Fourcade claims second Sochi gold - eyes more

France's Martin Fourcade stamped his authority on the Olympic biathlon by winning the 20km individual title on Thursday to earn his second gold medal of the Sochi Winter Games.

Fourcade, who won the 12.5km pursuit on Monday, made one mistake on the shooting range but was too fast on the skis for his rivals, making short work of his one-minute penalty.

German Erik Lesser shot clean but had to be content with silver, finishing 12.2 seconds behind Fourcade, a result he "had not even dreamt about."

Russian Evgeniy Garanichev took the bronze, 34.5 off the pace, on his 26th birthday, having also missed one target.

"There is less pressure than during a pursuit because you're on your own, there was less pressure," Fourcade told a news conference.

Fourcade, who also won silver in the mass start at the Vancouver Games four years ago, almost fell on a downhill curve as unseasonably warm temperatures made conditions tricky.

However, he managed to stay on his skis, avoiding a crash that would certainly have deprived him of the title.

"The conditions were a little bit complicated in the bends today," said Fourcade.

"The important thing is to stay up, that's why I put my hand on the cover. It added a bit of suspense," added Fourcade, who had reached out to a protective barrier to steady himself at one point.

"I sort of did a Bode Miller," he said with a smile.

The overall World Cup leader had started his campaign in slightly disappointing fashion, taking sixth place in the 10km sprint, but he thrashed the opposition to win the pursuit and on Thursday he lived up to all expectations.

Fantastic athlete

Emil Hegle Svendsen, usually Fourcade's fiercest rival, continued his disappointing Games as the Norwegian finished seventh, almost a minute behind the winner.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, who won the sprint on Saturday, was looking to secure a record-breaking 13th Winter Olympics medal but was never in the mix as he made one mistake at each shooting section to end 34th.

Bjoerndalen, a seven-time Olympic champion, heaped praise on Fourcade.

"He is a fantastic athlete, he is so strong. I am happy for him, he is one of the best ever," he told reporters.

Bjoerndalen's former rival Raphael Poiree had said on Wednesday he believed Fourcade was "the new Bjoerndalen."

France coach Stephane Bouthiaux said Fourcade had an incomparable capacity to focus.

"He knows that if he misses a target at the last shooting he loses the title and yet he manages to shoot without even thinking about it. Nobody else can do that," he said.

The Frenchman will now hope to add to his tally with the mass start, which is being held on Sunday, the relay and the mixed relay, and said the relay would be his top priority.

"I think now the goal is only the relay, there is a mass start and I will give my best, but then I only want to win medals with my mates," he said.

"We've been fighting together for four years and we want to all come back with a medal." - Reuters

Michael Martinez's road to Sochi was rough and expensive

A lot has been said about the Philippines' lone bet at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, but perhaps those who joined him on the ice know a little bit more.

SM Skating continues to operate three rinks: one in SM Southmall, one at the SM Mall of Asia, and a recently re-opened third in SM Megamall. Proximity to these locations isn't even half the battle in learning to skate. Aspirants who wish to be world-class figure skaters like Martinez need a lot of time and money to get there.

"A skater has to go the extreme, he has to choose between going to a regular school and training," said Noel C. Resultay, Senior Operations Manager - Ice Skating and Bowling for the Southmall branch, who divulged that Martinez had to train for 4-to-6 hours a day. "A skater has to have a determination to achieve his/her goals, he has to strictly follow training schedules and always listen to advice from his coaching team. Michael opted to have a home study program to concentrate fully on his training."

Aside from time, money is also a big factor in staking. Resultay shared that a top caliber skater may end up shelling out P50,000 to P75,000 per month for lessons and equipment.

The mall chain shared that it has also done its part in supporting Martinez.

"Aside from giving him free ice time at all SM Ice Skating Rinks, SM Prime President Mr. Hans T. Sy, thru the Philippine Skating Union, has given Michael a total amount of Php 1.5 million to defray cost of his training locally and abroad," shared Raymund Retumban, Division Manager of SM Ice Skating Rinks. "The Philippine Skating Union has also solicited Php 500,000 from individuals which was also given to him last November 2013."

Resultay added that the tropical weather condition in the country is never a source of discouragement for your figure skaters, as passion powers young performers on ice:

"Ice Skating is a unique sport in a tropical country like the Philippines. The Philippine skaters are very passionate about it, and of course their parents have been very supportive of their children when it comes to sports. Filipinos in figure skating are known to be versatile and expressive like how they easily interpret music through their gracefulness of movements seems natural."   - AMD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Bjoerndalen matches record 12th medal with biathlon win

ROSA KHUTOR - After almost two years without an individual win, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen stamped his authority on the Olympics by winning Saturday's (Sunday, PHL time) biathlon sprint to claim a record-equaling 12th Winter Games medal.

After skiing 10km, punctuated with two shooting sessions, the 40-year-old Norwegian became the oldest Winter Games gold medallist and matched compatriot Bjorn Daehlie's medals mark.

Bjoerndalen now has seven golds to his name, trailing eight-time Olympic cross-country skiing champion Daehlie only on 'golds difference'.

"I did everything the way I should today," Bjoerndalen, whose previous individual victory came in a pursuit on Feb. 12, 2012, told Norway's TV2.

"It was a perfectly paced race. I did things the way I know best."

He missed one of 10 targets but shot fast and skied flawlessly to beat Austrian Dominik Landertinger, who took silver, by 1.3 seconds.

Bronze medalist Jaroslav Soukup of the Czech Republic finished 5.7 seconds off the pace.

Pre-race favorites Martin Fourcade of France and Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen were sixth and ninth.

Russian Anton Shipulin ended a frustrating fourth, 0.7 seconds from the podium as the host nation were left still waiting for their first medal of the Games.

It was clear early on that Bjoerndalen was back to his best.

A perfect prone shooting session put him in good position and despite a mistake in the standing shooting, Bjoerndalen used perfectly-prepared skis to make up for lost time.

Missing a shot in the sprint event means the biathlete incurs a 150 metre penalty lap, roughly equal to 20-25 seconds.

Overall World Cup leader Fourcade underlined the importance of the skis.

"There are a lot of things to analyze," he told reporters. "The speed on the skis, for example."

Motivation not a problem

It was Bjoerndalen's third sprint Olympic title after his 1998 and 2002 triumphs.

He failed to win a title in Turin in 2006 and snatched gold four years ago in Vancouver in the relay event, but never lost faith he could be at the very top again.

"There were some problems for some years but motivation was never a problem," the softly-spoken Bjoerndalen told a news conference.

"This medal means a lot to me. It's one of the most important."

Bjoerndalen now looks set to beat Daehlie's medals haul as he will take part in a relay event Norway will start as one of the favorites.

Daehlie told Norway's TV2 Bjoerndalen had surprised his opponents.

"I'm deeply impressed," he said. "He's 40 and he's the fastest skier ... I don't think his competitors had expected that."

Fourcade said: "Last year, everybody talked about him and that he needed to retire.

"But I was one of the ones who trusted him and I always told him that he had to follow his own way. Today he shut the mouths of all the people who were speaking about him."

With 51 podium places he has more Olympic and world championships medals than birthdays. He will start Monday's pursuit in first position as he carries Saturday's time advantages into the 12.5 km race. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com