Germany's Magdalena Neuner is the favorite.
The women's Biathlon 7.5km Sprint, a sport that combines shooting accuracy with a rifle with skiing speed, is really just around the corner as it is scheduled for Saturday February 13th. The favorite in the event is Magdalena Neuner, a professional biathlete from Germany.
Neuner (+300, 3/1; Boylesports) is barely 23 years old and she has been tipped for the top in the women's biathlon since winning three world championship gold medals in 2007.
When biathlon is examined there are really 3 measurable statistics that need to be looked at: skiing speed, accuracy shooting while standing, and accuracy shooting while lying down (called the prone position).
Neuner has been acknowledged as being among the fastest female skiers in biathlon however she has significant problems when it comes to shooting, especially in the standing position. In the biathlon, when shooting targets are missed, penalty time is added to the player's skiing time so missing shots can really drop a player down quickly in the rankings.
Shooting is the mental part of the sport and with the Olympics being the biggest stage for biathlon, you have to wonder if the pressure to perform is going to affect Neuner's shooting, especially since she is quite young.
Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek (+900, 9/1; Victor Chandler), a Swedish veteran, won a silver medal in the Biathlon 7.5km Sprint in 2006 (the gold medalist from 2006 has since retired) and she is proven on the Olympic stage. But Olofsson-Zidek is now 36 years old and you don't generally want to put money on a 36 year old for gold at the Olympic level, at least not that much. However the odds are certainly flirty on Olofsson-Zidek, especially since the biathlon is not purely a physical sport and therefore physical deterioration due to age is not as big deal of a deal when compared to other sports that are purely about speed.
Helena Jonsson, also of Sweden, is only 25 years old and she has placed well in the Biathlon at the World Cup level, even in sprints. She isn't as fast as Neuner, but Jonsson's shooting accuracy in the standing position is much better than Neuner's and that could make a big difference here. Also, you can get odds of +600 (6/1) on Jonsson with Stan James, a price that has much better value than Neuner's +300.
Our recommendation is two-bet against Neuner with Olofsso-Zidek and Jonsson as they can threaten this event and their odds are nice and long.
Go to Stan James to bet on the Vancouver Olympics.
