Harald Zimmer – Page 2

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Norway’s Bø Crushes Östersund 20 k; Three North Americans in the Points

Harald ZimmerNovember 30, 2017

Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø routinely races with a rifle completely coated from the stock to the barrel in a bright golden paint, and on Thursday, in the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup men’s 20-kilometer individual race in Östersund, Sweden, that display of his ambitions to be the best biathlete in the world didn’t even seem ostentatious. The 24-year-old, three-time world champion didn’t just win the race, he won by a huge margin distancing the...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Norway’s Mixed Relay Wins Again in Östersund; Canada 15th, U.S. 21st

Harald ZimmerNovember 26, 2017

Even the most renowned athletes and national teams in the mixed relay on Sunday afternoon admitted they had not yet found their perfect groove in Östersund, Sweden, on the opening day of the 2017/2018 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season. Nevertheless it still made for an exciting race, with four teams vying for the podium on the last lap. And in the finishing stretch, anchored by veteran Emil Hegle Svendsen, the same country prevailed...

Biathlon Dryland News Racing

North American Biathletes Test Speed at German Nationals

Harald ZimmerSeptember 14, 2017

Dozens of German biathletes from all parts of the country descended on the small town of Langdorf (Arber) in the Bavarian Forest mountain range last weekend for their national championships. Since guests are allowed to compete in the races (a sprint and a pursuit), a number of international biathletes — including a handful of North Americans — made use of this opportunity during a training block in Europe for a performance test against some tough...

Dryland General News Racing

Halfvarsson, Weng Top Toppidrettsveka; Newell and Bolger Compete

Harald ZimmerAugust 21, 2017

This past weekend was once again the time of the year for the Toppidrettsveka ski festival, a three-day rollerski mini tour held annually since 2005 in the region of Trondheim, Norway. In addition to the individual stages, points for the top-30 finishers were awarded to compile an overall ranking similar to the Tour de Ski. The elite field of athletes was mostly comprised of Norwegian and other Scandinavian skiers active on the International Ski Federation...

Dryland General News Racing

Norwegians Sweep Sprints; Newell Out in Quarterfinal on Last Day of Blink

Harald ZimmerJuly 30, 2017

The fans in the well-filled stands of the 1-kilometer rollerski city course in Sandnes, Norway, had many reasons to cheer loudly on Saturday, as their local heroes claimed victories in all four sprint events that concluded the 2017 Blink Skifestivalen (Ski Festival). In the final race of the day, the men’s cross-country sprint was decided by the length of a rollerski, with Norway’s Sindre Bjørnestad Skar crossing first, just 0.1 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Teodor...

Biathlon Dryland General News Racing

Ustiugov, Bjørgen Rule Mass Start; Newell 18th After Breaking Pole

Harald ZimmerJuly 29, 2017

In the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle rollerski mass start on the third day of the 2017 Blink Ski Festival in the coastal town of Sandnes in the southwest of Norway, U.S. Ski Team (USST) member Andy Newell constantly held a position in the first group, staying within a few seconds of the leaders. With two laps to go, he was in sixth place, less than two seconds back. “I felt good about the race,” Newell reflected...

General News World Cup

Germany’s 2010 Team Sprint Silver Medalist, Tscharnke Retires

Harald ZimmerJuly 17, 2017

At the conclusion of last season in late March, German cross-country national team member Tim Tscharnke still Norwegian gold-medal duo of Petter Northug and Øystein Pettersen. At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Tscharnke and teammate Hannes Dotzler nearly took another medal in the team sprint, winning their semifinal and leading a three-person group in the final, before Tscharnke

News Olympics

L.A. Potential Host for Both 2024 Summer and 2026 Winter Olympics

Harald ZimmerApril 1, 2017

In 2022, Beijing will become the only city that has hosted both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. But sooner than expected another unlikely city might join that rank: Los Angeles. L.A. is currently one of only two remaining candidate cities to host the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the other one being Paris. The winner will be determined at the next International Olympic Committee (IOC) general session in Lima, Peru, in September of this...

News Other US Ski Team

Liz ‘Hill’ Stephen Plans Her Foray Into Skimo

Harald ZimmerApril 1, 2017

Liz Stephen has made a name for herself as one of the best uphill climbers in the world on the cross-country World Cup circuit, frequently achieving her best performances of the season in the final stage of the Tour de Ski up the grueling Alpe Cermis climb on a ski slope in Italy. She placed second for the time of day up the climb again this year, her fourth time to do so. “I want...

