Olympic Biathlon

Germany's Arnd Peiffer raced to biathlon glory in the 10-kilometre sprint on Sunday, as he produced a flawless display at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Peiffer didn't incur a single penalty at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre, allowing him to lay down an impressive marker of 23 minutes, 38.8 seconds in his run. It was enough to get the better of Michal Krcmar of the Czech Republic and Italy's Dominik Windisch, who took silver and bronze, respectively.

It was a disappointing day for both of the pre-race favourites, as Martin Fourcade and Johannes Thinges Boe were both let down by poor shooting performances.

Here are the top three from this intriguing event, the updated medals tracker and a recap of what was a memorable performance from Peiffer.

        

1. Arnd Peiffer (GER)—23:38.8

2. Michal Krcmar (CZE)—23:43.2

3. Dominik Windisch (ITA)—23:46.5

For the result in full, visit the Pyeongchang website.

       

Penalty-Free Peiffer Triumphs

Ahead of the event, many expected this one to be a straight fight between Boe and Fourcade, and it was the former who started first.

It was evident from the first few hundred metres that the Norwegian was quick, as he was seven seconds clear of Timofei Lapshin's benchmark for the first split.

However, in the first round of shooting, the chances of Boe and his compatriot Emil Hegle Svendsen took a big hit. As we can see here, courtesy of the IBU World Cup account, they were both well short of their usual high standards with the rifle:

One miss for #nor Svendsen. First big name to miss one tonight #Pyeongchang2018 #biathlon pic.twitter.com/w1rkIMTy5O

— International Biathlon Union (@biathlonworld) February 11, 2018

Even more problems for Johannes Thingnes Boe as only 2 targets went down #biathlon pic.twitter.com/LirKwb9OcB

— IBU World Cup (@IBU_WC) February 11, 2018

As noted by USA Today's Dan Wolken, to see Boe so erratic with the rifle was a big surprise:

Some serious gasping/cheering in the press box when Norwegian favorite Johannes Things Boe missed 3/5 targets.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) February 11, 2018

As Boe took on the second round of shooting, in which he improved to take out four from the five targets—it meant a 600-metre penalty for the Norwegian—Fourcade was just getting his attempt underway. 

The Frenchman would have been well aware that a solid performance here would be enough for gold with his rivals struggling. But even he felt the pressure, with three misses at the first round of shooting, too.

Meanwhile, up ahead Peiffer laid down a tremendous mark, as he was perfect with the rifle and moved into provisional first place. Based on what was going on behind him, it was going to take something extraordinary to prevent him from winning.

Fourcade responded well to his earlier setback, though, and in the standing shoot, he nailed five out of five. While he had time to make up, he remained in contention. FasterSkier suggested the Frenchman could even still win the gold:

Fourcade is clean in standing and only 24.1 seconds behind Peiffer - maybe we misspoke and he can make up that time to take gold... #biathlon #sprint #PyeongChang2018

— FasterSkier (@FasterSkier) February 11, 2018

It meant Peiffer, Krcmar and Windisch, in the top three positions, respectively, would have all been sweating on the Frenchman's progress further back. However, the favourite had left himself too much to do, and in the end, he limped home in eighth position.

Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports reflected on how much of a surprise it was to see Boe and Fourcade out of the medals:

Fourcade made the podium in all 15 World Cups so far this season, and finished 1st or 2nd in 13 of them. Boe has won 8 of the 15 World Cups.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 11, 2018

It meant that, while there were a number of competitors still to finish their runs, Peiffer was effectively the Olympic champion.

The win for Peiffer also gives his chances in the pursuit event a boost, as he will begin ahead of the rest of his rivals. Fourcade, who is 22.1 seconds behind the German, will be hopeful of making amends in that event on Monday.

Laura Dahlmeier took the gold medal in the Women's 7.5-kilometre biathlon sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Saturday. 

Dahlmeier finished ahead of Norway's Marte Olsbu, while Veronika Vitkova of the Czech Republic was left to collect bronze.

Dahlmeier set an impressive time of 21 minutes, 06.2 seconds. The full times for every athlete who competed are available on the Games' official website.

Here's is the updated medal tracker:

Rather than her skiing, Dahlmeier's route to gold was forged by perfect shooting. She hit all 10 targets and didn't incur a single penalty at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

No penalties helped Dahlmeier set a time hard to catch for the rest of the field. The German crossed the line 24 seconds ahead of Olsbu, while Vitkova found herself an additional 1.6 seconds further back.

Olsbu had missed while prone, a costly error that undermined her otherwise fine progress in the difficult conditions. Vitkova also skied well but was off target when standing.

What had set Dahlmeier apart was the time she took over each shooting opportunity. Rather than tensing up in front of target, the German was patient enough to compose herself and make each shot count.

By contrast, fellow German skater Vanessa Hinz lost any fleeting chance of gold late on by snatching at her fifth shot during her final session in front of the targets. Hinz had been a perfect five of five from the prone position, but lost her nerve when standing.

Two-time Olympic champion Anastasiya Kuzmina had to settle for 13th spot after incurring three penalties for costly misses.

Yet no competitor found being off-target more costly than Italy's Dorothea Wierer, per IBU World Cup:

2 misses from #ita Wierer who had the best time entering the last range. Dahlmeier's gold seems closer now #Pyeonchang2018 #biathlon pic.twitter.com/JHqGbU6IpO

— International Biathlon Union (@biathlonworld) February 10, 2018

Dahlmeier had shown the rest how it should be done, with her medal a just reward for a superbly efficient performance.

Russia delighted an ecstatic home crowd by winning the gold medal in the biathlon men's 4x7.5-kilometer relay.

With an overall time of 1:12:15.9, the Russian Federation claimed its first biathlon gold in Sochi, edging out Germany by 3.5 seconds in a thrilling finish. Although the Soviet Union dominated the event from 1969-1988, this is the Russian Federation's first win in the men's team relay.

