Ustyugov shoots clean to capture mass start gold in Whistler

From Sportsbeat Staff, in Whistler

RUSSIA'S Evgeny Ustyugov skied clear of Slovakia's Pavol Hurajt after the fourth shoot to claim men's biathlon 15km mass start gold at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

FLAWLESS DISPLAY: Russia's Evgeny Ustyugov shoots clean to romp to 15km mass start victory at Whister Olympic Park (Getty Images)

In the last individual event of the men's biathlon competition, the pair were the only two to shoot clean through their four shoots.

And while Hurajt set off first after his second standing shoot, Ustyugov - who finished fourth in the 20km individual race earlier in the Games - had the strength to pull clear of the Slovakian and celebrate gold in 35:35.7 minutes.

France's Martin Fourcade skied three penalty loops during the race but still managed to stay in touch with the leaders before powering into second after the last shoot and claiming silver, 10.5 seconds behind the Russian.

Meanwhile, Hurajt held off the challenge of Austria's pursuit silver medallist Christoph Sumann and hung on to bronze, 16.6 back - his country's third biathlon medal after Anastazia Kuzmina's sprint gold and pursuit silver in the women's event.

But the day was about Ustyugov's dominant display and the Russian admitted the result was hard to take in.

"I can't believe that I have won Olympic gold," said Ustyugov. "After the last Olympics I wouldn't have even dreamed I would be here.

"I felt very confident beforehand and I didn't know who would be behind me so I wanted to start very strongly. But I only started to think about the gold when I got to the stadium and I could see the finish line."

 

Austria's Simon Eder had emerged the early leader at the Whistler Olympic Park, impressing with ten lightning fast prone shots to lead at the half-way point.

But two errors in his first standing shoot ruled Eder out of contention and Hurjat took control with Ustyugov, Sweden's Bjorn Ferry, France's Vincent Jay and Austria's Daniel Mesotitsch just behind.

Ustyugov took to the front between the third and fourth shooting stages, trying to stretch the five-strong leading group.

But all five held on as they approached the range for the fourth and final time, with the medal places up for grabs to those who could hold their nerve.

Pursuit champion Ferry was the first to break, missing twice, with Mesotitsch also missing a couple of times.

Jay, who scooped sprint gold and pursuit silver earlier in the Games missed just once but couldn't recover the missed time after a penalty loop.

Instead it was Ustyugov who skied clear of Hurjat, racing away as the Slovakian concentrated on holding on to a medal.

It wasn't to be silver for Hurjat as Fourcade - who will surely wonder what might have happened if he had shot clean - sped past him into second but the Slovakian's flawless performance on the range had given him enough of a margin to stay clear of trouble and claim bronze.

 

 AS IT HAPPENS: Day ten of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver