
The men get their chance on Sunday in the 10km Sprint. Canadian Jean Philippe Leguellec and the US team’s Tim Burke are the top North American hopes in a closely matched field of 88 men, headed by the “King of Biathlon” Ole Einar Björndalen of Norway.
Full results HERE.
Results (brief)
1. Anastasiya Kuzmina (SVK) 1+0, 19:55.6
2. Magdalena NEuner (GER) 0+1, +1.5
3. Marie Dorin (FRA) 0+0, +10.9
45. Sara Studebaker (USA) 0+1, +2:09.7
46. Megan Tandy (CAN) 0+0 , +2:12.1
65. Zina Kocher (CAN) 1+2, +2:40.2
72. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) 0+0, +3:09.0
76. Megan Imrie (CAN) 1+2, +3:21.4
77. Laura Spector (USA) 1+1, + 3:22.5
78. Lanny Barnes (USA) 1+0, +3:30.4
80. Haley Johnson (USA) 1+3, +3:39.8