Braisaz-Bouchet wins Olympic gold in windy biathlon race
By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Justine Braisaz-Bouchet moved to the front with strong, patient shooting and stayed there with her cross-country skiing to win the women’s biathlon mass start race at the Olympics. A bitter wind affected the field as they lined up each time to shoot but Braisaz-Bouchet only missed once in the last standing shooting and skied out of the range in first place. She held on and crossed the line carrying a French flag in 40 minutes, 18 seconds. Norwegian teammates Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland missed two targets each in that last bout and left the range together. Eckhoff for silver and Roeiseland took bronze for her fifth medal at the Beijing Games.