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Saturday, December 20, 1997 Forsberg, Fischer take biathlon goldKONTIOLAHTI, Finland (CP) -- World champion Magdalena Forsberg of Sweden and Sven Fischer of Germany won the gold medals in the pursuit events Saturday at a World Cup biathlon competition.Canada's sole entry Nikki Keddie of Toronto was 42nd. In the women's 10 kilometre pursuit, Forsberg, the dominant female biathlete the last two seasons, clocked one hour 01:11.1 minutes missing four targets. Svetlana Ichmouratova of Russia was second 1.9 seconds behind and Martina Zellner of Germany was third 4.9 seconds back. Keddie finished a season high 32nd in Friday's 7.5 kilometre sprint, but dropped back ten spots in Saturday's race. The 23-year-old, who has qualified for the Olympics, is looking to grab one of the two Canadian spots to race in the individual events at the Games. "So far I'm pretty pleased how the season has gone for me," said Keddie, a native of Toronto, but lives and trains in Canmore, Alta. In the men's 12.5 kilometre pursuit, Germany's Sven Fischer took home the gold in 1:03:14.4 minutes, Ludwig Gredler of Austria was second 1.1 seconds back and Friday's 10 kilometre sprint winner, Jan Wustenfeld was third 3.1 seconds back. No Canadian men qualified for the pursuit. Competition ends today with the relays. The Canadian men are still looking to qualify for two more spots at the Olympics. |