08.03 Russia’s Lekomtsev Wins Biathlon Thriller at Paralympics

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia, March 8 (R-Sport) – Russia’s Vladislav Lekomtsev took the third gold medal for the host nation at the Sochi Paralympics on Saturday, winning a thrilling men’s 7.5km standing biathlon race.

Just 1.2 seconds covered the three medalists as the 19-year-old Lekomtsev snatched the win at the Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex.

Mark Arendz of Canada won silver, 0.7 seconds off Lekomtsev, while another half-second separated him from bronze medalist Azat Karachurin of Russia.

"I got really fired up for this race," Lekomtsev told R-Sport. "I believed that I'd be able to achieve a good result because I'd been training for races in Sochi since the summer."

Arendz would have won had he not missed a shot at the last shooting stage, earning himself a penalty loop, but said he was looking forward to making up for that in the remaining event of the March 7-16 Games.

"I just kind of rushed the last shot in the first bout, my fifth shot. I thought I had it and then twitched the finger and it missed," he said. "There are a lot of races here for me."

Earlier in the day, Roman Petushkov and Alena Kaufman also won biathlon events for Russia, sending the host nation to the top of the medals table on the first day of competition.

The biathlon events use so-called “calculated time,” in which each athlete’s time is modified by a percentage reflecting the extent of their disability.

Three more biathlon gold medals are on offer in events later in the day.

Over the nine days of competition in Sochi, a total of 72 gold medals will be awarded in five sports.

The story was updated with quotes, background, correct first name for Kaufman.