Very Important for German Team

Up until today, the victors had not been on the podium in either of the two previous competitions here. Wilhelm explained how important this win was for the team. “It was very important for us, especially after our results in the individual races. We were all a little bit nervous at the start of the season, since it is such an important year. But after this victory today, we can have good feelings and look forward to the next races in Hochfilzen.”

Henkel Falls

Of course the win was not without its mishaps for the winners. Andrea Henkel fell in the exchange zone just after taking over from Martina Beck. She explained, “My pole hit my ski and of course, I fell. But this was good, because I could follow on the first loop, which was much easier.”

Russia, with the same shooting, finished second, 18.4 seconds back, while France, with no penalties and seven spare rounds claimed third, 1:25.2 back. The “home” team from Sweden finished fourth, with no penalties and six spares, 1:49.3 back.

Unlike the Men’s Relay, the women’s competition sorted itself out early to some extent. The top four teams of France, Germany, China and Russia had separated themselves out from the rest of the field. China looked extremely strong with another excellent performance from Chaoqing Song, while Anna Boulygina put the Russian team in contention. At the same time, France’s Sylvie Becaert struggled on the last loop and her team slipped into a lonely fourth position. For the next two legs, it was the Russian and German teams battling for the top position, with strong legs by both Olga Zaitseva and Simone Hauswald.

China Slips out of Contention

As in the Men’s Relay, the final leg proved decisive. Germany’s Kati Wilhelm took control as Olga Medvedtseva struggled to hit the targets. After the competition, the top Russian woman commented, “It was good to be second, but our team could have been better today. We definitely could have done better on the shooting range.” The French team had stayed about 40 seconds ahead of the fifth place Sweden, but behind China going into the final leg. However, in the prone stage, Sandrine found herself next to China’s Xue Dong, on the shooting range. Bailly cleaned with a single spare round and the Chinese athlete took two penalty loops. France suddenly was in third, minute ahead of hard-charging Helena Jonsson of Sweden.

Bailly explained how she approached her anchor leg, “I knew that I was 20 seconds behind the Chinese girl when I started. So I went very hard on the first loop. I was surprised to see her still shooting. But that made me a little nervous, as I am not so confident on the shooting range right now. . . I know am in good shape now, but my shooting needs more work. I am a little shaky on the shooting range right now.”

A Bit of Drama

Wilhelm hit her standing targets using a single spare round and was clear of the field with Medvedtseva well behind in second position. Bailly added a bit of drama using a spare round, but got away from the shooting range of Jonsson, who shot clean and fast.

The French team maintained their position to claim third, as even the superb Jonsson could not close a 26-second gap on the short 2K loop.

Even though they were happy with the third place Bailly said she and her team hoped for better than third. “We wanted to do the same as the men. Third is nice, but we have bigger goals.”

Big Day for Austrian Women

Today’s was a historic day for Austria, as they fielded their first-ever women’s relay in World Cup competition. The team of Iris Waldhuber, Ramona Dueringer, Romana Schrempf, and Kerstin Muschet finished 17^th in the field of 20 teams. Waldhuber, in her second World Cup season shot clean while running the leadoff leg.