January 17, 2009 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – The USA’s Jay Hakkinen shot clean at round #5 of the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany on Saturday to finish tied for 22nd place with France’s Martin Fourcade. The race was won by Ole Einar Bjorndalen (Nor) and now Hakkinen is also tied for 30th place overall. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec was the top Canuck in 43rd. Canada’s Zina Kocher from Red Deer was the top Canadian in the women’s 7.5km race placing 35th. Germany’s Magdalena Neuner was the winner.

US Biathlon Report
Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) took a conservative approach to the 10km Sprint at the Ruhpolding World Cup. Still feeling a bit worn from his all out effort in the 5th place relay finish on Thursday Hakkinen knew that good shooting would be a key to a good performance today.

Hakkinen was able to follow his plan and “clean” his targets. “I am very happy with my shooting today,” said a smiling Hakkinen at the finish. “It was a perfect day with no wind.” His shooting times of 34 seconds in prone and 29 seconds in standing are, when taken together, about 15 seconds longer than his usual times, but the deliberate approach worked and he was able to put together his first clean race of the season landing tied for 22nd place with Martin Fourcade of France. With todays performance he hung on to his top 30 world rank – tied for 30th place with 110 points but just four points out of 25th.

The rest of the US team struggled on the range today with four penalties each. “It is not normal but it can happen,” said High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler. “They had an off day but they will bounce back for Antholz next week – that course really plays to our boys skiing strengths and they are already looking forward to racing there.”

The winner today was the “king of biathlon” Ole Einar Bjorndalen who, with perfect shooting and a winning margin of over 33 seconds, showed that he has recovered from his illness earlier in the season. While “the king” will start with a big advantage in the 12.5 km Pursuit competition on Sunday, it gets very tight after that. Hakkinen, who is starting 22nd, just 30 seconds out of eighth place, is in the middle of a pack of 30 athletes all starting within single minute. The race will be streamed online live Sunday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. Click on the “Watch us live on the web” link just above the news News section at www.USBiathlon.org

Zina Kocher Leads Canadians in Biathlon World Cup Sprint
Zina Kocher led a group of Canadian biathletes in the first competition of the New Year where she finished 35th in Ruhpolding, Germany. Kocher and two other Canadian women hit the start line on Friday for a 7.5-kilometre sprint competition. The Red Deer, Alta. missed two shots in her second and final trip on the range which cost her valuable spots on the leaderboard.

Megan Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., missed only one shot in her first trip to the range, and finished 65th (26:22.7). Calgary’s Sandra Keith was 91st (27:40.0). Germany’s Magdalena Neuner won the women’s sprint after setting the time to beat at 23:26.6. Neuner’s teammate, Kati Wilhelm, was second (23:26.8), while Darya Domracheva, of Belarus, was third (23:40.6).

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, of Shannon, Que., had a difficult start to 2009 after finishing 43rd in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint on Saturday. Le Guellec missed one shot in his first stop at the range and posted a time of 25:28.6.

Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won the men’s competition after having a perfect day on the range Saturday. The Norwegian posted a winning time of 23:25.8. Austria’s Dominik Landertinger was second (23:59.2), while Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen missed one shot en route to finishing third at 24:01.1.

Two other Canadian men also battled the world’s best biathletes on Saturday. Robin Clegg, of Ottawa, who competes on the Quebec Ski Racing Team was 48th (25:33.1), while Regina’s Scott Perras missed one shot in each of his two trips to the range, and finished 58th (25:58.4).

The Canadian squad’s battle continues on Sunday with the men’s the women’s World Cup pursuit competition.

Full Results here.
Photo Gallery here.