Sarah Konrad

Russia nearly swept the medals in the women's 15-kilometer individual biathlon Monday at Cesana, Italy, after the favored Germans missed crucial shots at the end. Svetlana Ishmouratova of Russia capitalized on mistakes by all the favorites, winning in a time of 49 minutes, 24.1 seconds. Teammate Olga Pyleva was second. "I consider myself very lucky today," Ishmouratova said. A strong finish by Germany's Martina Glagow bumped Albina Akhatova of Russia to fourth place.

Sarah Konrad sprawled on the mat in front of firing lane No. 2, skis splayed behind her. Working to control her breathing, she sighted her rifle, then squeezed off five shots at the silver dollar-sized targets, 50 meters away. She hit three and leaped to her skis, slinging the rifle onto her back. With the powerful skating motion of freestyle cross-country skiing, she pushed off toward the penalty loop. Algis Shalna, coach of the U.S. biathlon team, charged across the snow to meet her.

Top-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya won the Tata Open singles title, defeating reigning champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), in the final Sunday at Madras, India. Moya, 27, a former world No. 1 and now seventh in the ATP rankings, won the 15th title of his career by clinching the third-set tiebreaker after a tough two-hour duel with Srichaphan, who was making his third successive final appearance in the tournament.

MEN'S 20-KILOMETER INDIVIDUAL * Where: Cesana San Sicario. * When: Feb. 11. * Best of the U.S.: Jay Hakkinen of Kasilof, Alaska, finished 26th in this event at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City; Jeremy Teela of Anchorage finished 14th. * Best of the rest: Michael Greis and Ricco Gross of Germany, Raphael Poiree of France, Tomasz Sikora of Poland. * U.S. chances to medal: Highly unlikely.

MEN'S SPRINT * Where: Pragelato. * When: Feb. 22. * Best of the U.S.: Andy Newell, Torin Koos and Chris Cook are the team's best sprinters. * Best of the rest: Tor Arne Hetland of Norway is the defending Olympic champion and favorite but could be pushed by several talented Swedes. * U.S. chances to medal: Newell is a viable contender, having finished fourth in a pre-Olympic race at Oberstdorf, Germany, last month.