Biathlon star Andrejs Rastorgujevs claimed his first ever place on the podium of the 15km mass-start event in Norway which rounded off the world cup season, finishing 17 seconds behind Frenchman Martin Fourcade and ahead of Austria's Simon Eder.
Rastorgujevs takes second place:
Controversy after Fourcade forgot to reload his gun and was given ammunition even raised the possibility that Rastorgujevs might be promoted to first place, but the Frenchman was deemed not to have broken any regulations and the result stood.
"I want to say a big thanks to my team; they have all worked very hard for this. I think today there will be a big party for my team. I don't have words for the race today; its so emotional. Hopefully this is a opening of the door for more podiums," Rastorgujevs said after the race.
Andrejs Rastorgujevs crosses the finishing line:
The season-ending result leaves Latvia's best biathlete full of confidence ahead of next season's Olympic year, when another performance like the one in Norway would make an Olympic medal a real possibility.
Sezona noslēgta, paldies visiem! Tas ir mūsu kopējs darbs.
— Andrejs Rastorgujevs (@Rastorgujevs) March 19, 2017
Medaļas garša...
Sveiciens mājniekiem, sveiciens lieliskajiem faniem. pic.twitter.com/Ykz9ZUIed8