To kick off our new "17 Questions for 2017" series, US Biathlon's Maddie Phaneuf tells us about her summer (shooting fast and straight, hiking, and rock climbing) and her ambitions for making her first senior World Championships team this winter.
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Chelsea Little
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.
Eyes on Lahti 30 k and Feet Firmly in Midwest, Caitlin Gregg Ramps Up
Chelsea LittleSeptember 30, 2016
After partially relocating to Park City and "getting excited" with her training last year, Caitlin Gregg suffering World Cup disappointment. Based 100 percent in the Midwest again, Gregg is focusing on leading the SuperTour and showing up strong at U.S. nationals -- a.k.a, doing what might get her to Lahti, Finland, for World Championships.
Troubling Data: 1 in 5 Norwegian Junior Women Show Disordered Eating
Chelsea LittleSeptember 23, 2016
New research shows that nearly 20 percent of female junior skiers and biathletes in Norway display disordered eating, with the percentage even higher at elite sports high schools.
Doping News: Sundby Defends Asthma Meds; WADA Hacked; IBU Clears Meldonium Athletes
Chelsea LittleSeptember 16, 2016
Martin Johnsrud Sundby blamed his poor performance at 2015 World Championships on stress from his positive doping test, while WADA's scientific director is now commenting that asthma drugs are performance-enhancing at high doses. In addition, Russian hackers released athlete medical records from a WADA database.
The Votes are In, Russia Awarded 2021 IBU World Champs Despite Controversy
Chelsea LittleSeptember 6, 2016
Although the IOC said in July that Russia should not host any international winter sports events due to their systematic doping violations and cheating at the 2014 Olympics, it apparently walked those guidelines back -- and now Russia has been awarded biathlon World Championships, despite the fact that the country is not currently in compliance with the WADA Code.
Cobb Elected IBU Vice President for Sport, First American on Executive Board
Chelsea LittleSeptember 4, 2016
U.S. Biathlon Association President and CEO Max Cobb will join the International Biathlon Union's Executive Board, after serving for four years as the head of the Technical Committee. "As biathlon develops even further, the marriage of the technical aspects of the sport with further development... will become more and more important."
Unequal Prize Money at Blink Festival Illustrates Challenges for Women’s Distance Racing
Chelsea LittleAugust 31, 2016
At Norway's Blink festival, the women's winner of the 60 k classic received just one-fifth the prize money as the men's winner. Smaller women's fields present a conundrum for long-distance race organizers: how can they promote women's racing and incentivize attendance, and what constitutes enough effort toward doing so?
Norwegian Ski Team Recommended Nebulizer Use by Healthy Athletes, Say Anonymous Skiers
Chelsea LittleAugust 26, 2016
Martin Johnsrud Sundby is beginning the appeals process, seeking to overturn his doping ban by way of the Swiss Supreme Court. Meanwhile, other Norwegian skiers -- healthy ones -- were allegedly recommended to use nebulizers as well.
Stuber Takes Over at St. Scholastica: Program is ‘On the Verge of Something Huge’
Chelsea LittleAugust 19, 2016
It was a hard decision to leave the Roaring Fork Valley, where Maria Stuber headed the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club nordic team, but the Midwest native is taking the reins at the College of St. Scholastica, and thrilled to build on the program's young-but-strong legacy.
After coming back from a devastating combination of injuries from a 2015 crash, former U.S. national team member Casey Smith realized that he was treating biathlon like a job, not like fun. He'll re-enroll at Montana State University this fall and say goodbye to elite skiing.
FIS rules did not require a provisional suspension for Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby after his urine samples came back with high concentrations of salbutamol. And after their hearing panel concluded he had broken no rules - a finding later reverse by the Court of Arbitration for Sport - FIS could only publicize the case with Sundby's permission. They say he refused.
After Report, Ban on Russian Athletes Considered; World Cups May Be Moved
Chelsea LittleJuly 19, 2016
Martin Fourcade, the most successful biathlete of the last several years, resorted to Twitter to ask his international federation about the ten positive tests by Russian athletes allegedly hidden by the Russian Ministry of Sport. He didn't get a response. Meanwhile, the IOC moved forward with re-testing anti-doping samples from all Russian athletes at the 2014 Olympics, and also called for any major events scheduled to be held in Russia to be moved.
While we think of cross-country skiing as a low-impact sport which enjoys rather than exploits natural areas, research shows that even our small ski trails can impact wildlife through forest fragmentation and stress responses to disturbance by skiers.
Longtime Canadian World Cup skier Ivan Babikov is retiring to take on coaching responsibility for his former teammates Devon Kershaw, Lenny Valjas, Jess Cockney, and Graeme Killick. "Ivan has been in our system and his job is to execute the plans," Cross Country Canada High Performance Director Tom Holland explains.
Mismatch Between WADA Policy and Data; Athletes Return to Training After Meldonium Positives
Chelsea LittleJune 21, 2016
The two published studies on meldonium excretion show that concentrations in urine samples fall below 1 μg/mL within a day or two -- so why did WADA suggest lifting provisional suspensions on athletes testing up to 15 μg/mL in the first two months of 2016?
The International Association of Athletics Federations has banned the Russian track and field team from the 2016 Summer Olympics after a doping scandal. As other federations with doping problems look on, it remains to be seen whether the decision will be upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the International Olympic Committee.
FIS, IBU Respond to Latest Documentary; Did WADA System Enable Doping Test Evasion?
Chelsea LittleJune 11, 2016
The latest documentary by Hajo Seppelt alleges that Natalia Zhelanova, the anti-doping assistant at Russia's Ministry of Sport, tipped off skiing and biathlon teams before sample collection. Did WADA's ADAMS system, where federations are encouraged to pre-register their planned tests, allow this to happen?
All right, so the top Norwegian women are training more than 900 hours per year. What does that mean for everyone else? We chatted with Jodi Hawley, an exercise physiologist who formerly worked with the Canadian National Team for cross-country skiing.
Vancouver Preparation Implicated as Russian Doping Allegations Continue (Updated)
Chelsea LittleJune 5, 2016
Russian whistleblower Vitaliy Stepanov initially met with World Anti-Doping Agency representatives at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and said he had heard of a list of athletes who were "protected" in the leadup to those Games and which RUSADA was told not to test.
Want to know everything about the training and physiology of the top Norwegian women? A new paper tells all, using training diaries and test data from Marit Bjørgen, Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Ragnhild Haga, and Maiken Caspersen Falla.