ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Norway's Maren Kirkeeide put her previous Olympic disappointments behind her in stunning style on Saturday, winning the women's 7.5km sprintafter an epic final lap and a nail-biting finish that bore all the hallmarks of a Hollywood blockbuster.
Away from the cauldron of competition the 22-year-old cuts a shy and retiring figure but on the track and the range she is a tiger, baring her teeth with a fantastic final lap that saw her turn a 9.2-second deficit into a 3.8-second lead that won her gold.
In second place was Oceane Michelon of France, a woman Kirkeeide has gone head to head with many times at junior level, with Michelon's compatriot Lou Jeanmonnot taking the bronze after a costly miss on the shooting range.
"I wanted to try my best, and I got some positive feedback from the coaches (on the last lap), and then I got some extra motivation, and it helped me all the way to the finish line," Kirkeeide told Reuters modestly, trying to get to grips with her sudden fame.
That feedback came from coach Patrick Oberegger, who had absolutely no doubt in his mind that she could win.
"I said if she doesn't lose time by the highest point, then the rest of the course, it fits her really good.And then she gained two seconds, she was seven or eight back on the top. And then I said okay, if to the next one she's not more behind than five, then she will get it," he told Reuters.
The coach's prediction was perfectly correct as Kirkeeide left every ounce of energy on the course, storming to the finish line where Michelon was waiting and, though the gold was snatched from her grasp, the 23-year-old Frenchwoman was in no way disappointed.
"I'm so happy with my performance, and it's just amazing to be able to do second for my very first race at the Olympics, so I'm so happy about that," she told Reuters.
"I don't have any energy. I put 100% of my energy (into) today... she was so fast and incredible and I'm very happy for her, but very happy for me, and I don't need more."
For Jeanmonnot, Saturday's third place meant her third medal in as many races and, after gold in the mixed relay and silver in the individual race, she now has the bronze and a full complement of medals from Milano Cortina.
"I wasn't feeling as good as two days ago, so I had to fight much more, and I'm really happy about this medal because after my mistake in the final shooting, I was thinking it was done for today," Jeanmonnot told reporters.
For the gold medallist, the race was a measure of revenge after two underwhelming performances in the mixed relay and the individual race. As the crowd waited patiently for the shuttle buses after the race, her team's yellow van with its message "dreams that become realities" in Norwegian emblazoned on the side, moved slowly away.
On Saturday, those Olympic dreams finally came true for Kirkeeide.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
