Russian biathlete Anton Shipulin has claimed that he had expected greater resistance from the German team during the men's 4x7.5km relay race at the Winter Olympics in Sochi on Saturday.
Shipulin chased down Simon Schempp in the final leg of the event to claim gold for the Russian Federation by a margin of three-and-a-half seconds.
"I thought there will be a battle on the finish line, but Germany gave away the win without a fight," Shipulin told Sport-Express.
"I thank the Germans for this. It was great display not only from me, but from our whole team. Each one of us gave 100 per cent away on his stage.
"I thank all our boys for that. In recent days we became a real team."
Russia are currently top of the overall medals table, with just three events left to be completed today.
