USBA Press Release Feb. 1, 2021
The 10-person roster for the upcoming IBU Biathlon World Championships has been announced by the US Biathlon International Competition Committee. The squad consists of five men and five women with Team USA allotted four start positions per gender in each individual race. The IBU Biathlon World Championships begin Feb. 10 in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
The men’s roster includes two-time Olympians Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt.) and Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.). They will be joined by Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn.), Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis.) and Max Durtschi (Ketchum, Idaho).
Nordgren will be racing in his ninth career world championships. At last year’s event he enjoyed the highest finish of his career, placing eighth in the 20km individual. Doherty’s best world championship performance also came in the 20km individual when he finished 17th in 2019. This will mark the sixth world championships for the 25-year-old Doherty. Brown will be competing in his third world championships, while Schommer and Durtschi each have one world championship experience under their belts.
The women’s roster boasts three members of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team in Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.), Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), and Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.). Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt.) and Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, Wis.) round out the women’s squad.
Dunklee is a two-time silver medalist at worlds, placing second in the mass start in 2017 and second in the sprint last year in Antholz, Italy. Egan came close to two top-10 finishes in 2019 when she placed 11th in the sprint and 12th in the pursuit. She enters this year’s event ranked 26th in the IBU World Cup standings. Reid will be competing in her fourth world championships and boasts a career-best 10th-place finish in the 2019 mass start. She also finished 15th in the sprint that year. Levins and Irwin will be both be attending their first senior-level world championship in Pokljuka.
Competition at the 2021 IBU World Championships gets underway with the mixed relay on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Here is the full IBU World Championships schedule:
Thurs., Feb. 10 – Mixed relay (9:00 a.m. EST)
Fri., Feb. 12 – Men’s 10km sprint (8:30 a.m. EST)
Sat., Feb. 13 – Women’s 7.5km sprint (8:30 a.m. EST)
Sun., Feb. 14 – Men’s 12.5km pursuit (7:15 a.m. EST) & Women’s 10km pursuit (9:30 a.m. EST)
Tue., Feb. 16 – Women’s 15km individual (6:05 a.m. EST)
Wed., Feb. 17 – Men’s 20km individual (8:30 a.m. EST)
Thurs., Feb. 18 – Single mixed relay (9:15 a.m. EST)
Sat., Feb. 20 – Women’s 4x6km relay (5:45 a.m. EST) & Men’s 4×7.5km relay (9:00 a.m. EST)
Sun., Feb. 21 – Women’s 12.5km mass start (6:30 a.m. EST) & Men’s 15km mass start (9:15 a.m. EST)
All events will air live on the Olympic Channel with same-day or next-day coverage available on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN).
