1st place for Daniel Mesotitsch !

Daniel Mesotitsch of Austria stopped the Norwegian winning streak at six competitions by taking the men’s 20K individual today at the IBU World Cup biathlon at the Pokljuka Sports Center. Mesotitsch with a single one-minute penalty completed the tough five loop course in 52:05.6. Second went to Benjamin Weger of Switzerland, also with one penalty, 58.4 seconds back. Third went to Serguei Sednev of the Ukraine, with two penalties, 1:21.2 back.

Today’s victory was the third in Mesotitsch’s career. After winning in Antholz in 2002, he waited until last January to pick up his second win also at Antholz. He now has his third triumph just 11 months later.

The 34-year-old Mesotitsch did not show up in top group in the early stages of the competition, but his teammate and long-time friend Christoph Sumann did. Through the first three shooting stages, Sumann held a lead that ranged from a few seconds to over a minute. However, in the 20K, each penalty costs a minute of additional time and the two missed targets in the final standing stage cost Sumann the win.

The sharp-shooting Norwegians struggled today. Tarjei Boe and Emil Hegle Svendsen both had four penalties, while Ole Einar Bj