MOSCOW, Mar 13 The Norwegian team won the mixed relay at the penultimate stage of the Cup Biathlon World Championships in Otepää (Estonia). Norwegians Sivert Bakken, Vetle Shostad Christiansen, Tiril Eckhoff and Ingrid Tandrevold set a time of 1 hour 19 minutes 39.3 seconds, they used seven extra cartridges. Second were Sweden's Jesper Nelin, Martin Ponsiluoma, Lynn Persson and Elvira Oeberg (+22.5 seconds; eight extra rounds). The top three were closed by the Frenchmen Simon Destier, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Chloe Chevalier and Justine Brezat-Bouchet (+34.6; six extra rounds). Russian and Belarusian biathletes do not take part in competitions in Otepää. Earlier, the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete due to the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. After that, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) suspended Russian athletes from participating in competitions. The Russian Biathlon Union will defend the rights of athletes in court.
