Nathaniel Herz – Page 34

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing World Cup

Snow Wreaks Havoc on Olympic Biathlon Races

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 2010

American hopes for a medal in the men’s 10k biathlon sprint fell about as hard as the snow did in the middle of today’s race. 25 minutes into the event, the steady drizzle that came down throughout the morning morphed into a wild snow squall, slowing the skiing drastically and effectively squashing the chances of anyone still on course. The medalists in the race—France’s Vincent Jay, Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen, and Croatia’s Jakov Fak—all were...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Salt Could Be In Store for Whistler XC Races

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 2010

Whistler Olympic Park, BC – Organizers of the cross country races here have been using a lot of salt recently. And it’s not because they’re hungry. With rain and above-freezing temperatures for the last few days, officials have been experimenting with ways to harden the courses. Today, FIS Cross Country Race Director Jurg Capol said, organizers tested salt on the portions of the courses that will be used for the 10/15k freestyle on Monday. And...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing World Cup

Broken Bones Can’t Stop Slovakian Biathlete

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 13, 2010

Breaking two bones in your hand a month before the Olympic Games doesn’t sound like good preparation. But it sure didn’t hurt Anastasia Kuzmina. Shaking off an early miss, as well as the injury she suffered in early January, the Russian-turned-Slovakian won her country’s first Olympic medal in biathlon—and its first-ever gold in the Winter Games—on Saturday in the women’s 7.5k sprint. The announcers characterized Kuzmina’s win as a surprise, but her win comes after...

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing US Ski Team

For Athletes, An Agonizing Decision on Opening Ceremonies

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 13, 2010

While his Canadian teammates were out marching in front of their home crowd in Vancouver at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic Games, Devon Kershaw was alone, 60 miles away, watching them on a “fuzzy, little, little screen.” Kershaw got a small consolation prize, according to his Twitter feed—seeing his girlfriend, Chandra Crawford, a few times on that tiny television. But his decision to stay near Whistler was one faced by dozens of athletes...

General News Racing World Cup

Legal Hurdles, Not Testing Numbers, Hold Up FIS Anti-Doping Program

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 10, 20109

After winning a World Cup competition in Dusseldorf in December, Russian sprinter Alexei Petukhov was asked to describe the source of his strength in the post-race press conference. For most other skiers, the answer would have been simple: training, talent, good technique. But for Petukhov, with four of his Russian countrymen banned from the sport over the past year for doping violations, it was a tough one, and he addressed the issue in his answer....

General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Kowalczyk Crushes Canmore Classic Sprint; Canada’s Renner Takes Third

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 6, 2010

In the men’s classic sprint in Canmore on Saturday, there were all kinds of tactics in play. In the women’s version, there was just one: go like hell, and leave everyone else in the dust. That was Justyna Kowalczyk’s M.O. today. Using the massive engine she’s developed by racing every event in her path, the Polish dynamo crushed her competition in every single heat she skied on Saturday. In the final, she had more than...

General News Racing World Cup

Canmore’s “Strong-Man’s Course” Should Favor Distance Skiers

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 6, 2010

With a thin international field here contesting the classic sprint in Canmore, for the world’s best, Saturday morning’s qualifier was just a formality. From here, the stage is set for a knock-down, drag out series of heats on what the U.S.’s Torin Koos called a “strong-man’s course.” 1.7k long and striding-heavy, the difficulty and length of the new sprint loop in Canmore will make for a tough, tactical afternoon. “Nobody’s going to want to put...

General News Racing World Cup

Where Were the Norwegians?

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 6, 2010

For the last few weeks, Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland has been training five to six hours a day. Seriously. We asked her four times, just to be sure. Granted, she said that only three to four of those hours were skiing—the rest were in the gym. But it’s still a lot of volume in advance of a World Cup. Kowalczyk’s approach to her training underscores athletes’ varying strategies during this final period leading up to...

General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Kalla Nips Kowalczyk in Canmore 10k; Compton 14th

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 5, 2010

Canmore, Alberta – Tune-up? Small field? Sure, but it’s still the World Cup. In front of hundreds of fans in Canmore, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla gave her Olympic hopes a boost by winning the women’s 10k freestyle here on a course tailored to her strengths. She finished ten seconds up on Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland today, with Russia’s Irina Khazova in third. Kalla excels on steep uphills and through transitions, and she said afterwards that she...

General News Racing World Cup

In Canmore, World Cups Set to Start Under an Olympic Shadow

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 5, 2010

For the first time in five years, a true world-class field will toe the line tomorrow for a race in North America. While there’s no Northug in town, a solid international field is in Canmore for this weekend’s distance skate and classic sprint World Cup races. Cologna, Teichmann, Legkov, Kowalczyk, Majdic—the gang’s all here. Not to mention full rosters of Americans and Canadians jazzed to throw down in front of their home crowds. But while...

