Russia wins biathlon relay world title
Olympic champs hold off France in 4x7.5 km event
Olympic champion Russia beat France to win the men's 4x7.5-kilometer relay at the biathlon world championships on Saturday in Hochfilzen, Austria.
In the final leg, Anton Shipulin missed one target but still held off a challenge by five-time overall World Cup champion Martin Fourcade.
The Russian team, consisting of Alexey Volkov, Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov and Shipulin, finished in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 15.0 seconds to lead France by 5.8 seconds.
In front of 20,000 spectators, home nation Austria finished 20.1 seconds behind after defeating Germany in the fight for the bronze medal. Defending champion Norway, which had won five of the last six world championship relays, came more than two minutes behind in eighth.
The Canadian team of Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Macx Davies and Brendan Green placed 13th.