By Paul Osborne

Russian skiers have won all six overall IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup biathlon titles ©Sochi 2014January 26 - Russian skiers have swept the board at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Nordic Skiing World Cup, securing all six overall titles following another series of victories across all middle-distance races at the finals in Oberried, Germany.


It was a Russian one, two, three in the women's visually impaired rankings a narrow victory by world champion Mikhalina Lysova and guide Alexey Ivanovover, over team-mate Iuliia Budaleeva, guided by Tatiana Maltseva over the 10 kilometre course.

The result gave Lysova a 20-point lead over her compatriot, with Elena Remizova and guide Natalia Yakimova claiming third despite Ukraine's Oksana Shyshkova and guide Lada Nesterenko finishing third in the final race on Sunday.

Azat Karachurin's victory in the men's standing race ensured a comfortable lead atop the rankings, finishing more than 250 points ahead of Norway's Nils-Erik Ulset.

The Russian finished the race almost 30 seconds ahead of Frenchman Benjamin Daviet, and Ukrainian world champion Ihor Reptyukh.

Aleksandr Pronkov's seventh place finish ensured he beat Canada's Mark Arendz to the third overall spot in the rankings having gone into the race level on points with the Canadian.

The Russian dropped three shots throughout the race but still managed to finish a whole minute ahead of Arendz.

Azat Karachurin continued to dominate the men's standing event, winning both the final race and the overall World Cup title ©IPCAzat Karachurin continued to dominate the men's standing event, winning both the final race and the overall World Cup title ©IPC


Japanese skier Kozo Kubo did not participate in the final men's sitting race giving Russian's Grigory Murygin and Aleksandr Davidovich the opportunity to leapfrog him in the standings and claim second and third overall, following third and fourth place finishes respectively.

The pair finished behind compatriot and runaway winner Roman Petushkov.

Team-mate Alexey Bychenok pushed Kubo a further place down the rankings after finishing second over the 12.5km course.

There was no change on the men's visually impaired leaderboard as the top three, Russian's Nikolay Plukhin and Stanislav Chokhlaev, and Ukrainian Anatolii Kovalevskyi, finished the final race placed first, second and third respectively.

The late resurgence of Germany's Andrea Eskau continued in the women's sitting event as she claimed her second podium in the IPC World Cup biathlon finals, finishing third to the delight of her home support.

Andrea Eskau continued to delight the German crowd with a third place finish in the women's sitting event ©IPCAndrea Eskau continued to delight the German crowd with a third place finish in the women's sitting event ©IPC


The result had little effect on the overall rankings however, with Russia's Svetlana Konovalova and Marta Zaynullina sealing their places atop the rankings with a one, two finish in the middle distance race, and fellow compatriot Andreeva Nadezda securing third spot despite finishing seventh in the final race of the World Cup.

Alena Kaufman managed to hold on to the top spot in the women's standing World Cup rankings despite not competing in the final race.

A first place finish was all fellow Russian Natalia Bratiuk needed to steal the title from under Kaufman's nose, however, a disappointing fifth left Bratiuk having to settle for second with Ukrainian Oleksandra Kononova sealing third after placing second in the race.

Russia's Anna Milenina finished the race first with Ukrainian Iuliia Batenkova coming in third.

Races in Oberried concluded the 2013-2014 IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup.

A series of smaller competitions will now be held in La Feclaz, France, and Kirchzarten, Germany, before the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games begin on March 7.

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