Chelsea Little – Page 7

Norway Sweeps World Junior Biathlon Relays; Canada’s Junior Men Are Best Shots in Field, Race to Sixth Place

Chelsea LittleFebruary 24, 2012

In the opening junior men’s race of biathlon’s World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, Canada’s Kurtis Wenzel used near-perfect shooting to demolish the field and collect his second world championship title. His teammates, however, were less successful, shooting 80%, 60%, and 40%. “After the individual race I was a little bit down,” said Maxc Davies, who had missed 12 shots and placed 72nd. How things change. In Thursday’s junior 4 x 7.5 k...

Biathlon Juniors

French Men, Ukrainian Women Post Big Victories in Youth Biathlon Relays

Chelsea LittleFebruary 23, 2012

On Wednesday, Kontiolahti, Finland, became a venue that was hospitable for biathlon for the first time in perhaps several weeks. After the bitter cold of the World Cup races two weeks ago, a general lack of sunlight, and a persistent wind that has dogged even the best shots at World Youth and Junior Championships this week, today’s balmy sunshine was a welcome reprieve. “Today was an amazing bluebird day and there was almost no wind,”...

Biathlon Juniors

Behind Wenzel’s Victory, Canadians Place Two More in Top 20 at World Junior Biathlon Championships

Chelsea LittleFebruary 22, 20121

With Canada’s Kurtis Wenzel winning gold in the junior men’s 15 k individual, it was easy to overlook the other North American performances at biathlon World Junior Championships on Tuesday. But there were several other notable finishes in Kontiolahti, Finland, including top-20’s from Wenzel’s teammates Aaron Gillmor and Audrey Vaillancourt. Biathlon Canada, it appears, is on its way up. “It was certainly a welcome surprise to hear that Kurtis was in the lead after his...

Biathlon Juniors

After Year-Long Hiatus from Biathlon, Canada’s Wenzel Can Handle The Pressure, Picking Up Second World Junior Championship Title

Chelsea LittleFebruary 21, 2012

Canadian biathlon has been on the upswing all year, with top-ten performances from three different athletes on the World Cup and wins and podiums on the second-tier IBU Cup circuit. At World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, the Canadians had been hoping to continue their success, and started off well with a top-ten finish by Julia Ransom. But the athlete most likely to make waves was a young man who was also surrounded...

Biathlon Juniors

Canada’s Julia Ransom Returns to Form with Career-Best Eighth in World Youth Championships Individual

Chelsea LittleFebruary 21, 2012

The top Canadian and American women in the youth individual race at biathlon World Junior Championships on Monday couldn’t have had more different attitudes coming into the event. Canada’s Julia Ransom, for instance, was looking for payback. After a strong showing in 2010 in Torsby, Sweden, Ransom struggled in 2011, producing a top result of just 36th place in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. “Last year was definitely a frustrating year for me,” she told FasterSkier...

Uncategorized

Gow 11th in Youth Biathlon Individual; Americans Place Doherty and Dougherty in Top 30, Career-Best for Each

Chelsea LittleFebruary 21, 2012

The U.S. team at biathlon World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, is hoping that things will heat up in the next few days – both literally and figuratively. “It has been pretty cold all week but it warmed up today,” American racer Anna Kubek told FasterSkier. At World Cup races one last weekend, the Finnish venue flirted with legal temperatures and athletes swaddled themselves in layer upon layer of clothes, as well as...

Biathlon World Cup

U.S., Canada Name Biathlon World Championships Teams; World Cup Racers Joined by Five More

Chelsea LittleFebruary 19, 2012

At the end of last week, both the U.S. and Canadian biathlon teams announced their rosters for the upcoming World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany, March 1-11. The biggest surprise was the absence of Brendan Green, the top Canadian man who is currently ranked 32nd in the world. Green recently had a trio of career-best results and his first top-ten finishes on the World Cup in Oslo, Norway, but was hit by back problems before the...

World Cup

Hoffman 31st in Szklarska Poreba to Lead U.S. Men; Team Hampered by Skis, Stomach Bugs, and Inexperience

Chelsea LittleFebruary 18, 2012

Noah Hoffman had plenty to overcome in today’s World Cup 15 k classic race in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. First, there was the thing that bothered everyone: the snow, which was variable and caused plenty of problems for racers and wax techs on every team. “I’m not sure that any team really feels like they truly nailed the wax or ski preparation,” U.S. Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb said in an interview. “Variable conditions throughout the...

World Cup

Career-Best Finishes for Randall, Sargent Boost a Smaller U.S. Women’s Squad

Chelsea LittleFebruary 18, 2012

After mounting an improbable comeback to finish third in Saturday’s sprint final in Szklarska Poreba, Poland, Kikkan Randall turned in another strong showing on Sunday, placing eighth in the 10 k classic race. It was her eighth distance top-ten of the season, counting tour stages, and one of the best classic results of her career. Teammate Ida Sargent also had a personal best, scoring World Cup distance points for the first time after placing 26th....

World Cup

Olsson, Classic Master of the Moment, Dominates 15 k in Szklarska Poreba

Chelsea LittleFebruary 18, 2012

It isn’t all that common, these days, to see Johan Olsson on the World Cup. After a strong start to this season, Olsson took a two-month forced hiatus due to illness. Last year, after the November World Cups he didn’t return to the top level of competition until World Championships in March. In 2010, he skipped the entire month of January to prepare for the Olympics. Injury and illness are sadly par for the course...

