Chelsea Little – Page 13

Retired Ukrainian Biathlete Oksana Khvostenko Handed One-Year Ban for Accidental Ephedrine Violation

Chelsea LittleAugust 15, 2011

wrote in June, the Ukranian biathlete Oksana Khvostenko, who anchored her country’s relay team to silver at World Championships this winter, tested positive for the banned substance ephedrine. Khvostenko’s hearing with the International Biathlon Union (IBU) took place on June 1st, but it took them until last week to issue their verdict on the embattled veteran. With both the A- and B-samples testing positive for greater than ten micrograms per milliliter of ephedrine, they had...

General Interviews World Cup

Eileen Carey on “Changing the Face of the Leadership” at FIS

Chelsea LittleAugust 11, 20111

Eileen Carey is a busy lady. In 2010, while working as the Vice President for the Maine Winter Sports Center, she oversaw three huge events in Aroostock County: Junior Olympics, biathlon national championships, and spring series. Since then she’s switched jobs, and is now overseeing adaptive skiing for the New England Nordic Ski Association. Along with all of her other responsibilities, Carey is a member of the Ladies’ Cross-Country Subcommittee for the International Ski Federation...

Biathlon General Results

Bailey Wins Twice at North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships (updated)

Chelsea LittleAugust 8, 2011

The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) held their biggest summer event in Jericho, Vermont this weekend: the North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships, which crowned men’s and women’s champions in four different age categories as well as the masters men’s division. “Things went wonderfully,” said John Madigan, president of the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club, which hosted the races. “It is such a close and fabulous community in biathlon and it is always special when we can...

General Other

Kalla Tries Orienteering, and Dominates

Chelsea LittleAugust 4, 20111

With both Olympic and World Championships gold under her belt, Charlotte Kalla of Sweden was looking for a way to spice up her summer schedule. Considering that she describes herself as someone who doesn’t “know how to use a map and compass very well,” her choice of orienteering definitely fit the bill for a challenge. In early July, Kalla announced that she could be competing in O-Ringen, a five-day orienteering festival, at the end of...

US Ski Team World Cup

Elliott Is Still Riding, But Skiing Gains a Foothold

Chelsea LittleAugust 2, 2011

In March, two-time U23 mountain bike national champion Tad Elliott told FasterSkier that he was planning to scale back his bike schedule in the coming year in hopes of snagging a nomination to the U.S. Ski Team. “That’s kind of the focus now, is putting more chips into skiing, and wanting to do World Cup skiing, wanting to do World Champs,” Elliott said. Despite a strong 2010 season, he had not been named to the...

Biathlon Olympics World Cup

Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Carin Zidek Retires

Chelsea LittleJuly 22, 2011

After a long spring of indecision, Anna Carin Zidek of Sweden finally announced her retirement from biathlon last week. “I no longer have any desire, my motivation has disappeared, and so I will stop,” the 2006 Olympic gold medalist told an Ostersund newspaper. The announcement came after months of deliberation. “Oh yes, there are many who wonder if I should continue or not next season,” Zidek had written on her blog in late April. “And...

Biathlon Interviews Olympics World Cup

Burke is Back!

Chelsea LittleJuly 20, 2011

Tim Burke is one of the best biathletes in North America. The Paul Smiths, New York native finished on the World Cup podium three times during the 2009-2010 season, and even donned the yellow overall leader’s bib. But in 2011, he had a disappointing year, with his best finish 18th place in the opening World Cup sprint in Ostersund, Sweden. In April Alter-G, and it allows you to run with whatever percent of your body...

Olympics World Cup

Canadian Anti-Doping Efforts Move Forward with Blood Passport Program

Chelsea LittleJuly 14, 2011

Olympics World Cup

World Champion, Olympic Hero, “Nice Guy” and Doper: Mika Myllyla Is Dead at 41

Chelsea LittleJuly 5, 2011

Finnish Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Mika Myllyla was found dead in his home in Kokkola, Finland, on Tuesday morning. For about 5 years in the late 1990’s, Myllyla was one of the best skiers in the world. He won the 30 k classic race in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, as well as two other medals there and a bronze in Lillehammer in 1994. In World Championship racing, Myllyla won three...

Collegiate Continental Cup News Regional / Local World Cup

U.S., Canada Face Homologation Crunch as FIS Deadline Looms (updated)

Chelsea LittleJuly 1, 20117

Holding elite level events, whether World Cup races, National Championships or just FIS points competitions, pose numerous challenges for organizers and National Governing Bodies in the US and Canada. Over the course of the summer FasterSkier will examine the various issues at hand. Today we start with a piece on homologation, with future topics to include snowmaking and prize money, among others. Until this year, the U.S. and Canada have had reprieve from the International...

