Hanevold’s Victory Not a Big Surprise

Norwegian Halvard Hanevold was a surprise winner Wednesday in the men’s 20-kilometer individual biathlon race, in 56 minutes 16.4 seconds with only one miss in the shooting portion. That was surprising because Hanevold ranks only 13th in this season’s World Cup standings.

But according to Tim Derrick, assistant coach of the U.S. team, there is no such thing as an upset in biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and target shooting.

“The favorites didn’t win, but that is the nature of the sport,” he said.

“On any given day, any one of 20 people can win, based on how they shoot. The fastest skier today [Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen] had four penalties [for shooting misses] and finished seventh. That is what makes biathlon unique.”