Rank	Country	Time	Penalties
1	Russia	1:12:15.9	0+8
2	Germany	1:12:19.4	0+2
3	Austria	1:13:10.3	0+7
4	Norway	1:13:10.3	1+5
5	Italy	1:13:15.5	0+11
6	Slovenia	1:13:43.1	0+5
7	Canada	1:13:46.2	1+10
8	France	1:13:46.4	0+7
9	Ukraine	1:14:21.1	0+7
10	Sweden	1:14:32.0	0+5
11	Czech Republic	1:15:11.9	0+5
12	Slovakia	1:15:23.8	1+9
13	Belarus	1:16:02.3	0+5
14	Switzerland	1:16:15.8	0+10
15	Bulgaria	1:17:38.4	2+8
16	United States	1:17:39.1	3+12
17	Estonia		3+12
18	Kazakhstan		0+12
19	Poland		2+12

Austria finished in a distant third at 1:12:45.7 to take bronze. In a stunning result, the favored Norwegians left empty-handed, failing to extend Ole Einar Bjorndalen's record medal count to 14.

The opening minutes foreshadowed an interesting event, as the unheralded Canada team jumped to an early lead while the United States held its own. NBC Web Producer Olivia Wittels provided the first of many updates after a thrilling opening range.

But Norway jumped ahead after Tarjei Boe hit four of five shots in the second rifle range. The lead did not last long in a back-and-forth event that saw the favorites spar for top seeding throughout the competition.

On the strength of clean shooting, the United States remained in the hunt early. A messy result in the third range, however, gutted that early momentum for the Americans, who finished far down the pack in 16th out of 19 competing countries.

Germany exited the third range on top, but Johannes Boe sped through the fourth range to put Norway back on top. The 20-year-old was the first to drop his rifle and resume skiing, giving his country a lead for its star to maintain.

Entering the final biathlon event of the 2014 Winter Olympics, all eyes were on Norway's Bjoerndalen, who won his record 13th Olympic medal during Wednesday's mixed relay. With the 40-year-old legend leading the way, Norway was expected to defend its gold medal from four years ago and duplicate its mixed-relay success.

He did his part, delivering another vintage performance on the grand stage. He glided through the course before breezing past the shooting range. As Wittels noted "The King" was at his best.

Age has not affected the decorated Olympian at all in Sochi. After winning the 15-kilometer sprint, he told the Associated Press' Eric Willemsen that he felt much younger.

"I always forget that (I'm 40). I feel like I'm 20. My age is perfect," Bjoerndalen said. "I am in super form. I prepared well for this and I am feeling strong."

Unfortunately for Norway, Svendsen stumbled in the eighth range, putting his team 43 seconds behind before enduring a penalty lap that wiped the favorites out of medal contention altogether. 

For a while, Germany stood as the benefactors of Norway's drop. After placing near the top throughout the hour-plus race, Germany saw its stiffest adversary lag behind to its delight.

That's before the underdog Russians swooped in to steal the gold by a few seconds. With the crowd eagerly cheering him on, Anton Shipulin sealed the deal for the hosting nation in an unexpected photo finish.

While Bjoerndalen was not provided a perfect ending, his illustrious career is still worth celebrating before he calls it quits. In June, he told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that he will retire after the 2014 Olympics (h/t News in English). 

If he sticks to his plans to call it a career, he's still leaving on a high note despite Saturday's disappointing finish.

In a pleasant surprise, France's Martin Fourcade, a titan in the biathlon field, competed despite speculation otherwise. He had dominated in Sochi with two gold medals and one silver, but was expected to miss the last race due to sinusitis.

"He's not well. The outlook is not good at all," France coach Stephane Bouthiaux told Reuters on Friday. 

Despite the illness, he finished silver in the 15-kilometer mass start behind Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen. He partook in the relay for France, who finished in eighth place at 1:13:46.4.

On the same day their country’s rival political forces signed a deal to end several days of violent clashes, Ukraine won its first gold of the Sochi Games. 

The Ukrainians jumped out to an early lead in the women's 4x6-kilometer team relay on Day 14 of the 2014 Winter Games and never looked back.

Olena Pidhrushna, the 2013 world sprint champion, crossed the finish line first to allow her country to claim the top podium spot thanks to a total time of 1:10:02.5. Twin sisters Valj and Vita Semerenko combined with Juliya Dzhyma to dominate the first three legs. Dzhyma took first place early in the second leg, and the team rode the advantage to the podium.

Rank	Country	Total Penalties	Time	Behind
1	UKR	0+5	1:10:02.5	0.0
2	RUS	0+4	1:10:28.9	+26.4
3	NOR	0+5	1:10:40.1	+37.6
4	CZE	0+14	1:11:25.7	+1:23.2
5	BLR	1+8	1:11:33.4	+1:30.9
6	ITA	1+9	1:11:43.3	+1:40.8
7	USA	0+13	1:12:14.2	+2:11.7
8	CAN	2+12	1:12:21.5	+2:19.0
9	SUI	0+9	1:12:34.3	+2:31.8
10	POL	4+8	1:12:34.4	+2:31.9
11	GER	0+6	1:13:44.2	+3:41.7
12	KAZ	0+13	1:15:54.7	+5:52.2
13	JPN	0+11	LAP
14	SVK	5+19	LAP
15	CHN	0+11	LAP
16	EST	1+13	LAP
	FRA	0+0	DNF

As Fox Sports points out, the win marks the country's first gold in a biathlon event:

The victory is Ukraine's second medal overall, as Vita Semerenko had previously won bronze in the women's 7.5-kilometer sprint. Semerenko spoke about how important the medal was after that race and stressed that further podium appearances were important for her country, via Erin McClam of NBC News.

“For Ukraine, winning this medal is very important,” Semerenko said after she won her bronze. “It is hopefully not my last one and other girls will follow, too."

Ukraine has been through months of unrest as protestors clashed with President Viktor Yanukovych's government forces. The violence boiled over Thursday with protesters claiming 100 people were killed. Ukraine's Health Ministry said 77 people have died since clashes broke out Tuesday and 577 had been injured.

