Austria reign supreme in single mixed relay
BySportsbeat
Published 12/03/2017 at 14:37 GMT
The Austrian duo of Lisa Hauser and Simon Eder cruised to victory in the biathlon single mixed relay World Cup event in Kontiolahti, Finland.
It was just the second time the single mixed relay has been contested this season and the Austrians crossed the line in a time of 31:35.1minutes to beat the USA by 32.8 seconds, with Germany in third.
The Americans, Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey, were in a strong position until Dunklee took a tumble on the downhill section of the third leg and once Hauser overtook her, the Austrians never looked back.
USA actually dropped into third – with the German pairing of Laura Dahlmeier and Roman Rees moving into silver – but Bailey used all his veteran instincts to overhaul Rees in the final metres and claim second place by half a stride.
Hauser and Eder finished second in the only other single mixed relay contested this season, back in Ostersund last November, but went one better despite incurring five shooting faults – four of those from Hauser.
"I was a bit concerned about the shooting," admitted Eder. "I saw that there was no wind at the last shooting and I kept going until I saw the last shot turn white."
And after securing a first World Cup victory, Hauser acknowledged that winning gold in the seldom-contested event was a real buzz.
"Already in Ostersund Simon and I were successful," she said. "For me it’s really amazing to be first.
"I like to be with Simon on the podium and I enjoyed every second of the flower ceremony."
Sportsbeat 2017
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