Germany completed a double in yesterday's World Cup skiing biathlon, winning both the men's and women's 4 x 7.5 km relays.
The Nagano Olympics gold medal-winning team of Ricco Gross, Peter Sendel, Sven Fischer and Frank Luck took the men's event in one hour 25 minutes 31.5 seconds. The strength of their skiing gave the Germans a 42.05 seconds advantage over the second-placed Russians.
The German team of Uschi Disl, Simone Greiner-Petter-Memm, Andrea Henkel and Martina Zellner were even more convincing winners of the women's event. They won in 1:34:19.2, 54 seconds ahead of the Russian quartet.
Olympic champion Kazuyoshi Funaki of Japan landed the day's two best jumps to claim his first World Cup ski jumping victory of the season in Engelberg in Switzerland yesterday. Funaki, gold medallist on the 120-metre hill in Nagano and defending World Cup champion, soared 129.5 metres on his opening effort then improved slightly on his second, sailing 130 metres to finish with a winning score of 273.1 points.
Austria's Andreas Widhoelzl, Olympic bronze medallist on the small hill, was second with 262.8 followed by another Japanese, Noriaki Kasai in third with 251.1.
Four Hills champion Janne Ahonen of Finland, winner of the first of back-to-back competitions at the Swiss resort on Saturday, settled for fourth but continued to strengthen his lead at the top of the overall World Cup standings.
The result leaves the Finn with 1,043 points, a comfortable 165 clear of his nearest challenger Martin Schmitt of Germany on 878. Schmitt finished sixth yesterday. Meanwhile, newcomer Benjamin Raich stunned his rivals with a second World Cup win within three days in the giant slalom in Flachau in Austria yesterday, spoiling the party for fellow Austrian Hermann Maier.
Raich posted the fastest second run time to improve from third with an aggregate time of two minutes 27.02 seconds, ending Maier's undefeated run on home territory.
On his home Griessenkar piste, Maier improved from ninth to third place in 2:27.43 behind Switzerland's Michael Von Gruenigen.
Maier, the double Olympic champion who only made Austria's elite squad after posting a top time as a World Cup forerunner in 1996, said: "This race was even more difficult than at the Olympics in Nagano.
"I couldn't concentrate or study the course properly during prerace inspection because so many people wanted to talk to me. Taking that into account, this was a great result.
"Benny (Raich) is in good shape at the moment. But I will strike back 100 per cent."
Maier said Raich reminded him of himself last winter, when he was on such a high that he entered races with no pressure and could therefore perform really well.
Raich, whose aggressive style sent him flying out of the season's opening races, said: "It feels great to have beaten Maier at home but it was never my intention. My goal was to be as fast as possible. I don't care who finishes behind me. I had been dreaming about this victory."
Raich produced a fast if wayward first run to place third despite an error at the third gate before the end. He kept his nerve and was just as aggressive in his second run. "I wasn't worried about my result, I just wanted a good second run," he said.