The violence prompted one Ukrainian Olympian to withdraw from the Games. Skier Bogdana Matsotska backed out of the Games and returned home to show solidarity with the protesters against the President Yanukovych. She was set to compete in the Slalom event today. 

"I don't want to participate when in my country people die," Matsotska told The Associated Press, via U.S. News & World Report.

Elsewhere in the biathlon, the host country earned a silver medal with a total time of 1:10:28.9. Russia was a contender through the first two legs thanks to Yana Romanova and Olga Zaitseva, but a sloppy third leg from Ekaterina Shumilova put the team back into third place before Olga Vilukhina—owner of a silver medal in the women's 7.5-kilometer sprint—recaptured second place.

More than 37 seconds off the pace was Norway with a bronze-winning final time of 1:10:40.1. Tiril Eckhoff worked up from eighth to third in the second leg, and Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland and Tora Berger secured the bronze.

After the first leg, it appeared Italy would be a strong favorite to make the podium. Dorothea Wierer recorded a 16:49.7 time to land in first place, but shooting penalties by Nicole Gontier in the second leg quickly dropped the team into eighth place. Italy wound up a disappointing sixth.

The United States quartet of Susan Dunklee, Hannah Dreissigacker, Sara Studebaker and Annelies Cook can surely be happy with their seventh-place finish—the country's best-ever finish in the event.

The same cannot be said for Germany, a country that typically dominates the event.

Franziska Preuss, Andrea Henkel, Franziska Hildebrand and Laura Dahlmeier combined to finish 11th with a total time of 1:13:44.2, almost four minutes out of first place, marking the first time Germany has ever missed the podium in the event.

For the overall discipline, Friday's exciting race marked the end of the Olympics in Sochi for women biathlon athletes. All that remains is the men's 4x7.5-kilometer relay on February 22.

Much can be taken away from the end result, but chief among them is that Ukraine and Russia remain major contenders for the foreseeable future, while the United States will look to build on its impressive performance and get in the podium conversation. Germany must look to the future and hope to rebound after a humbling finish.

With 13 career Olympic medals, Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen is the Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics.

That is, if Michael Phelps was still winning medals at 40, was good with a rifle and had an entire nation depending on him to reverse its woeful Olympic fortunes.

Coming into Wednesday, biathlete Bjoerndalen, in his sixth Olympics, needed one more medal to overtake countryman Bjorn Daehlie for most medals won in Winter Olympic history. Phelps has won the most Olympic medals of any athlete, winter or summer, with 22. After winning the Olympic opener, the 10-kilometer sprint on Feb. 8, Bjoerndalen also became the Winter Olympics’ oldest gold medalist.

While he flubbed the opportunity to grab the title in three straight events (12.5, 15 and 20 kilometers), Bjoerndalen earned lucky number 13 on Wednesday with a gold medal in the new mixed relay event to take sole possession of the winter record.

Coming into the Games, Bjoerndalen hadn’t won a World Cup race in nearly two years.

"Last year everybody talked about him and said he has to retire," said Frenchman and two-time Sochi Olympic champion Martin Fourcade to reporters after the 10-kilometer race. "But I was one of the ones who trusted in him ... Today he shut the mouth of all the people who were speaking about him." 

With one event left, Saturday’s 4x7.5-kilometer men’s relay, Bjoerndalen could earn one more and really distance himself as the all-time snow leader.

It’s now or never. He says these are his final Olympics.

“He’s as good now as he’s ever been,” said American Tim Burke, a three-time Olympian, to Nick Zaccardi of NBCOlympics.com.

Bjoerndalen’s nickname is “The Cannibal” for his hunger to win. But he hints he might be getting full.

"I am satisfied now. This is enough," he told reporters after his first gold of the Games. "Everything is a bonus from now. I made my gold and that's cool."

Yet in the Feb. 10 pursuit, Bjoerndalen proved the gold was no fluke, and that his appetite was not so diminished. He finished fourth, just missing the elusive record-setting medal.

He does not appear to have gray hair or even close to a paunch. With the gold, Bjoerndalen topped the record set by Canada’s Duff Gibson, who was 39 when he won skeleton gold in the 2006 Games.

Skeleton is a sliding sport, without the cardiovascular demands of biathlon.

"I always forget that (I'm 40). I feel like I'm 20. My age is perfect," Bjoerndalen told reporters at the beginning of the Games. "I am in super form. I prepared well for this and I am feeling strong."

He is an innovator in the sport. Other, younger skiers are in awe of him, even as they ski alongside. Or behind.

He has, literally, taken their breath away.

Biathlon is an odd sport combining cross-country ski racing with target shooting. Biathletes carry rifles on their backs and have to be able to ski fast then slow their heart rates enough for a steady hand while shooting.

Try this: run a 100-yard sprint, then thread a needle. That’s what it feels like to be a biathlete.

At the target area, Bjoerndalen was the first to start taking fewer breaths between shots, per Zaccardi. Before, racers believed two or three breaths were necessary for steady aim between shots. Bjoerndalen took one. It cut as much as 20 seconds from race times. 

To prepare his lungs for Sochi, he lived in an Italian village at a similar, 4,500-foot altitude as the Olympic biathlon venue, according to Zaccardi. He doesn’t spend much time in Norway, training instead in the higher elevations of Austria and Italy. He had a psychology coach. Other coaches studied film of Bjoerndalen’s skiing.

“He’s single-handedly changed the sport,” Burke told Zaccardi. “He really turned it into a professional sport, in the late ‘90s, I would say. He’s very innovative, and he became so dominant that everyone else had to react to the way he was training to be competitive.”

Norwegians thought Bjoerndalen’s early success meant a good Games for Norway at Sochi. But they have been a disaster for Norway, whose identity is tied to how well it does in Olympic cross-country skiing.

The Norwegian team has failed to win a medal in either men’s or women’s relays, the first time that has happened since 1964. Worse, bitter rival Sweden won them. Norwegian stars like Petter Northug and Marit Bjoergen have had only mixed success.

