By Theron Larkins
Staff Writer
Russell Currier competed once again, on Thursday, as he placed 50th among 89 biathletes participating in the men’s 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Currier finished third among the four Americans competing in the 20K race was again held at the Laurel Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center in Sochi’s Mountain Cluster.
The 26-year-old from Stockholm finished in 55 minutes, 7.5 seconds. He only missed four of the total 20 shots in the event, which was an improvement from his first 10K race, last Saturday.
Currier missed two shots in the first two shooting stations of the event, but was able to shoot a perfect 10-for-10 in the final two. However, each miss still added one minute to his total time, thrusting Currier out of the top 40 spots, in which he hoped to finish.
France’s Martin Fourcade missed only one target on his way to winning gold in the 20K event finishing in 49:31.7. This was Fourcade’s second gold medal finish of these Olympics, with a first-place finish in the 12.5K pursuit, as well.
Germany’s Erik Lesser finished the event with no target misses in 49:43.9, taking home the silver medal, while Russia’s Evgeniy Garanichev earned bronze with one miss and a time of 50:06.2.
Lowell Bailey of Lake Placid, N.Y., who, like Currier trained at the Maine Winter Sports Center, finished in eighth place with a time of 50:57.4, and only one miss. Bailey was the top American finisher in the 20K, earning the highest individual finish ever for a U.S. men’s biathlete. The previous best U.S. finish was ninth in the 10-kilometer sprint by Jeremy Teela at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Currier finished 61st in his Olympic debut in the men’s 10K sprint last Saturday. He finished the 10k with a time of 26:58.5, missing four targets in similar fashion to his race Thursday. However, his accuracy Thursday was improved from the 10K. With more shooting in the 20K, which had initially concerned Russell, he actually finished with 80 percent accuracy compared to his 60 percent rate on Saturday.
The next Olympic men’s biathlon event is the 15-kilometer mass start race scheduled for Sunday. However, the next race Currier expects to compete in will be the 4-by-7.5K relay on Saturday, Feb. 22.
