HOCHFILZEN, Austria – The action was fast, it was slow, it was colorful in the men’s and women’s 7.5 and 10 k sprints on Friday. Snowstorms meant changing conditions over the course of both races, but the world’s best biathletes still tried their hardest to knock down targets and get their skis moving in the snow that piled up on course. Here are some photos of the day’s action.
Lanny Barnes (USA) and Krystyna Palka (POL)
Michal Krcmar (CZE, right) and Lukas Hofer (ITA)
Michal Slesingr (CZE)
Daniel Mesotitsch (AUT)
Simon Schempp and Daniel Boehm (GER)
Nadezhda Skardino (BLR)
Skiers winding back and forth along a hillside
Lanny Barnes (USA)
Synnøve Solemdal (NOR)
Markus Windisch (ITA)
Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR)
Darya Domracheva (BLR)
Juliya Dhzyma (UKR)
Jakov Fak (SLO)
Kaisa Makarainen (FIN)
Jitka Landova (CZE) and Andreja Mali (SLO)
Simon Fourcade (FRA)
Dominik Landertinger (AUT)
Ann Kristin Flatland (NOR)
Magdalena Gwizdon (POL)
Andreas Birnbacher (GER)
Sarah Murphy (NZL, via Canada)
Jenny Jonsson (SWE)
Vladimiar Iliev (BUL, left) and Tarjei Bø (NOR)
Bjorn Ferry of Sweden racing in Hochfilzen, Austria, earlier this season. He won today’s World Cup sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia, by 1.5 seconds.
Simon Schempp (GER)
Darya Domracheva (BLR) starting the sprint in Hochfilzen, Austria, earlier this season.
Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR)
Benjamin Weger (SUI)
Laura Dahlmeier (GER)
Dmitry Malyshko (RUS)
Simon Eder (AUT)
Hannah Dreissigacker (USA)
skiers cresting a hill on course
Jakov Fak (SLO)
Andrea Henkel (GER)
Tarjei Bø (NOR)
Krystyna Palka (POL)
Evi Sachenbacher Stehle (GER) has reportedly tested positive for a banned substance.
Martina Chrapanova (SVK)
Karin Oberhofer (ITA)
Carl Johan Bergman (SWE) and Martin Fourcade (FRA)
Ann Kristin Flatland (NOR)
Arnd Peiffer (GER)
Klemen Bauer of Slovenia racing at a World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, in 2013.
Fanny Welle Strand Horn (NOR)
Anais Chevalier (FRA)
Simon Fourcade (FRA, left)
Christoph Sumann (AUT)
Fredrik Lindstrom (SWE)
Federica Sanfilippo (ITA)
Ekaterina Glazyrina (RUS)
Evgeniy Ustyugov (RUS), Pavel Hurajt (SVK), and Hidenori Isa (JPN)
Christoph Sumann (AUT)
Evi Sachenbacher Stehle (GER) and Jitka Landova (CZE)
Chelsea Little is FasterSkier's Editor-At-Large. A former racer at Ford Sayre, Dartmouth College and the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, she is a PhD candidate in aquatic ecology in the @Altermatt_lab at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. You can follow her on twitter @ChelskiLittle.