Norway probably didn’t think it would have to pin its feel-good hopes on a 40-year-old biathlete. Those who have covered him in his 21-year career say he’s boring, a big difference from Bjorn Daehlie, the Norwegian national icon whose record Bjoerndalen just eclipsed. He is more popular in Germany and Russia, where biathlon is big.

Bjoerndalen isn’t pursuing just a record. Daehlie, despite last year’s documentary that accused him of doping, has an aura no one can touch. Even after surpassing Daehlie, Bjoerndalen says he still considers Daehlie the greatest ever.

When he was racing, Daehlie was popular. He had flair. He’d sometimes cross the finish line backward.

Bjoerndalen is reserved. He collects watches for a hobby. He crosses the finish line facing front.

Daehlie was at the finish line after Bjoerndalen won gold. Daehlie was there to hug him. They are good friends. Maybe it would have been fitting for them to remain tied in the history books. But Michael Phelps would never settle for a tie. Neither would Bjoerndalen.

"In my eyes, Bjorn is still the biggest athlete in Norway," Bjoerndalen told reporters after tying Daehlie's record with his win in the 10-kilometer event.

He can be as modest as he wants. The history books now see it differently.

Darya Domracheva of Belarus made it a 2014 Winter Games gold-medal hat trick after she blew away the field in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start on Day 10 in Sochi, Russia.    

After scoring gold in the 10-kilometer pursuit and the 15-kilometer individual events, Domracheva posted a total time of 35 minutes, 25.6 seconds on Monday—a time more than 20 seconds better than the nearest competitor—to grace the top of the podium. 

As Olivia Wittels of NBC Olympics pointed out before the race, a win would give Domracheva two slices of Olympic history:

Behind Domracheva's historic performance was silver medalist Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic with a 35:45.8 mark.

The race for bronze between Norway's Tiril Eckhoff and Germany's Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle was the most interesting moment of all, which saw the former come away with the last podium spot to round out a group that simply ran away from the rest of the field:

Rank	Bib	Country	Name	Shooting	Total Penalties	Time	Behind
1	2	BLR	Darya Domracheva	0+0+0+1	1	35:25.6	0.0
2	10	CZE	Gabriela Soukalova	0+0+0+1	1	35:45.8	+20.2
3	12	NOR	Tiril Eckhoff	0+1+0+0	1	35:52.9	+27.3
4	23	GER	Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle	0+0+0+0	0	35:53.9	+28.3
5	7	SLO	Teja Gregorin	0+0+0+0	0	36:05.0	+39.4
6	19	POL	Monika Hojnisz	0+0+0+0	0	36:20.5	+54.9
7	9	FIN	Kaisa Makarainen	0+0+1+1	2	36:27.1	+1:01.5
8	21	UKR	Olena Pidhrushna	0+0+0+0	0	36:37.1	+1:11.5
9	13	CZE	Veronika Vitkova	0+0+0+0	0	36:49.3	+1:23.7
10	5	SUI	Selina Gasparin	0+1+1+0	2	36:54.9	+1:29.3
11	17	FRA	Anais Bescond	0+0+3+0	3	36:55.3	+1:29.7
12	25	USA	Susan Dunklee	0+1+1+1	3	36:57.9	+1:32.3
13	11	UKR	Valj Semerenko	0+0+2+0	2	37:03.5	+1:37.9
14	18	ITA	Karin Oberhofer	0+0+1+1	2	37:03.6	+1:38.0
15	4	NOR	Tora Berger	0+1+1+0	2	37:07.8	+1:42.2
16	8	BLR	Nadezhda Skardino	0+0+1+1	2	37:08.0	+1:42.4
17	6	UKR	Vita Semerenko	0+0+1+0	1	37:16.1	+1:50.5
18	14	GER	Andrea Henkel	0+0+1+0	1	37:19.2	+1:53.6
19	29	POL	Krystyna Palka	1+0+1+0	2	37:33.9	+2:08.3
20	22	POL	Weronika Nowakowska-Ziemniak	1+0+2+1	4	37:35.2	+2:09.6
21	26	ROU	Eva Tofalvi	1+0+0+1	2	37:50.9	+2:25.3
22	3	RUS	Olga Vilukhina	1+0+0+1	2	38:05.3	+2:39.7
23	16	UKR	Juliya Dzhyma	0+0+2+2	4	38:10.8	+2:45.2
24	20	RUS	Olga Zaitseva	0+0+1+0	1	38:14.2	+2:48.6
25	28	NOR	Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland	0+1+1+0	2	38:15.6	+2:50.0
26	24	ITA	Dorothea Wierer	1+2+0+0	3	38:37.4	+3:11.8
27	1	SVK	Anastasiya Kuzmina	0+2+2+1	5	38:50.3	+3:24.7
28	30	CAN	Megan Imrie	1+0+1+3	5	38:59.0	+3:33.4
29	15	GER	Franziska Hilderbrand	1+0+1+1	3	39:09.5	+3:43.9
	27	SUI	Elisa Gasparin	0+1	1	DNF

After a flawless first shooting range, Domracheva jumped out to a six-second lead and never looked back. It was a blistering pace many were right to wonder if she could keep without error, but the only issue for the star from Belarus was a single miss at the shooting range—on her fourth trip with the gold all but assured.

The end result was reminiscent of how events played out in the 15-kilometer individual race, as Domracheva told reporters after that event the credit should go to her service man for being able to get away from Soukalova, via Julien Pretot of Reuters:

"On a few loops I was with (Czech Gabriela) Soukalova and she was following me easily so I was a bit concerned. I think everyone saw that I had fantastic skis, it's thanks to my service man."

Suffice to say, Domracheva and her skis were once again in top form on Day 10.

For the 24-year-old Soukalova, the silver medal and a place on the podium is a relief after finishing in fourth place in both the 10-kilometer pursuit and the 15-kilometer individual events.

While relief is the right feeling for Soukalova, utter shock is the best way to describe the performance from Norway's 23-year-old Eckhoff. She had finished no better than 18th in the prior three events before Monday's action.

America yet again extended its medal drought in the biathlon discipline in Sochi. However, fans can take solace in the fact that Susan Dunklee, the country's only representative on Monday, came in 12th—the best finish for U.S. women in Olympic history:

The host country had two representatives in front of fans, but Olga Vilukhina and Olga Zaitseva finished 22nd and 24th, respectively. The latter showed spectators early on in the race just how difficult the course truly was:

The brutal course was poetically dominated by Domracheva to end the individual women's biathlon events in Sochi.

Now, the focus shifts to relays, where Domracheva and Belarus should be the clear favorite. The mixed relay takes place on Wednesday, while the women's 4x6-kilometer relay takes place two days later.

Belarus figures to be a major player in both, especially thanks to the strong form of Nadezhda Skardino, who scored bronze in the 15-kilometer event.

As far as other contenders in the women's relay, Norway will obviously be strong thanks to Eckhoff and Tora Berger, while it would be unwise to sleep on the host nation considering Vilukhina won a silver in the 7.5-kilometer event recently.

Note: All info courtesy of Sochi2014.com unless otherwise specified.

Biathlon greats Martin Fourcade of France and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen will have to wait another day to begin their attempts at Olympic history. Following an unforeseen act of nature, the men's biathlon 15-kilometer mass start was pushed back from Sunday morning to Monday.

Heavy fog rolled into the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center on Sunday. The discipline was initially postponed for an hour. However, with the fog refusing to give way, it was declared that the shooting range did not have proper visibility, and the event was inevitably pushed back to Monday at 1 a.m. ET.

Here's how Monday's schedule looks after the postponement of the biathlon:

Time (ET)	Event	Live TV
12 a.m.	Women's Curling: RUS vs. GBR	--
12 a.m.	Women's Curling: RUS vs. GBR	--
1 a.m.	Biathlon: Men's 15km Mass Start	--
2 a.m.	Men's Snowboard Cross: Seeding	--
3 a.m.	Women's Curling: KOR vs. USA	NBCSN
4:30 a.m.	Men's Snowboard Cross: 1/8 Final	--
4:52 a.m.	Men's Snowboard Cross: Quarterfinals	--
5:04 a.m.	Men's Snowboard Cross: Semifinals	--
5 a.m.	Men's Curling: CHN vs. GBR	--
5 a.m.	Men's Curling: GER vs. RUS	--
5 a.m.	Men's Curling: SUI vs. USA	USA
5 a.m.	Men's Curling: NOR vs. DEN	--
7 a.m.	Women's Ice Hockey Playoffs: USA vs. SWE	NBCSN
8:45 a.m.	Freestyle Skiing: Men's Aerials Qualification 1	--
9:30 a.m.	Freestyle Skiing: Men's Aerials Qualification 2	--
9:30 a.m.	Bobsled: Two-Man Heat 3	--
10 a.m.	Women's Curling: CHN vs. SUI	--
10 a.m.	Women's Curling: CAN vs. KOR	--
10 a.m.	Women's Curling: SWE vs. JPN	--
10 a.m.	Figure Skating: Ice Dance Free Dance	NBCSN
11:05 a.m.	Bobsled: Two-Man Heat 4	--
12 p.m.	Women's Ice Hockey Playoffs: Can vs. SUI	MSNBC
12:15 p.m.	Ski Jumping: Men's Team Round 1	--
12:30 p.m.	Freestyle Skiing: Men's Aerials Finals 1	--
12:55 p.m.	Freestyle Skiing: Men's Aerials Finals 2	--
1:30 p.m.	Biathlon: Women's 12.5km Mass Start	NBCSN
1:30 p.m.	Ski Jumping: Men's Team Finals	NBCSN
3 p.m.	Freestyle Skiing: Men's Aerials Finals 3	NBC
3 p.m.	Men's Snowboard Cross: Finals	NBC
5 p.m.	Women's Curling: DEN vs. GBR	CNBC

All events can be live streamed on NBCOlympics.com.

 

Prime-Time Schedule

For those who are unable to watch the action during the day—or simply want to see it all over again—NBC will show highlights from the day's events during its prime-time coverage starting at 8 p.m ET. Here's a look at the events that will be showcased:

• Snowboarding: Men's Snowboard Cross
• Ski Jumping: Men's Aerials
• Figure Skating: Ice Dance Free Dance
• Ski Jumping: Men's Team Large Hill

NBC Late Night Coverage (Tuesday, 1 a.m. ET)

• Bobsled: Men's Two-Man
• Figure Skating Recap

Now, let's take a look at the updated viewing information and live stream for the men's 15-kilometer mass start followed by its outlook once it finally takes place.

Viewing Information for Postponed Event

What: Biathlon: Men's 15-Kilometer Mass Start

Where: Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center

When: Monday, Feb. 17

Time: 1 a.m. ET

Channel: NBC

Prime-Time Coverage: 8 p.m. ET, NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

Outlook

With better conditions hopefully arriving on Monday, Fourcade and Bjoerndalen will each have a chance to earn a place in Olympic history.

Fourcade will be looking to continue his biathlon dominance in Sochi, as he has already claimed two gold medals in the 2014 Olympics—one in the men's 20-kilometer individual and one in the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit.

At just 25 years of age, Fourcade figures to be one of the most exciting biathlon athletes for years to come. In fact, he is already being compared to the legendary Bjoerndalen. During an interview with Eric Willemsen of ABC News, Fourcade spoke of the honor.

Said Fourcade, "It's an honor to be compared to Bjoerndalen. But I am not thinking about becoming part of biathlon history. I am just happy when I can share my victories with friends and teammates."

The 40-year-old Bjoerndalen will be making his own run at Winter Games history.

