January 08, 2015 (Oberhof, Germany) – Russia took the 4×7.5km men’s relay at the IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof, Germany today with one penalty and twelve spare rounds as Anton Shipulin (RUS) battled with Norwegian legend Ole Einar Björndalen on the final leg to take the win.

Anton Shipulin (RUS) takes the win over Norway's Ole Einar Björndalen © Nordic Focus

Rain, wind, and heavy fog were the order of the day and strongly impacted the competition as Norway suffered one penalty and ten spares but Björndalen could not contain Shipulin who caught and passed him within the final 100m. France finished alone in third also with one penalty and twelve spare rounds.

The Canadian squad of Christian Gow, Marc Andre Bedard, Nathan Smith, and anchor Macx Davies skied in sixth spot for much of the race but wound up eighth as Bedard and Davies suffered on the range. No USA team was competed.

Canada's Nathan Smith tags Marc-Andre Bedard © Nordic Focus

“That was some of the most difficult shooting conditions of my life,” said Davies following the race in a team release. “I was feeling good on the skis. I am happy with eighth, but disappointed I wasn’t able to maintain the sixth-place my teammates had worked so hard to tag me in.”

“Prone (shooting) was good. Although I used spares I still left without penalties,” said Davies. “I came into the final standing shooting in sixth, 15 seconds behind the Ukrainian athlete.  Poor shooting, and two penalty loops, l left the range losing two positions and was set to battle two other countries (in the 24-team field) for the final ski leg.”

Results here.

Team Russia © Nordic Focus