Day by day: U.S. Olympic medal haul so far

The U.S. has won 26 medals through Tuesday, Feb. 23, with seven gold, nine silver and 10 bronze.

Russia wins gold in women's biathlon relay

Russia won the gold medal in the women's 4x6-kilometer biathlon relay at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Tuesday.

Russia finished the race in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 36.3 seconds. France took the silver after finishing 32.8 seconds behind. Germany settled for bronze, 37.1 seconds back.

The U.S. team of Sara Studebaker (Boise, Idaho), Lanny Barnes (Durango, Colo.), Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and Laura Spector (Lenox, Mass.) finished 17th with a time of 1:15:47.5.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Magdalena Neuner wins second biathlon gold medal of Vancouver Games

Magdalena Neuner of Germany won the gold medal in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start biathlon race on Sunday at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It is her second gold medal of the Games, after winning the 10-kilometer pursuit on Tuesday.

Neuner finished in 35 minutes, 19.6 seconds.

Olga Zaitseva of Russia took the silver medal after finishing 5.5 seconds behind.

Simone Hauswald of Germany won the bronze after finishing 7.3 seconds behind.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Magdalena Neuner. Credit: Don Emmert / AFP / Getty Images

Evgeny Ustyugov of Russia win gold in men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon

Evgeny Ustyugov of Russia won the gold medal in the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race Sunday at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The World Cup leader shot cleanly to finish in 35 minutes, 35.7 seconds.

Martin Fourcade of France won the silver, finishing 10.5 seconds behind.

Pavol Hurajt of Slovakia won the bronze, finishing 16.6 seconds behind Ustyugov.

Tim Burke of the U.S. finished 18th, more than one minute behind the leader.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Evgeny Ustyugov. Credit: Don Emmert / AFP / Getty Images

Emil Svendsen of Norway wins gold in men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon

Norway's Emil Svendsen denied Ole Bjoerndalen his sixth Olympic gold, beating his mentor in the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race.   

Bjoerndalen missed the first target on his final standing shoot and finished 9.5 seconds behind Svendsen's winning time of 48 minutes, 22.5 seconds.

Sergey Novikov of Belarus, who hit all 20 targets, tied Bjoerndalen for the silver medal. Svendsen missed one target and Bjoerndalen two.

The highest American finisher was Tim Burke, who was 45th with a time of 53:22.6. Burke missed five targets.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver

Photo: Emil Svendsen during Thursday's competition. Credit: Alberto Pizoli / AGP/Getty Images

Tora Berger of Norway wins gold in women's 15-kilometer biathlon race

Tora Berger of Norway won the gold medal in the women's 15-kilometer individual biathlon race Thursday.

Berger missed her only target on her very last shot for a penalty, but she had built up such a large lead that it didn't matter. She finished in 40 minutes, 58.2 seconds, beating silver medalist Elena Khrustaleva of Kazakhstan by 20.7 seconds.

Darya Domracheva of Belarus took the bronze, 28.2 seconds behind Berger.

The top American was Lanny Barnes is 23rd, 2:39 behind.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver

Biathlon basics

Biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Competitors must ski a difficult course while managing their heart rates so their aim will be steady when they stop to shoot at targets from 50 meters.

Weather turns against biathelete Tim Burke

U.S. biathlete Tim Burke has competed in all types of weather during his career -- on Sunday, he got them all in one race.

On an afternoon when sunshine turned to rain and then snow, all within half an hour, Burke finished a disappointing 47th in the 10-kilometer sprint, won by Vincent Jay of France.

The top finishers had the advantage of starting early in the staggered-start event and getting off the course before skies darkened and the going turned slushy. Considered an outside shot to medal, Burke was not as fortunate and endured what he called the "most frustrating" race of his career.

The Lake Placid, N.Y., resident still has a number of events coming, including the 12.5-kilometer pursuit and the 20-kilometer individual.

"Luckily, with biathlon you have more than one chance," he said.

Among other U.S. skiers, Jeremy Teela finished ninth, Lowell Bailey finished 36th and Jay Hakkinen was 54th.

-- David Wharton

Photo: Vincent Jay shows his gold-medal form. Credit: EPA.

Slovakia's Anastazia Kuzmina wins gold in women's 7.5-kilometer biathlon sprint

Slovakia's Anastazia Kuzmina won the gold medal in the women's 7.5-kilometer biathlon sprint at Whistler Olympic Park.

Kuzmina missed one of 10 shots and finished in 19 minutes, 55.6 seconds Saturday on a course that had to be sprinkled with fertilizer to harden snow that had been pelted for days with rain and sleet.

Germany's Magdalena Neuner took the silver, finishing 1.5 seconds behind Kuzmina, and Marie Dorin of France won the bronze with a clean shoot that put her 10.9 seconds off the lead.

The top American was Sara Studebaker, who finished 45th.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Anastazia Kuzmina of Slovakia reacts after crossing the finish line to win the gold medal. Credit: (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini).

By the numbers: Greatness for Vonn, confirmation for Burke

It's getting harder and harder to find new ways to describe Lindsey Vonn's triumphs.

So, let's turn to the most basic form of cataloging -- by the numbers -- to summarize what the U.S. ski star did this weekend in Haus, Austria, winning two downhills and today's super-G. In the video above, from the U.S. ski team, Vonn describes her triumph today.

No matter what math you use, they are adding up to a career that needs only an Olympic medal next month to be described as the greatest in U.S. alpine skiing history.

And Vonn still is only 25 years old.

3: Wins in 3 straight days. Never before done by a U.S. skier.

13: Number of years since a woman won three World Cup races in three days. Katja Seizinger of Germany was the last.

28: Vonn's career wins on the World Cup circuit. Second highest –- behind Bode Miller’s 31 -– by a U.S. skier.

6: Vonn's wins on the World Cup circuit season. No other man or woman has more than three.

9: Number of podium finishes for Vonn in 17 World Cup races this season.