He is currently tied with fellow Norwegian Bjorn Daehlie with a total of 12 medals in the Winter Olympics—the most ever. What makes Bjoerndalen so impressive is his consistency. Seven of his 12 Olympic medals are gold—the most recent coming this year in the men's 10-kilometer sprint.

Should Bjoerndalen reach the podium on Monday, he will be the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time.

The women’s individual biathlon event came to a close in Sochi on Friday after a thrilling competition. 84 women participated in the final round, but only three broke through on the biggest stage with podium-worthy performances—including two Belarusians.

Sochi 2014 tweeted out the results:

Darya Domracheva was the top performer and personally brought home yet another gold medal for Belarus after earning gold in the women’s pursuit on Tuesday.

She finished the 15-kilometer shooting and cross-country skiing event in a blazing time of 43:19.6 minutes, by far the best of any competitor.

Sweden’s Selina Gasparin and Nadezhda Skardino, also of Belarus, weren’t able to catch Domracheva, but still showed off their elite marksmanship and outstanding skiing skills on their way to silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Let’s recap how each competitor earned her spot on the podium and check out the final rankings for all competitors who participated in the medal round of the women’s 15-kilometer individual biathlon.

Rank	Country	Name	Time	Shooting	Total Penalties	Total Penalties	Behind
1	BLR	Darya DOMRACHEVA	43:19.6	0+1+0+0	1	1	0.0
2	SUI	Selina GASPARIN	44:35.3	0+0+0+0	0	0	+1:15.7
3	BLR	Nadezhda SKARDINO	44:57.8	0+0+0+0	0	0	+1:38.2
4	CZE	Gabriela SOUKALOVA	45:17.1	0+1+0+1	2	2	+1:57.5
5	FRA	Anais BESCOND	45:34.0	0+2+0+0	2	2	+2:14.4
6	CZE	Veronika VITKOVA	45:46.0	0+0+0+1	1	1	+2:26.4
7	UKR	Juliya DZHYMA	45:49.9	0+1+0+0	1	1	+2:30.3
8	UKR	Olena PIDHRUSHNA	45:59.5	0+0+0+1	1	1	+2:39.9
9	FIN	Kaisa MAKARAINEN	46:02.5	0+1+0+2	3	3	+2:42.9
10	POL	Krystyna PALKA	46:27.3	0+0+0+0	0	0	+3:07.7
11	SLO	Teja GREGORIN	46:38.7	1+0+0+1	2	2	+3:19.1
12	POL	Monika HOJNISZ	46:44.3	1+0+0+1	2	2	+3:24.7
13	GER	Laura DAHLMEIER	46:45.7	1+0+0+0	1	1	+3:26.1
14	ITA	Karin OBERHOFER	46:46.6	0+0+0+2	2	2	+3:27.0
15	RUS	Olga ZAITSEVA	47:06.9	0+0+1+1	2	2	+3:47.3
16	NOR	Tora BERGER	47:12.6	1+2+0+0	3	3	+3:53.0
17	FRA	Marie Laure BRUNET	47:13.6	0+0+0+0	0	0	+3:54.0
18	NOR	Tiril ECKHOFF	47:20.4	0+1+1+1	3	3	+4:00.8
19	UKR	Valj SEMERENKO	47:28.2	1+0+1+0	2	2	+4:08.6
20	GER	Evi SACHENBACHER-STEHLE	47:30.4	3+0+0+0	3	3	+4:10.8
21	ROU	Eva TOFALVI	47:30.8	0+0+1+0	1	1	+4:11.2
22	CZE	Eva PUSKARCIKOVA	47:34.6	0+0+0+1	1	1	+4:15.0
23	USA	Hannah DREISSIGACKER	47:51.7	1+0+0+1	2	2	+4:32.1
24	NOR	Elise RINGEN	47:54.0	0+0+0+2	2	2	+4:34.4
25	BLR	Liudmila KALINCHIK	48:06.2	0+1+0+1	2	2	+4:46.6
26	FRA	Marine BOLLIET	48:12.1	0+2+0+0	2	2	+4:52.5
27	SVK	Anastasiya KUZMINA	48:14.1	0+1+0+3	4	4	+4:54.5
28	AUT	Katharina INNERHOFER	48:28.3	1+1+1+1	4	4	+5:08.7
29	UKR	Vita SEMERENKO	48:29.2	0+0+0+3	3	3	+5:09.6
30	CAN	Megan IMRIE	48:32.7	1+0+1+0	2	2	+5:13.1
31	POL	Weronika NOWAKOWSKA-ZIEMNIAK	48:35.2	1+1+2+0	4	4	+5:15.6
32	POL	Magdalena GWIZDON	48:44.1	1+1+0+0	2	2	+5:24.5
33	SUI	Elisa GASPARIN	48:46.9	1+1+1+0	3	3	+5:27.3
34	USA	Susan DUNKLEE	48:54.1	1+1+2+1	5	5	+5:34.5
35	BLR	Nadzeya PISAREVA	48:55.4	0+3+0+0	3	3	+5:35.8
36	AUT	Lisa Theresa HAUSER	48:56.4	0+0+0+1	1	1	+5:36.8
37	SUI	Irene CADURISCH	49:01.0	0+0+1+0	1	1	+5:41.4
38	GER	Franziska HILDEBRAND	49:06.4	0+2+0+0	2	2	+5:46.8
39	FRA	Marie DORIN HABERT	49:06.5	2+1+0+1	4	4	+5:46.9
40	KAZ	Darya USANOVA	49:13.5	1+0+0+1	2	2	+5:53.9
41	KAZ	Galina VISHNEVSKAYA	49:26.9	1+1+0+0	2	2	+6:07.3
42	LTU	Diana RASIMOVICIUTE	49:32.5	1+1+0+1	3	3	+6:12.9
43	ITA	Alexia RUNGGALDIER	49:35.6	1+0+0+0	1	1	+6:16.0
44	EST	Kadri LEHTLA	49:44.8	1+0+1+0	2	2	+6:25.2
45	ITA	Nicole GONTIER	49:51.2	0+1+2+1	4	4	+6:31.6
46	CHN	Yan ZHANG	49:57.0	0+0+0+0	0	0	+6:37.4
47	KAZ	Elena KHRUSTALEVA	50:00.1	2+1+0+0	3	3	+6:40.5
48	AND	Laure SOULIE	50:04.2	1+1+0+1	3	3	+6:44.6
49	RUS	Olga PODCHUFAROVA	50:13.3	0+1+0+1	2	2	+6:53.7
50	SVK	Jana GEREKOVA	50:20.8	0+1+1+3	5	5	+7:01.2
51	CAN	Megan HEINICKE	50:26.8	3+0+0+1	4	4	+7:07.2
52	JPN	Fuyuko SUZUKI	50:27.4	0+1+0+2	3	3	+7:07.8
53	RUS	Yana ROMANOVA	50:42.1	1+1+2+0	4	4	+7:22.5
54	ESP	Victoria PADIAL HERNANDEZ	50:48.5	1+0+1+1	3	3	+7:28.9
55	USA	Sara STUDEBAKER	50:53.4	2+1+1+0	4	4	+7:33.8
56	NOR	Ann Kristin Aafedt FLATLAND	51:00.0	1+2+0+1	4	4	+7:40.4
57	CHN	Jialin TANG	51:03.7	0+1+0+2	3	3	+7:44.1
58	EST	Grete GAIM	51:28.5	0+0+0+2	2	2	+8:08.9
59	SVK	Martina CHRAPANOVA	52:00.5	2+0+1+2	5	5	+8:40.9
60	CZE	Jitka LANDOVA	52:05.7	2+1+2+1	6	6	+8:46.1
61	RUS	Ekaterina GLAZYRINA	52:13.7	1+0+2+1	4	4	+8:54.1
62	SUI	Aita GASPARIN	52:14.9	1+3+1+0	5	5	+8:55.3
63	CAN	Zina KOCHER	53:00.7	1+4+0+3	8	8	+9:41.1
64	USA	Lanny BARNES	53:02.2	1+0+1+1	3	3	+9:42.6
65	KAZ	Alina RAIKOVA	53:15.6	1+0+1+1	3	3	+9:56.0
66	SVK	Terezia POLIAKOVA	53:19.8	0+3+1+2	6	6	+10:00.2
67	CAN	Rosanna CRAWFORD	53:29.8	2+1+1+1	5	5	+10:10.2
68	JPN	Miki KOBAYASHI	54:01.0	1+2+1+0	4	4	+10:41.4
69	KOR	Ji-Hee MUN	54:06.7	0+0+2+1	3	3	+10:47.1
70	HUN	Emoke SZOCS	54:12.3	1+1+1+3	6	6	+10:52.7
71	GBR	Amanda LIGHTFOOT	54:38.1	1+2+1+1	5	5	+11:18.5
72	BUL	Desislava STOYANOVA	54:41.1	1+2+0+3	6	6	+11:21.5
73	EST	Johanna TALIHAERM	55:16.5	2+1+0+3	6	6	+11:56.9
74	EST	Daria YURLOVA	55:18.0	0+2+2+2	6	6	+11:58.4
75	JPN	Yuki NAKAJIMA	56:00.2	3+2+1+0	6	6	+12:40.6
76	BRA	Jaqueline MOURAO	57:22.6	1+2+3+1	7	7	+14:03.0
77	CHN	Na SONG	59:43.3	0+2+2+2	6	6	+16:23.7
78	AUS	Lucy GLANVILLE	1:01:00.7	1+0+1+2	4	4	+17:41.1
	LAT	Zanna JUSKANE	DNF	2+2+2	6	6
	BIH	Tanja KARISIK	DNF	1	1	1
	GER	Franziska PREUSS	DNF	2+3	5	5
	JPN	Rina SUZUKI	DNF	0+2	2	2
	FIN	Mari LAUKKANEN	DNS
	ITA	Dorothea WIERER	DNS

