Sapporo: Norwegian biathlete Berger best in 15 km
Biathlete Lars Berger of Norway was the surprise gold medalist Wednesday in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships as a harder-than-expected snowstorm struck midway through the starting field. Lars Flora and James Southam had the top U.S. results, finishing 57th and 58th in the field of 119 racers.
SAPPORO, Japan — Biathlete Lars Berger of Norway was the surprise gold medalist Wednesday in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships as a harder-than-expected snowstorm struck midway through the starting field. Lars Flora and James Southam had the top U.S. results, finishing 57th and 58th in the field of 119 racers.
Berger normally skis biathlon but has skied in several World Cup cross-country races — and was fourth, less than three seconds from the bronze medal – in the 15 km at the 2005 worlds; he started 55th and finished in 35 minutes, 50.0 seconds for the win. Unheralded Belorussian Leanid Karneyenka, who skied No. 2 before the storm struck, took the silver medal (36:25.8) while defending World Cup champion and current points leader Tobias Angerer of Germany finishing third (36:42.4).
“I got a bit lucky with the weather,” said Berger. “The first half of the race was very fast but then the snow started to feel like glue after that.”
“The snow made it very difficult,” added Angerer, who started last. “I knew as the race went on that I had a chance, so I’m happy with this medal but a little sad at the same time.”
Norway won only one gold medal in Nordic events at the Torino Olympics with Lars Bystoel winning normal-hill ski jumping, and is well on its way to restoring some national pride in this event.
Berger captured Norway’s 10th medal of the meet. Norway leads the overall medal standings followed by Germany with six and Finland with five.
The Norwegians are using all resources and have called upon biathletes Ole Einar Bjorndalen and Berger to help out in cross-country.
“I like to race fast on skis but I don’t plan to entirely do cross-country,” said Berger. “My main focus will remain biathlon.”
Karneyenka also took advantage of the early start.
“I didn’t expect this result at all,” said Karneyenka, who started third out of 121 skiers. “When I finished I watched on the big screen and knew I had a pretty good time.”
Snow impedes Americans
“It started snowing harder right when we were starting,” said Flora, who skied out of the No. 53 start. Southam ran 57th with Andrew Johnson 62nd and Kris Freeman 76th. “It snowed around bib 25 for maybe five minutes and then it stopped … and then it began really pounding a little after we started.”
Flora’s time was 39:13.0 while Southam finished in 39:15.8. Freeman, who was 10th at the 2 km mark, 8.7 seconds off the pace and 20th, nearly 50 seconds out by 5.7 kilometers, finished 65th in the two-lap race.
“It was kind of insane,” Flora said. “All I was thinking was ‘At least we’re not classic [technique] skiing … or waxing for someone skiing classic.’ It was a crazy day.”
The snow was problematic, he said, adding, “I don’t think it was my best performance of the year, but we skied solid — nothing amazing, but nothing bad, either. They thought it was gonna be smaller, just a little storm. The uphills were OK, downhills OK because they were packed … but the winds on the flats really sucked you down. That made it tougher.”
“I’m not even tired,” said Freeman, who was 19th Saturday in the 30 km pursuit. “I feel so good … really, so great. I focused my whole season on this one race and for that squall to come in just sucks.”
Head coach Pete Vordenberg, regrouping quickly, canceled plans for the men’s 4×10 km relay Friday “so we can focus on the 50K Sunday. I think the 50K is still a good opportunity for the guys to have a good result for the team, and running the relay would not be the best preparation for the 50.
“We want to put this thing behind us as soon as possible. It’s ancient history and now we’ll look to the 50 for a good performance.”
He admired Berger’s result — “Berger’s legit, no problem with him winning because he’s a fine skier, cross-country and biathlon” — and was equally impressed with Angerer getting the bronze medal. “He must’ve had an incredible race, just incredible. The snow stopped while he was out there, but it was coming down hard when he started, too, so he must have really turned it on in those final kilometers.”
The next cross-country race will be Thursday with the women’s 4×5 km relay before their final event, Saturday’s 30 km CL.
SAPPORO, Japan — Results Wednesday from the Nordic World Ski Championships:
Men
Cross-country
15-kilometers
1. Lars Berger, Norway, 35 minutes, 50.0 seconds.
2. Leanid Karneyenka, Belarus, 35.8 seconds behind.
3. Tobias Angerer, Germany, 52.4.
4. Johannes Eder, Austria, 58.3.
5. Axel Teichmann, Germany, 1:14.6.
6. Alexander Legkov, Russia, 1:16.4.
7. Franz Goering, Germany, 1:17.9.
8. Johan Olsson, Sweden, 1:19.3.
9. Marcus Hellner, Sweden, 1:23.0.
10. Pietro Piller Cottrer, Italy, 1:24.3.
About the Author: Pete Rugh
