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Chelsea Little

Our recent series on biathletes facing the question of when and whether to go to college (parts two, and expressed frustration that star athlete Laura Spector was returning to school for the summer after a disappointing season and did not seem to plan on joining the national team program in Lake Placid. It was not an unreasonable sentiment: without actually seeing an athlete, a coach’s job is certainly much harder. And as a European (Kahkonen...

Our recent series on biathletes facing the question of when and whether to go to college (parts two, and first part of our series, we focused on several elite junior biathletes who, bucking the conventions of the early- and mid-2000’s, decided to go to college before returning – often extremely successfully – to biathlon. Without a single exception, the five athletes said that today’s juniors should not rule college out as a means of facilitating...

For America’s Junior Biathletes, a Tendency Toward College

Note: This is the last piece in a three-part series following several groups of biathletes as they negotiate the college question. part two looked at USBA’s 2007-2010 Development Team. In November, 2011, Casey Smith was named Junior Biathlete of the Year for 2011 by the United States Biathlon Association (USBA). In a European country, that might mean a pat on the back from a coach at practice, perhaps an honorary celebration thrown by an athlete’s...

After Climbing Back from Mono, Le Guellec Ready for 2013, Sochi

BEND, Ore. – Jean-Philippe Le Guellec was riding high in 2010 when he finished sixth in the sprint, 11th in the pursuit, and 13th in the individual at the Vancouver Olympics. The Canadian biathlete – then 24 – was motivated and aiming for his first Word Cup podium. The 2011 season didn’t go quite as expected; he picked up just four top-20 results and late in the year received a diagnosis of mononucleosis, which explained...

National Teams’ Presence in Bend a Boon for Local Junior Teams

BEND, Ore. – The U.S. and Canadian national teams are here in Bend to get on snow, and they seem to be loving it. But what about skiers who are already located in the Oregon Cascades? On several days, local high school athletes have also made the drive up to Mount Bachelor to ski and soak in the atmosphere at North America’s own version of the Dachstein glacier. Unlike senior World Cup athletes, most juniors...

Canadian Biathlon Team Enjoys Its First Taste of Bend – With Photo Gallery

BEND, Oregon – Biathlon Canada Head Coach Matthias Ahrens, a native of Germany, had never been to Bend until this month. But now that he’s seen what the town has to offer, he anticipates being back. “It’s perfect,” he told FasterSkier as his athletes did an interval workout on Wednesday. “It’s so nice that now we have winter conditions – every day it has been perfect conditions for skiing, plus you can go down and...

U.S., Canadian National Teams Mix It Up with Club Skiers in Relays (Photo Gallery)

BEND, Ore. – It may have been spring at Mount Bachelor this weekend, but by the time Wednesday rolled around, it was more like winter. Snow had fallen overnight and stuck to the mountain’s flanks, and flurries continued to drift from the sky as the U.S. and Canadian national ski teams competed in relay races with several club teams. Canadian Olympian and current Alberta World Cup Academy coach George Grey skied the course before the...

BEND, Ore. – Jessie Diggins had a big year in 2012. After thoroughly dominating the domestic racing scene in the fall and early winter, the CXC and U.S. Ski Team athlete headed to Europe, where she immediately made a splash on the World Cup. In her first race there, in Milan, she finished 18th in the freestyle sprint, then followed it up with a second-place finish in the team sprint with Kikkan Randall. Diggins went...

U.S. Biathletes Leave Their Rifles At Home and Get Ski-Specific in Bend – With Photo Gallery

BEND, Oregon – Even though the U.S. biathlon national team did not compete in the Pole Pedal Paddle on Saturday morning like their skiing counterparts, the athletes still didn’t get to sleep in for their weekend. After all, this is training camp. Instead, they headed up to Mount Bachelor to do intervals, and had to start early so that they could be off the race trails before the five-sport extravaganza began. “Early in the morning...

XC Oregon’s Howe Wins Third Straight Pole Pedal Paddle; U.S. Ski Team Has Fastest Women’s Teams

BEND, OREGON – How would a veteran describe Bend’s five-sport Pole, Pedal, Paddle to someone who has never seen it? “It’s a circus,” XC Oregon racer Stephanie Howe told FasterSkier at the race’s conclusion. “It’s the biggest logistic nightmare in the world… I just never have stuff lined up ahead of time. It’s always scrambling at the last minute.” First there’s the equipment: alpine skis, poles, boots, and a helmet; nordic skis, poles, and boots;...

After Years Spent Hoping To Race Pole Pedal Paddle, USST’s Freeman Finally Enters – And Wins

BEND, Oregon – It’s hard to imagine Kris Freeman as an underdog in a race that involves cross country skiing and running. But to this city’s residents, that’s exactly what he was on Saturday morning before the start of the 36th annual Pole Pedal Paddle: some Olympian who was trying to unseat the hometown favorite, Andrew Boone. Boone had won the race – which combines downhill skiing through gates, roughly eight k of nordic skiing,...

The U.S. Biathlon Association has announced its 2012-13 national team, which consists of 12 returning members and a single new nomination. The squad is led by five Americans who achieved top-ten results on the 2012 World Cup circuit, and were rewarded with “A1” nomination: Tim Burke, Lowell Bailey, Russell Currier, Jay Hakkinen, and Susan Dunklee. In total, seven women and six men will make up next year’s national team, a slight decrease from last year’s...

While U.S. Ski Team (USST) coaches have nominated athletes for the 2012-2013 team, the names have not been approved by higher-ups in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). Until they are, athletes and coaches alike are unable to reveal the makeup of next year’s team. They can, however, discuss the U.S. program in general, as Head Coach Chris Grover did with FasterSkier on Tuesday, when he addressed, among other things, the coaches’ understanding of...