Biathlon News Racing US Biathlon

Fourcade Wins Despite Ammo Flub; ‘Squirrel Drama’ in Women’s Mass Start in Oslo

Harald ZimmerMarch 19, 2017

Between breaking historic biathlon records and waiting for the imminent birth of his second child, France’s IBU World Cup dominator Martin Fourcade forgot one crucial detail of Biathlon 101 before Sunday’s final race of the season in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start: loading his ammunition clips. Fourcade only realized he had started with four empty clips when he crouched down on the shooting mat for the first prone shooting, then signaled for help. His coach...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Laukkanen Gets Her First Win in Oslo; Dunklee 7th; U.S. Men Secure 5th Quota Spot

Harald ZimmerMarch 17, 2017

For races and ski jumpings at the famous Holmenkollen arena on a hillside above Oslo, a frequent visitor in the audience is the King Harald V of Norway, a passionate and knowledgeable fan of all nordic sports. And usually the winners of the competition get the honor of being invited up to the royal suite overlooking the arena. On Friday in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the Interntional Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup final in...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Dunklee Repeats in 5th; Eckhoff Gets First Win of Season in Kontiolahti Sprint

Harald ZimmerMarch 10, 2017

Over the last month, US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee has become a familiar face for competitors and spectators at World Cup medal and flower ceremonies, highlighted by her silver medal in the mass start at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. On Friday in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, Dunklee once again returned to the flower ceremony after finishing fifth, which, coincidentally, was her third time in...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Fourcade Secures World Cup Sprint Title; Bailey 16th in Kontiolahti

Harald ZimmerMarch 10, 2017

These days at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, biathlon star Martin Fourcade of France is not as worried about his opponents on the course as he is about the imminent birth of his second child. “That’s the first thing I did when I came to the finish, I checked my phone to see if my wife called,” he told German broadcaster ZDF after the race. There was no message yet,...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Clean-Shooting Bailey Second in PyeongChang Sprint

Harald ZimmerMarch 3, 2017

A screenwriter for a Hollywood thriller hardly could have written a more suspenseful albeit a little convoluted race dramaturgy: Whenever you thought, ‘All right, this has to be it,’ and ‘It’s over now,’ another corkscrew plot twist happened and a new hero emerged. And one of those heroes was US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey. But at the end of the day he wasn’t the last man standing at the top. A year ahead of the 2018...

News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Bjørgen Shows Who’s Still the Boss; Bjornsen 19th in Otepää

Harald ZimmerFebruary 19, 2017

“Visit Estonia,” it read on the bibs of all athletes in the women’s World Cup 10-kilometer classic individual start race, an advertisement by the tourist board of the Baltic country. Unfortunately after experiencing beautiful weather for Saturday’s sprint, the town of Otepää — which on most days is indeed a paradise for all kinds of winter sports — was not able to present itself looking exactly like a picture out of a travel brochure on...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

First World Cup Win for Klæbo; Hamilton 8th in Otepää, Misses Final by Inches

Harald ZimmerFebruary 18, 2017

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is young enough that he could have started at the U23 World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, earlier this month. And the 20-year-old Norwegian probably would have done well there. But the 2016 Junior World Champion in the freestyle sprint and 10-kilometer classic races held in Râsnov, Romania, already has his sights set much higher this season, targeting next week’s senior International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. And...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Koukalová Nabs First World Title; Egan 20th in World Champs Sprint

Harald ZimmerFebruary 10, 2017

It was a day of redemption. Both for a biathlon superstar and for the best North American in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. A year ago, Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová (back then starting under her maiden name Soukalová) was disappointed when she failed to win any medal at the Oslo World Championships, twice placing fourth, once fifth, and twice sixth with her team. She...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Retivykh Wins Again in PyeongChang; Newell & Hamilton 4th in Team Sprint

Harald ZimmerFebruary 5, 2017

France has never won a World Cup team sprint, neither for men nor women, classic nor freestyle. And its team will have to wait a bit longer for that time to come. But France was oh-so-close on Sunday, with Baptiste Gros and Lucas Chanavat racing against the Russian duo of Andrey Parfenov and Gleb Retivykh in the men’s 6 x 1.5-kilometer freestyle team sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea. Chanavat, last year’s U23 world champion in the freestyle sprint, tried...

News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Sargent Seizes Opportunity, First Career Podium in PyeongChang Sprint

Harald ZimmerFebruary 3, 2017

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Liz Guiney, Caitlin Patterson and Jessica Yeaton.) Sometimes just being there is half the battle, as the saying goes. No Maiken Caspersen Falla. No Stina Nilsson. On Friday at the site of next year’s Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, three athletes who had never made it to a World Cup podium before prevailed in the women’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint. And right there was...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada News Racing US Biathlon

Second at Relay Midpoint, U.S. Women Slip to 13th; Germany Wins Third-Straight; Canada 18th in Antholz

Harald ZimmerJanuary 22, 2017

As they had done in the first two relays this season, Germany and France occupied the top two positions on the podium in the women’s 4 x 6-kilometer relay on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. And to the joy of over 20,000 raucous fans in the sunny arena, home team Italy claimed the third place. So far, so not very unusual. But at the halfway point of the race, Susan Dunklee had moved...

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