Olympic Mass Start 2022: How will Russia do in the men's biathlon mass start?

The Russian team will be represented by Eduard Latypov, Alexander Loginov and Maxim Tsvetkov. Will they make it to the podium? We predict that the Russians have a chance for medals!

So far Russian team could boast of one bronze medal from Eduard Latypov, who finished third in the pursuit but no other medals. With such results in the relay, it seemed that it would be impossible to count on anything, but, until the last leg, the Russian team laid claim to the gold medal, a minute ahead of the nearest pursuer. Alas, Eduard Latypov lost this advantage, finishing the race in the familiar third place.

It's important to mention that Alexander Loginov and Maxim Tsvetkov still won the medal in that relay, showing good speed and accuracy on their stages. They should be confident in their abilities in the mass start, and Eduard will be tearing up and throwing, trying to make up for the embarrassment in the relay. All this gives Russian biathlon fans hope for a medal in the final race of the Games, and to bet that any of the Russian athletes will finish in the top three in the mass start is possible for 4.00.

Quentin Fillon Maillet is the overall World Cup standings leader and is having a phenomenal season. He is currently 135 (!) points ahead of his closest pursuer in the ranking, which in itself says something about his stability. At the Beijing Olympics, the Frenchman has also been incredibly productive, winning awards in each of his starts, winning the title twice and winning silver three times. He will do his best in the final race of the Games.

Another favourite in the upcoming mass start is Johannes Bø. Still, it would help if you did not forget that the Norwegian is traditionally a modest performer in the second half of the big events. He was the same at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, and it's been going on at the World Championships too, and in Beijing after his glamorous debut, he started to slow down a little bit, failing in the pursuit race, for example. Because of this, in the rivalry between the two top athletes, the chances of success are more with the more stable Frenchman, and to make a bet that Quentin Fillon Maillet finishes above Johannes Bø is possible for 1.88.

Eduard Latypov is having a very controversial Olympics. Yes, he is the most successful Russian biathlete, as he is already a 3-time bronze medallist of the Games. However, one bronze medal might well have been replaced by gold had it not been for the fatal closing shot in the relay, and he was not particularly good in the other individual races either. So it turns out that the lack of stability does not allow him to expect the 27-year-old to fight for the highest places, although under certain circumstances, it can happen.

Benedikt Doll is a much more stable athlete, especially in races from the general start. It's all about the fact that he is now the World Cup leader in this discipline, finishing seventh and first in two races this season. The Russian has only 12th and 25th place in those starts, so it will be very difficult to compete with the German in Beijing. As a result, we predict that Benedikt Doll will finish above Eduard Latypov for 1.83.

• Any athlete from Russia in Top 3 - Yes for 4.00;
• Quentin Fillon Maillet to finish above Johannes Bø for 1.88;
• Benedikt Doll to finish above Eduard Latypov for 1.83.