General World Cup

Bjørn Dæhlie Joins Team Xtra Personell

Chelsea LittleJune 20, 20111

Biathlon General Interviews

Interview: Patrick Coffey on Learning to Coach and Developing American Athletes (and Clubs!)

Chelsea LittleJune 17, 20111

(Note: this interview is the third in a series of profiles of USBA coaches. The first two were with Jonne Kahkonen.) When Patrick Coffey was hired by the United States Biathlon Association (USBA) as an assistant coach in 2008, he had only three years of coaching experience, making him an unusual choice for a national team position. But what he lacked in formal training and experience, he made up for in passion. In those three...

Juniors Regional / Local

Maine Racer Breaks Barriers in High School Skiing

Chelsea LittleJune 13, 20111

Over and over, Christina Kouros has told coaches, administrators, and journalists that she just wants to be part of the team. The sophomore from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, started out by joining her high school’s outdoor track team, and this winter she joined the ski team, too. Why is this impressive? Kouros was born without a right leg. But that hasn’t slowed her down. In the last two years she has represented her school using a...

Biathlon World Cup

Ukrainian Biathlete Tests Positive for Ephedrine

Chelsea LittleJune 9, 20111

At World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia this year, the Ukrainian women’s biathlon team already had to deal with mixed feeling about their silver medal performance in the relay. Now, they have to add another variable to the mix – a mistake which led to a positive doping test by their anchor skier, Oksana Khvostenko. A Strong World Championships Showing Coming into the last handoff in the 4 x 6 k relay, Ukraine was in the...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Tax Docs: USSA Chief Got Five Percent Pay Cut in 2010

Chelsea LittleJune 2, 20115

United States Ski Association (USSA) Chief Executive Officer Bill Marolt took a five percent cut in base compensation and benefits in the 2010 fiscal year, according to federal tax forms recently released by the Internal Revenue Service. In both 2010 and 2009, Marolt received a $250,000 bonus from USSA and its affiliate organizations. In the last fiscal year, however–which ended April 30, 2010–his base pay decreased from $309,947 to $269,258, while his benefits and nontaxable...

Biathlon General Olympics World Cup

Zaitseva Returns to the Fold

Chelsea LittleMay 28, 2011

At the end of the women’s relay at 2011 World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, star biathlete Olga Zaitseva abruptly announced her retirement, sending the biathlon world and the Russian team into a tailspin. As FasterSkier wrote at the time, Zaitseva was fed up with the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), the politics, and the pressure associated with representing her country. Since then, there has been much speculation about her possible return. Zaitseva initially stuck to...

General Olympics World Cup

Longa, Zorzi Join Follis on the Sidelines of Italian Skiing

Chelsea LittleMay 24, 2011

Before the 2011 World Cup season was even finished, the ski community knew that the Italian team would be losing one of their biggest stars. Arianna Follis, who had been racing on the circuit since 1995, saved the best part of her career for last. She was the World Champion in the sprint in 2009, and in 2011 placed third in the overall World Cup rankings and second in the sprint standings. But at 33...

Biathlon Interviews Olympics World Cup

Interview: USBA Women’s Coach Jonne Kahkonen on Momentum, Mind Games, and Makarainen

Chelsea LittleMay 19, 2011

(Note: This is the second in a series of interviews with U.S. Biathlon Association coaches and staff. The first was with USBA Head Coach Per Nilsson.) Last summer, the U.S. Biathlon Association made a big change by hiring Jonne Kahkonen as a dedicated head coach for the women’s team. Up until that point, the women hadn’t had their own program. “There were enough of us to really warrant having a women’s coach, and having a...

Health World Cup

The Skinny on Marit Bjoergen’s Inhaler

Chelsea LittleMay 16, 201114

At Polish three time overall World Cup champion Justyna Kowalczyk has never been one to keep her mouth shut. Take, for example, her accusation that Marit Bjoergen’s asthma medicine is performance-enhancing. “Without the medicine Marit would not have won gold medals,” Kowalczyk said at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. If Bjoergen has asthma, then it may very well be true. But Kowalczyk’s implication was that either Bjoergen did not have asthma and was taking the...

Biathlon General News Olympics World Cup

An Unlikely Pairing: Pichler Heads to Russia In Search of a New Challenge

Chelsea LittleMay 13, 2011

When FasterSkier in an interview last week. “Pichler, because he’s had big success in Sweden and many years… maybe it was time for him to move.” Past Animosity with Russia While the challenge of coaching a supremely talented yet frustratingly inconsistent group of women may be appealing to Pichler, the move to Russia is puzzling given his past relationship with the RBU. For several years, Pichler – who is outspoken on many issues – very...

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