Cape Elizabeth’s Clare Egan and the rest of the United States’ 4×6-kilometer women’s biathlon relay team raced to an 11th-place finish Tuesday at the Winter Olympics’ in Beijing.
Sweden won the gold medal with a combined time of 1 hour, 11 minutes and 3.9 seconds. The Russian Olympic Committee captured the silver medal with Germany taking the bronze at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre.
The 34-year-old Egan, in her fourth day of competition at the Beijing Olympics, was the second U.S. skier in the rotation, inheriting 18th place among the 20 competing national teams from leadoff biathlete Susan Dunklee, who did not incur a shooting penalty and finished her leg in 18:48.
Egan, a two-time Olympian, had the 14th-fastest time of the second leg at 19:04.1 despite six total shooting penalties, one prone and five standing, during the two loops of the course.
That left the U.S. in 15th place midway through the event.
Deedra Irwin then had the 10th-fastest time of the third leg at 19:17.1 with four penalties to move the U.S. up to 13th place before anchor competitor Joanne Reid had the fifth-fastest time of the final leg, 18:45.3, with one shooting penalty to give the Americans a final time of 1:15:51.3, 4:47.4 behind the Swedish team.
Women’s biathlon competition in Beijing concludes at 4 a.m. Saturday Eastern time with the 12.5-kilometer mass start race.