Biathlon Medal Results and Times from Olympic 2014 Men's 10km Sprint
Olympic legend Ole Einar Bjoerndalen stole the show on Day 1 of the 2014 Winter Games in the men's 10-kilometer sprint.
Now at the age of 40, Bjoerndalen's 12th Olympic medal was never in doubt after his run that saw him shoot just one penalty and a total time of 24:33.5—a full 1.3 seconds before the second-place finisher, Dominik Landertinger.
As NBC illustrates, No. 12 for Bjoerndalen ties an all-time Winter Olympic record:
The win also marks Bjoerndalen's seventh Olympic gold in an illustrious career that began with his first top prize back in 1998, as the Australian Olympic Committee details:
Here is a look at how the 10 competitors fared in the event:
| 1 | Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway) | 18:42:00 | 0+1 | 1 | 24:33.5 | 0.0 |
| 2 | Dominik Landertinger (Austria) | 18:37:30 | 0+0 | 0 | 24:34.8 | +1.3 |
| 3 | Jaroslav Soukup (Czech Republic) | 18:50:00 | 0+0 | 0 | 24:39.2 | +5.7 |
| 4 | Anton Shipulin (Russia) | 18:54:00 | 0+1 | 1 | 24:39.9 | +6.4 |
| 5 | Jean-Philippe Le Guellec (Canada) | 19:02:30 | 0+0 | 0 | 24:43.2 | +9.7 |
| 6 | Martin Fourcade (France) | 18:49:30 | 1+0 | 1 | 24:45.9 | +12.4 |
| 7 | Simon Eder (Austria) | 18:45:00 | 0+0 | 0 | 24:47.2 | +13.7 |
| 8 | Ondrej Moravec (Czech Republic) | 18:33:00 | 0+0 | 0 | 24:48.1 | +14.6 |
| 9 | Emil Hegle Svendsen (Norway) | 18:44:30 | 0+1 | 1 | 25:02.8 | +29.3 |
| 10 | Jakov Fak (Slovenia) | 19:06:00 | 0+0 | 0 | 25:06.5 | +33.0 |
Rounding out the podium was Landertinger with his 24:34.8 total, which was good for silver.
The Czech Republic's Jaroslav Soukup beat out more high-profile names such as fellow countryman Ondrej Moravec (who finished eighth) for the bronze medal thanks to his penalty-free shooting and an overall time of 24:39.2—just 5.7 seconds shy of first place.
France's Martin Fourcade was another favorite entering the event, but his pursuit of gold was hindered by one penalty and a 24:45.9 mark that saw him land in sixth.
Perhaps the most notable name to miss out on a trip to the podium was Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen, who is often hailed as the heir to Bjoerndalen after a silver medal at the same event in the Vancouver Games.
Svendsen landed in ninth place at 25:02.8 after a costly penalty, a sound 29.3 seconds behind Bjoerndalen. He can atone for his mistakes in the 20-kilometer event later in the Games, which he won gold in back in 2010.
As ESPN points out, the biathlon was another chance for America to grab a medal in the one Winter Olympic sport it still had yet to find success:
The United States' best chance to make history was Tim Burke, who wound up in 19th place after one shooting penalty and a 25:23.3 total time, 49.8 seconds out of the lead.
The journey for Bjoerndalen, Svendsen and the rest of the field is far from over, with the 12.5-kilometer pursuit and individual 20-kilometer events still on the horizon in the coming week.
Note: All results and info courtesy of Sochi2014.com unless otherwise noted.
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