Sweden takes Olympic gold in women’s 4-person biathlon relay

By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Elvira Oeberg anchored the Swedish team to Olympic gold in the four-person biathlon relay and won her third medal of the Beijing Games. Oeberg put the Swedes across the line 1 hour, 11 minutes, 3.9 seconds. She also won silver in the sprint and pursuit races in her Olympic debut. Russian biathlete Uliana Nigmatullina trailed Oeberg by about 24 seconds after the final shooting range and ended up finishing 12 seconds behind for silver. Denise Herrmann finished third to give Germany bronze. Germany, Sweden and Italy went out front early in the 4×6-kilometer race and the teams shuffled positions several times but the Swedes had the most consistent shooting.