By Sportswriter Wang Jimin
PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Arnd Peiffer won the men's biathlon 10km sprint title to help Germany lead on the medals table with three golds on the second matchday of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games on Sunday.
Peiffer put on a flawless display of shooting to finish the sprint in 23 minutes and 38.8 seconds.
"It's crazy because I didn't expect it was possible for me to be on top. I wouldn't say I am an underdog but I'm not one of the top guys," the German said.
Asked about his pre-race ritual, Peiffer said: "I eat a banana at exactly 30 minutes before going out. It is my secret. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, I just stick to the ritual."
Michal Krcmar of the Czech Republic took silver and Italy's Dominik Windisch got bronze.
Also at the Alpensia cross-country skiing center, Norway made history with a clean sweep of the podium in the men's skiathlon. It was Norway's 13th medal sweep at Winter Olympics, of which five were in a cross-country skiing events.
Simen Hegstad Krueger came first in a time of 1:16:20 in the event combining 15 km classic and 15 km freestyle skiing.
"It is an indescribable feeling. It is an amazing day but it started in the worst way with the fall after the first 100 meters and a broken pole," said Krueger.
The 24-year-old Krueger, who crashed on the first lap, stormed back with a strong sprint 4km before the finish line to win his Olympic debut.
"I was completely last in the group so I had to start the race again and switch focus to catch up with the guys. When I did it I was saying to myself, 'OK, take one lap, two laps, three laps and just get into it again, and try to do it on the final lap'," Krueger added.
His compatriots Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund took silver in 1:16:28 and bronze in 1:16:29 respectively.
Elsewhere, Perrine Laffont claimed France's first gold here when she beat defending champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe to win freestyle skiing women's moguls.
Chinese mogulers Wang Jin and Guan Ziyan failed to reach the final earlier on Sunday, and are now looking forward to the next Winter Olympics in 2022.
"I can learn from world-class skiers in terms of mentality and techniques in such a big event," said Wang, adding that her focus will shift to adjusting mentality.
Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer completed an Olympic hat-trick of titles over 5,000 meters, also his eighth Olympic medal.
"It's amazing. Every four years I still have progression, and that's nice to see," said Kramer.
Earlier in the day, 17-year-old American Red Gerard won the men's slopestyle snowboarding.
Germany now leads the medals table on three golds, followed by the Netherlands on two.
