HEROES
Magdalena Neuner. For her sake, it was worth going to the Far North even from Vladivostok, even from New York or even Melbourne. This season, the young German woman does not get tired of giving the audience a smile, amazing distance speed and, finally, erupted (no one knows where) marksmanship. Seize the moment! Neuner is not yet at the age when work gets boring and turns into a routine. It seems that she has so much strength, emotion and desire that, if you had a competition every day, Magdalena, without hesitation, would rush to the start. In Khanty-Mansiysk, the three-time world champion confirmed the high class, confidently winning the sprint and the pursuit.
Andrea Henkel. The last race - the mass start - decided for Henkel if not everything (it sounds somewhat grandiloquently), then a lot. At stake was a large Crystal Globe, which Anna-Karin Olofsson also claimed. And it must happen that on the very first “lying” Henkel screwed up all five shots. It was just right to remove the skis, toss the rifle into the thorn bush and pack the bags. But the brave German continued the race and, at the cost of incredible efforts, reached the valuable trophy. Henkel is the best and most stable! Q.E.D…
OUR
Ivan Cherezov is so mediocre as you still have to try, failed the sprint and graze, that in the mass start no one expected anything from him. Throughout the season, Cherezov was optimistic in shooting, but he did not run fast. After the World Cup, stability was modified into chaos. Ivan either pleased, as in the pursuit races in Lahti and Holmenkollen, then disappointed. The strangest thing is that accuracy has disappeared like smoke. And without her, Cherezov is nowhere. Thank God, in the mass start, the Russian coped with nerves, shooting and formidable rivals. Way to go, Ivan!
Maxim Miracles is a born sprinter. But even his confident run, coupled with flawless shooting at two firing lines, did not bother Michael Resch. The German, despite the slip, “brought” the Russian train for almost nine seconds. Miracle it only angered. In the pursuit, he worked right up to the finish line behind Swede Bjorn Ferry. But brand spurt in the last meters brought Maxim his first victory and became a remake of the World Championships in Anterselva. There, in the same way, with a fantastic effort, Maxim tore the silver from Vincent Defran. What is remarkable in the pursuit ...
Andrei Makoveev fired past targets all season, but showed quite a quick run. It was only necessary to shoot once without a penalty, as luck smiled at the top of its mouth: the third place in the sprint, after Chudov. At the World Universiade 2007 in Turin, the Tyumen biathlete won everything that is possible. Next in turn are the stages of the World Cup ...
SURPRISE
The failure of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. He was traveling to Russia with the hope of scratching the big Crystal Globe from Michael Grice. But the final race showed that the Norwegian was finally tired. The fears were justified in the sprint, where Bjoerndalen managed to miss six (!) Times on two firing lines. In the pursuit, we saw a familiar monster that was flying along the highway and shooting at such a speed that our guys probably did not even dream of. Only Ole Lukoye is able to get from the 48th place in the sprint to the 9th in the pursuit. However, there was also a fly in the ointment: Czech Michal Schlesingr at the finish easily outfitted the Norwegian and hinted that the youth is ready for the feats. Already in the near future ...
QUOTE
“Before the last shooting, I lost a lot to Bjoerndalen. When he arrived at the shooting range, he tried not to think about how the Norwegian shot, but could not resist, and cast a glance at his installation. Bjoerndalen made three misses. But I managed to cope with the nerves ... Until the end I did not believe that I could win. Since childhood, I dreamed of finishing with the Russian flag, ”- world champion Ivan Cherezov shared with the secret how to beat Bjoerndalen in an interview with Sport.
NUMERAL
Ivan Cherezov lost 47 seconds before the final shooting in the mass start to five-time Olympic champion Ole-Einar Bjoerndalen. The situation also looked hopeless because the Norwegian made only one mistake at the three previous firing lines. But the wind unexpectedly interfered in the distribution of prizes. "Great and terrible" did not close the three targets and, in fact, gave victory to the Russian biathlete. Frustrated, Bjoerndalen didn’t even hit the pedestal. So ended the season ...