Juniors Racing Results

Norway Doubles up With Men’s WJ Relay Gold

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 31, 2010

Like the women’s relay here, the men’s relay at the World Junior Championships today came down to to the wire. And just like in the women’s race, it was Norway that prevailed. As he attacked the last rise, Finn Krogh was able to do something nobody has done yet here: drop Russia’s Petr Sedov in a mass start race. With a Northug-like kick, Krogh propelled the Norwegian men to their first junior relay championship since...

General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

Norway Tops Women’s Relay in Thrilling Finale; U.S. Team Eighth, 15 Seconds From Fourth

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 31, 2010

With pursuit champion Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg and sprint champion Hanna Brodin anchoring their respective teams, today’s women’s relay race was primed for a showdown. Oestberg, a Norwegian, had proven to be one of the strongest distance skiers here at the World Junior Championships after winning the pursuit, while Brodin, a Swede had dominated the sprint. The 3.3k distance was right in between the two disciplines. They received the tag ten seconds apart, with Oestberg in...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Slind Skis to Pursuit Victory in U-23 Women’s Pursuit; Webster Eighth

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 30, 2010

Halfway through the 15k women’s pursuit at the U-23 World Championships, the Russians appeared to have everything under control. Skiing three abreast on their second of four trips up the big climb here, there didn’t seem to be a way for anyone to get around their sea of blue suits. But when they switched to skate skis, the Russians’ grip on the race disappeared as quickly they had taken it, snatched by a pair of...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Romanian Runs Away With U-23 Men’s Pursuit; Elliot Leads but Fades to 21st

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 30, 2010

After Petr Sedov’s domination of the junior 20k pursuit here yesterday, it seemed unlikely that anyone would be able to outdo that performance in the 30k U-23 version today. Enter Paul Constantin Pepene of Romania. As a dense, 30-skier group made its way up the course’s big climb on its sixth of eight laps, Pepene put in a huge acceleration—the biggest that second-place Ole Marius Bach said he had ever seen. Using a quirky skate...

General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

Oestberg Wins World Juniors Pursuit on Hectic Day; Americans Put Three in Top-25

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 29, 2010

It took her three tries, but Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg would not be denied. Undefeated at the World Junior Championships last year, Oestberg had been relegated to silver in this week’s skate sprint and distance classic races. But today, despite having to race in soft-snow conditions that don’t suit her, she easily stamped her authority on the women’s 10k pursuit here, leading a Norwegian sweep with the help of her teammates Heidi Weng and Tuva Toftdahl....

General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

Sedov Dominates World Junior Pursuit; Patterson 20th

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 29, 2010

The snow fell furiously during the men’s 20k pursuit at World Junior Championships—as hard as Scott Patterson said he had ever seen it snow during a race. But there was another force of nature here today that was stronger than the weather: a tall, stocky 19-year-old Russian named Petr Sedov. At the end of the classic leg of the 20k pursuit here, Sedov had already dropped the entire field except for one: his teammate, Evgeni...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Skobelev Takes U-23 15k on Tough Course; Sandau 13th; Hoffman 20th

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 28, 2010

With some big climbs and minimal recovery, the 3.75k course in Hinterzarten demands some restraint and smart pacing. That’s no accident, according to Karl-Heinz Lickert, the FIS official who laid out the loop that was used in the U-23 men’s 15k. “We don’t want athletes who are only physically strong,” he said. The winner here, Vladislav Skobelev (RUS), clearly had both the brawn and brains Lickert was looking for—though he also wasn’t hurt by the...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Canada’s Webster Takes Fifth in U-23 10k; Niskanen Wins; Rorabaugh 24th

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 28, 2010

After a day of respite, nature hit back at the U-23 Championships this morning with a four-inch dose of snow, then with the same wet fog that already plagued two of three races here. The shifty weather didn’t upset the established hierarchy in Hinterzarten, though, and it was a Finn, Kerttu Niskanen, who took the second win in a row for her country at this level. She was followed by two Russians in second and...

General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

3 of 4 U.S. Women Notch Top Thirties in WJ Classic; Lahteenmaki Wins

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 27, 2010

After a strong day by the U.S. U-23 team yesterday, the American junior women said they were feeling the pressure for a strong performance today in the 5k classic. “We’ve got to step it up and show that we mean business here,” said Annie Hart. While they didn’t exactly match yesterday’s fourth place by Ida Sargent, the juniors did manage a decent show of depth today, putting three of their four women in the top...

General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

Patterson Leads American Juniors with 17th in Hinterzarten; Norway’s Golberg Wins

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 27, 2010

They’re not the Northug family yet, but give them some time. After Caitlin Patterson skied to a 17th place showing in this morning’s women’s 5k classic at the World Junior Championships, Scott Patterson wouldn’t be shown up, matching his older sister’s position in the men’s 10k in the afternoon. According to Matt Whitcomb, the head coach of the American juniors here, Scott had told his sister that he would beat her placing in his own...

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