Koukleva Stays on Target to Win

NOZAWA ONSEN, Japan — Russia’s Galina Koukleva, the world’s No. 2 woman biathlete, captured the 7.5-kilometer race at the Winter Olympics Sunday, skimming across the finish line seven-tenths of a second ahead of Germany’s Ursula Disl.

The bronze went to Disl’s teammate, Katrin Apel. Each of the medalists missed one of their 10 targets in a race under cloudy skies but without the snowfall that plagued earlier events.

Koukleva, a 25-year-old sport instructor, finished in 23 minutes, 8 seconds, and Disl took her second medal of the Games in 23:08.7. Apel was clocked at 23:32.4.

The race was fast, despite an icy glaze over snow that fell overnight. There was virtually no wind. Rapidly changing snow conditions had slowed earlier races and produced upsets.

But on Sunday, the medalists all ranked among the top 10 in World Cup standings. Germany and Russia, along with Norway, are the current biathlon powerhouses.

The best American finisher, Kristina Sabasteanski of Richmond, Vt., was 33rd at 25:12.2, missing only once.

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MEDALISTS

Biathlon

WOMEN’S 7.5-K

Gold: Galina Koukleva, Russia

Silver: Ursula Disl, Germany

Bronze: Katrin Apel, Germany