Recap

Every woman who had aspirations of winning a medal for her country had to perform well at each of the four shooting stages, plus shave valuable time by quickly skiing to the next station.

Two of the shooting phases involved going to a prone position and firing whilst lying down in the snow, while competitors had to remain standing for the other pair. Missing any of the targets would result in a harsh penalty of one minute added to the biathletes final time.

Obviously, a premium is placed on hitting each of the targets and that’s exactly what Domracheva did. She missed just one of her 20 attempts and a large reason why she was able to outpace the competition by a large margin.

Mark Rogerson noted that Domracheva was installed as a 9-4 favorite to win this event and easily lived up to expectations:

It was Domracheva’s second gold medal of the 2014 Winter Olympics. She found herself atop the podium after the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit earlier in the week.

Eric Willemsen of The Associated Press (via ABC News) caught the Belarusian superstar speaking about her preparation process at a press conference after the 10-kilometer event:

I was really calm and confident before the race. I was the hope of my country. I didn't read the papers but I felt that everyone had hopes on me. I felt their nerves. But I just tried to be myself and rely on myself as I have a lot of experience.

Gasparin did not miss a single shot on her way to a silver medal, but took too much time lining up her shots, skiing to each station and crossing the finish line. That patience eventually cost her, as she finished 1:15.7 minutes behind the gold medalist.

Skardino made the same mistakes, being too careful and patient on her way to a bronze medal performance. She did not miss a target, but was unable to top the podium with a time better than her fellow countrywoman. The 28-year-old completed the course in 44:57.8 minutes.

Hannah Dreissigacker was the top American finisher in this event. She completed her run with a time of 47:51.7 minutes good for 23rd place in this event.

Susan Dunklee, coming off an impressive 14th place finish in the 7.5-kilometer sprint, was not able to bring home the first biathlon medal to the United States. She earned penalties at each of the four stations, including a disastrous third stop in which the 28-year-old missed two targets.

Dunklee’s time of 48:54.1minutes was good for 34th place in the 15-kilometer individual, the oldest and arguably most prestigious biathlon event.

