Yaroshenko, Bailly win World Cup biathlon sprint titles

HOCHFILZEN, Austria – Dmitri Yaroshenko won a 10-kilometer sprint Friday for his first biathlon World Cup victory. Yaroshenko finished in 23 minutes, 57.8 seconds with rain and fog making for difficult conditions. Ole Einar Bjorndalen was second despite two misses in his first shoot and trailed by 37.7 seconds. Andrei Makoveev took third, 51.0 seconds behind. Yaroshenko shot clean on the first lap to take the lead, and then held off Bjorndalen who had a fast second lap and a flawless final shoot. Bjorndalen, who won the season opening sprint event in Kontiolahti, Finland, last week, holds the overall lead in the World Cup standings with 144 points. Yaroshenko and Ivan Tcherezov share second with 139. Later Friday, Sandrine Bailly earned her 17th World Cup title by winning the women's 7.5-kilometer sprint in 21 minutes, 53.0 seconds. Ekatarina Iourieva finished second to equal her career best result, 18.9 seconds behind. Kati Wilhelm was 33.9 seconds back in third place. The top three athletes all shot flawlessly. Overall World Cup leader Martina Glagow, who won two of three disciplines last week, finished 17th due to two misses but stayed top with 157 points. Bailly jumped to second place with 148 points, while Tora Berger, Kati Wilhelm and Andrea Henkel all share third with 133. On Saturday, the event continues with a men's and a women's pursuit. - AP