OBERHOF, Germany, 16 February 2004 — Raphael Poiree won his third title at the biathlon World Championships that ended yesterday with a total of seven golds for the Frenchman and his Norwegian wife.
Poiree’s success in the 15-kilometers mass start race made him medal in every race, the earlier results being a sprint and 20km gold, a pursuit silver and relay bronze.
His Norwegian wife Liv Grete did even better, winning a unique four golds, in the sprint, pursuit, mass start and relay races as she and her husband shared seven titles between them and were on the podium in nine of the 10 events. The only exception was Liv Grete’s eighth place in the 15km race.
Yesterday, Raphael Poiree, 29, could even afford waving at the huge crowd after the final shooting portion as he cruised to victory in 40 minutes 31.7 seconds. He had to ski two penalty loops.
Lars Berger of Norway placed second despite misfiring five times on the shooting range, 32.4 seconds behind the winner. Sergei Konovalev of Russia was third with two penalty loops, 36.2 seconds adrift.
Four-time 2002 Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, who was competing despite the death of his mother on Friday, led until the halfway mark but faded to seventh. He left Oberhof with one silver and three bronze medals.
The championships, however, belonged to the Poirees. Liv Grete was the real surprise as she had only returned to action this season after giving birth to daughter Emma on Jan. 27, 2003. Emma was in Oberhof as well, being looked after by Liv Grete’s cousin Ellen Eikeland. “Four golds is like a dream. We worked very hard for this. I will never forget these wonderful days,” said Liv Grete Poiree yesterday. The 29-year-old named the relay gold the most precious of all because it was Norway’s first in the 40th edition of the championships. Raphael named the 20km title his best because “it was not the race I should have won”.
