10 kilometres Sprint, Men1

The event started on 17 February but snow and fog made the targets almost invisible and after 40 minutes, it was stopped and re-scheduled for the next day. The leader when the competition was stopped was Aleksandr Popov of Belarus, but the next day he would shoot poorly, ski slower, and place 55th. But on the postponed day, Popov would likely not have won, as Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen was well ahead of his pace. Bjørndalen was leading the World Cup race in the 1997-98 season, had placed second in 1996-97, and was one of the favorites. On the day of the re-scheduled event, he dominated the race, shooting cleanly and winning by over one minute. In second was his teammate, Frode Andresen, who was fortunate about the weather delay, as on the first day he had missed four of his first five targets.

Andresen would become one of the top biathletes in the world in the next few years, winning the sprint at the 2000 World Championships, and four medals at the 1999 and 2000 Worlds. But Bjørndalen would soon become the greatest biathlete ever, and one of the greatest athletes in any sport. At Salt Lake City in 2002, he would four gold medals, helping Norway win the relay, and winning all three individual events. Through 2009 he had won 33 medals at the World Championships, including 14 titles. Bjørndalen was an excellent cross-country skier, having won a 2006 World Cup race in that sport, and placing fifth in the 2002 Winter Olympic 30 km.