What’s Next

While the women’s individual has now joined a long list of biathlon events to conclude at the 2014 Winter Olympics, there are still plenty more competitions on the horizon for these incredible snipers on skis to participate in.

The men’s mass start event is the next on tap, which will take place and award a medal on Sunday. That will be followed by the women’s mass start on Monday, which also will result in three medals for the top participants.

Relays will close out the biathlon discipline at the Sochi Games, as the mixed competition takes place on Feb. 19, the women’s on Feb. 21 and the men’s to wrap everything up on Feb. 22.

Bleacher Report will provide instant-analysis and recaps for each of these events, so check back often for the latest biathlon results.

Darya Domracheva earned the first medal for Belarus at the 2014 Sochi Olympics with her gold medal-performance in the Women's 10-kilometer pursuit biathlon. 

Unlike many other Olympic events, there is a direct connection from a previous race as the start times line up based on the finishes for the sprint. Slovakia's Anastasiya Kuzmina started things off with a 20-second lead thanks to her win on Sunday.

However, no one has ever won both the sprint and the pursuit at the Olympics and that did not change at Sochi. Despite a 32-second deficit to start, Domracheva finished with a time of 29 minutes and 30.7 seconds. 

Douglas Gelevan of CBC provided a look at the exhausted competitor on her way through the finish line:

While speed is obviously important in any race, shooting accuracy is the biggest factor in the biathlon pursuit. There are four shooting stations, two prone and two standing, and any miss leads to an extra penalty lap.

This was a big story early on as the leader Kuzmina missed a shot on the second shooting bout. Domracheva then took the lead, which was built up to almost a full minute. However, even she missed on her 20th and final shot, according to Gelevan:

It left the door open for any competitor to close the gap, but the pressure eventually got to Kuzmina, who was in second at the time. She missed on the final set as well, knocking the sprint winner out of the running, as noted by Olivia Wittels of NBC Olympics:

Kuzmina was not going to discount her chances heading into the race despite history not being on her side. The 29-year-old champion was asked if she could win a double and responded, "We will see. It's biathlon, you can never say what is written tomorrow," via Eric Willemsen of the Associated Press (h/t Sacramento Bee).

Unfortunately, her two missed shots dropped her to sixth place despite her outstanding skiing.

It took Domracheva's overall accuracy and great cross-country racing up and down the course in order to take gold.

Tora Berger of Norway had a similar showing and earned a silver medal after finishing 37.6 seconds back. Slovenia's Teja Gregorin rounded out the podium with a bronze medal.

While these are the best competitors in the world, the shooting struggles truly proved how tough the competition can be. Only two athletes—Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland and Olga Zaitseva—hit all of their targets. Unfortunately, they each started over one minute behind and could not catch up.

Still, the story of the day was Domracheva and her outstanding run from start to finish, highlighted here:

The Belarusian dominated the field and was well-deserving of the gold medal in this competition.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

Olympic legend Ole Einar Bjoerndalen stole the show on Day 1 of the 2014 Winter Games in the men's 10-kilometer sprint.

Now at the age of 40, Bjoerndalen's 12th Olympic medal was never in doubt after his run that saw him shoot just one penalty and a total time of 24:33.5—a full 1.3 seconds before the second-place finisher, Dominik Landertinger.

As NBC illustrates, No. 12 for Bjoerndalen ties an all-time Winter Olympic record:

The win also marks Bjoerndalen's seventh Olympic gold in an illustrious career that began with his first top prize back in 1998, as the Australian Olympic Committee details:

Here is a look at how the 10 competitors fared in the event:

Rank	Name	Start Time	Shooting	Total Penalties	Time	Behind
1	Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway)	18:42:00	0+1	1	24:33.5	0.0
2	Dominik Landertinger (Austria)	18:37:30	0+0	0	24:34.8	+1.3
3	Jaroslav Soukup (Czech Republic)	18:50:00	0+0	0	24:39.2	+5.7
4	Anton Shipulin (Russia)	18:54:00	0+1	1	24:39.9	+6.4
5	Jean-Philippe Le Guellec (Canada)	19:02:30	0+0	0	24:43.2	+9.7
6	Martin Fourcade (France)	18:49:30	1+0	1	24:45.9	+12.4
7	Simon Eder (Austria)	18:45:00	0+0	0	24:47.2	+13.7
8	Ondrej Moravec (Czech Republic)	18:33:00	0+0	0	24:48.1	+14.6
9	Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway)	18:44:30	0+1	1	25:02.8	+29.3
10	Jakov Fak (Slovenia)	19:06:00	0+0	0	25:06.5	+33.0

Rounding out the podium was Landertinger with his 24:34.8 total, which was good for silver.

The Czech Republic's Jaroslav Soukup beat out more high-profile names such as fellow countryman Ondrej Moravec (who finished eighth) for the bronze medal thanks to his penalty-free shooting and an overall time of 24:39.2—just 5.7 seconds shy of first place.

France's Martin Fourcade was another favorite entering the event, but his pursuit of gold was hindered by one penalty and a 24:45.9 mark that saw him land in sixth.

Perhaps the most notable name to miss out on a trip to the podium was Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen, who is often hailed as the heir to Bjoerndalen after a silver medal at the same event in the Vancouver Games.

Svendsen landed in ninth place at 25:02.8 after a costly penalty, a sound 29.3 seconds behind Bjoerndalen. He can atone for his mistakes in the 20-kilometer event later in the Games, which he won gold in back in 2010. 

As ESPN points out, the biathlon was another chance for America to grab a medal in the one Winter Olympic sport it still had yet to find success:

The United States' best chance to make history was Tim Burke, who wound up in 19th place after one shooting penalty and a 25:23.3 total time, 49.8 seconds out of the lead.

The journey for Bjoerndalen, Svendsen and the rest of the field is far from over, with the 12.5-kilometer pursuit and individual 20-kilometer events still on the horizon in the coming week.

Note: All results and info courtesy of Sochi2014.com unless otherwise noted.