Biathlon Continental Cup

With Home-Field Advantage, North Americans Flex Their Muscles at Canmore IBU Cup Races

Chelsea LittleFebruary 17, 2012

Last year, the world’s best biathletes got a taste of northern Maine when the World Cup made stops in Fort Kent and Presque Isle. This season, the top racers are staying firmly ensconced in Europe. But instead of letting the sport get too comfortable on what could be considered its home turf, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) sent their eponymously named IBU Cup circuit across the Atlantic, and for the last week the “second World...

Uncategorized

Weekend Recap: Feb 10-12

Chelsea LittleFebruary 13, 2012

There’s never a dull weekend during the ski season, and this second week of February was no exception. On the World Cup circuit, the biggest news was probably a pair of strong U.S. relay results: the cross country women finished a remarkable fifth place in a 4 x 5 k relay in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, anchored by a lightning-fast Jessie Diggins, while a team of biathletes cobbled together based on who was healthy raced...

Biathlon World Cup

Makarainen Rallies For Surprise Home Victory in Kontiolahti; Kocher Returns to Top Ten For First Time Since 2009

Chelsea LittleFebruary 12, 2012

As the clock ticked down in Sunday’s 10 k pursuit race in Kontiolahti, Finland, the home crowd became more and more tense. Their star, Kaisa Makarainen, sat in second place – which was good. But it looked increasingly as if the win was out of reach, as World Cup leader Magdalena Neuner of Germany was skiing faster and making no more errors than the Finn. Then, halfway through the race, Makarainen caught a break. As...

Biathlon World Cup

The King is Back as Bjørndalen Rises to Top in Pursuit; U.S. Men, Stymied on Range, Keep Three in Top 15 (Updated)

Chelsea LittleFebruary 12, 20121

In case there was any doubt: the King still reigns. Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway had stood on the podium just once this season, and hadn’t won a World Cup race since December 2010. But on Sunday in Kontiolahti, Finland, the legend upped his tally of victories to 93 – a number that seems impossible for another athlete to ever match. At 38 years old, Bjørndalen also became the oldest athlete to ever win a...

Biathlon World Cup

Canada’s Lone Ranger, Zina Kocher, Nets Season-Best 12th in Kontiolahti Sprint; Studebaker 15th for U.S.

Chelsea LittleFebruary 12, 20121

Kontiolahti, Finland, didn’t seem like a logical place for either Canada’s Zina Kocher or U.S. biathlete Sara Studebaker to excel on Saturday. Kocher is traveling on her own, without the support of the Canadian team staff, while Studebaker raced in Friday’s mixed relay, unlike most of the top female competitors. And in fact, on Saturday morning, it almost seemed like none of the women would get a chance to do their best. “There was so...

Biathlon World Cup

Bailey, Currier Just Miss World Cup Podium with 5th & 6th Place in Kontiolahti Sprint; Entire American Team Top-20

Chelsea LittleFebruary 11, 20124

The cold weather is the most talked-about feature of this weekend’s World Cup biathlon races in Kontiolahti, Finland, but the U.S. team is lobbying hard for that to change. After putting two racers in the top six in Saturday’s men’s sprint – they were the only team to do so – the storyline might become the red-hot Americans, not the frozen thermometers. “Today was obviously a great day for the team,” World Cup veteran Tim...

Biathlon World Cup

Americans Collect Another Best-Ever Day, Taking Sixth in Frozen Mixed Relay in Kontiolahti

Chelsea LittleFebruary 10, 20121

When the temperatures outside drop down to -26 Celsius like they did in Kontiolahti, Finland on Thursday morning, ski racing becomes a game of survival. Breathing in cold air while asking lungs to work their hardest isn’t anybody’s idea of a healthy decision. And the extreme cold is even more tricky in biathlon, where nimble fingers are required to pull triggers and bulky mittens just get in the way. In Fort Kent, Maine last winter,...

Interviews Juniors Olympics

Canada’s Youth Olympians Hang Out With a Hero: Beckie Scott on her Chef de Mission Role

Chelsea LittleFebruary 10, 2012

When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held their first-ever winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria in January, they invited many of the best teenage athletes in the world to compete in 13 sports. But it wasn’t only the best young athletes who converged on the historic venue, which also hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. The IOC invited some of the biggest stars in winter sports – many retired, but some still competing...

Continental Cup Racing World Cup

Weekend Recap: Feb 2-5, 2012

Chelsea LittleFebruary 6, 20122

There was plenty going on the nordic world this weekend, and the action started early, with sprints in two countries on Thursday: the FIS World Cup held its first-ever Moscow city sprint in Russia, while the IBU biathlon World Cup hosted its own sprints in Oslo, Norway. Both circuits took a break on Friday, while the skiers traveled to remote Rybinsk, Russia for mass start and skiathlon races on Saturday and Sunday. Biathlon competition resumed...

Biathlon World Cup

Burke Continues Birthday Celebration with Eighth Place in Mass Start, Four North Americans in Top 15

Chelsea LittleFebruary 5, 20121

Some things get better with age and U.S. biathlete Tim Burke, for now at least, appears to be one of them. On Thursday, he placed 15th in a World Cup sprint in Oslo, Norway, in an effort he said was marred by bad ski choice. On Friday, he celebrated his 30th birthday – and then the fireworks began. After moving up to sixth in Saturday’s pursuit, he notched another top-ten finish on Sunday when he...

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