Neuner shows iron nerve to take pursuit gold

From Sportsbeat Staff, in Whistler

GERMANY'S Magdalena Neuner held her nerve on the shooting range to claim the women's biathlon 10km pursuit at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

GOLDEN UPGRADE: Germany's Magdalena Neuner holds her nerve on the shooting range to upgrade from sprint silver to pursuit gold at Whistler Olympic Park (Getty Images)

The 23-year old struck silver in the 7.5km sprint on Saturday and after losing sprint champion Anastazia Kuzmina at the half-way stage, the four-time world champion raced away to claim her first Olympic gold in 30:16.0 minutes.

The pressure was on the German as she approached the last shoot , but despite missing her final shot, Neuner had enough of a lead to stay in command.

"On my last shot I was very nervous," admitted Neuner. "I was thinking to myself this is the Olympic Games and then I missed one and thought 'shit'.

"But I saw Kuzmina was still six seconds behind me and I told myself that I am in good shape and should simply ski good and let it go.

"I had a lot of mental strength for today's race and when I crossed the finish line, it was a great feeling to know that I am an Olympic champion. It was my race and my day."

The four-time world champion won the sprint and pursuit double at the 2007 World Championships in Antholz and after starting just two seconds behind Kuzmina, was hot-favourite to claim gold at the Whistler Olympic Park.

The pair were neck-and-neck after flawless first prone shoots but a miss on Kuzmina's second prone allowed the German to establish some clear space at the front.

Neuner made her first mistake in the first standing shoot but after Kuzmina had erred as well, the German raced away with a 23 second advantage.

Kuzmina was aiming to become the first female biathlete to complete the Olympic sprint and pursuit double and pulled as close as six seconds behind the German after Neuner missed her fifth shot in her final standing shoot.

But the German, who won the World Cup title in 2008, is known for her speed on the skis and raced away in the final kilometres, eventually finishing 12.3 seconds ahead of the Slovakian.

And Kuzmina admitted she held little hope of catching Neuner once she had fallen behind.

"I felt like she was unbeatable today," said Kuzmina. "I caught up to about six seconds but I did not expect to catch her because my legs felt really tired in the last lap."

France's Marie Laure Brunet enjoyed a perfect day on the range and after moving into third at the half-way stage, maintained her position to capture bronze on her Olympic debut, 28.3 seconds behind Neuner.

Sweden's Bjorn Ferry wins the men's biathlon 12.5km pursuit in Whistler

IN PICTURES: Magdalena Neuner wins 10km pursuit gold at Whistler Olympic Park

AS IT HAPPENS: Day five from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver