US Biathlon – FasterSkier.com

U.S. Biathlon Announces Women’s Coaching Initiative

US BiathlonMay 14, 2024

Midway, UT – U.S. Biathlon announced today the implementation of its Women’s Coaching Initiative, designed to increase the number, experience and visibility of female biathlon coaches in the U.S. and internationally and inspire future generations of female coaches and athletes. This new initiative, building on the coaching apprenticeship opportunities available over the past several years, will provide formal mentorship and professional development opportunities for female coaches from all Nordic backgrounds to gain biathlon coaching experience across...

Biathlon News

U.S. Biathlon Announces 2024-25 Senior National Team and National Development Group

US BiathlonApril 23, 2024

Midway, Utah – The United States Biathlon Association has released the nominated members of the 2024-25 Senior National Team and 2024-25 National Development Group. While U.S. Biathlon remains committed to maintaining high standards for National Team qualification, it also is focused on providing ample opportunities for developing athletes to train and be part of a larger, collaborative team community within the sport and the development pipeline. Establishing the National Development Group is an important initiative in support...

Biathlon News

U.S. Biathlon Announces 2024-25 Junior National Team

US BiathlonApril 23, 2024

Midway, Utah – The United States Biathlon Association released the selected members of the Junior National Team for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Junior National Team Virginia Cobb (Westford, VT/Ethan Allen Biathlon Club) Mirra Payson (Lexington, MA/HSC Biathlon) Haley Finch (Anchorage, AK/Alaska Winter Stars) Wes Campbell (Park City, UT/ Team Soldier Hollow) Thor Sheppard (West Yellowstone, MT/Team Altius) Cale Woods (Bozeman, MT/Team Crosscut) Elias Soule (Anchorage, AK/Anchorage Biathlon Club) John Lohuis (Anchorage, AK/Biathlon Alaska) “We are happy to announce the names of the exceptional athletes...

Biathlon Collegiate News

Inaugural 2024 U.S. Biathlon Collegiate Nationals Sets the Tone for Future Events

US BiathlonMarch 27, 2024

The inaugural U.S. Biathlon Collegiate National Championships took place March 22, 2024 at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine, in conjunction with the 2024 U.S. Biathlon National Championships. Twelve collegiate athletes representing six colleges and universities from around the Northeast traveled to Fort Kent to race and represent their respective schools. Friday’s U.S. Nationals sprint race doubled as the Collegiate Nationals sprint race, where athlete standings were counted towards both events. Crystal...

Biathlon News

2023-24 World Cup Season Wraps Up in Canmore

US BiathlonMarch 19, 2024

The final weekend of BMW IBU World Cup racing wrapped up in Canmore, Alberta in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The clear, sunny skies saw athletes transform their race suits into makeshift shorts and t-shirts, making the heat a bit more bearable for the final sprint, pursuit and mass start races of the 2023-24 season. Team USA ended the season on a high note with much to look forward to for the 2024-25...

Biathlon News World Cup

Irwin Finishes 12th in Final Pursuit of the Season

US BiathlonMarch 17, 2024

Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) rounds out this season’s pursuit races with a stellar 12th place finish, just one of two athletes in the pool of 60 to shoot a perfect 20 for 20 in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Irwin, jumping 14 places from bib 26, crossed the line in 12th, just +1:23.1 behind the pursuit victor Lisa Vittozzi of Italy, who shot 19 for 20. “It feels amazing to shoot clean in...

Biathlon Racing World Cup

Flowers For Campbell Wright At Home World Cup

US BiathlonMarch 9, 2024

Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) rewrites his World Cup personal best for the fourth time this season at home at Soldier Hollow with a sixth place finish in the men’s 10km sprint, a ticket to his first World Cup flower ceremony. Shooting nine for ten, Wright crossed the line just 20 seconds behind the leading Frenchman Eric Perrot and seven seconds back from a podium finish. “The home World Cup has greatly exceeded my expectations,” Wright...

Biathlon Racing World Cup

U.S. Men’s Relay Team Makes History at Home

US BiathlonMarch 9, 2024

The men’s 4×7.5km relay kicked off the Soldier Hollow BMW IBU World Cup with the U.S. Biathlon Team racing to an historic fourth place finish, the best-ever U.S. finish on home soil in the discipline. The quartet of Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT/Team Crosscut), Sean Doherty (Center Conway, NH/National Guard Biathlon), Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) and Jake Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) each put on world class performances both on the...

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Wright Hits First World Cup Top Ten With Eighth Place Finish in Oslo

US BiathlonMarch 1, 2024

Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) rewrites his World Cup personal best for the third time this season with an eighth place finish in the men’s 20km individual to kick off the third trimester of racing in Oslo, Norway. At 21 years old, Wright shot a near perfect 19 for 20, which propelled him to just +0.15 back from a spot in the flower ceremony and +0.54 back from a podium finish. “It was tough skiing...

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2024 BMW IBU World Championships Preview

US BiathlonFebruary 6, 2024

After two training weeks in Italy, the U.S. Biathlon Team is geared up for the 2024 BMW IBU World Championships in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. The two week event features 12 different races, giving each athlete multiple opportunities for success and fans a taste of each biathlon discipline. Racing will kick off with the mixed relay on Wednesday, February 7. Looking back at past World Championship highlights, only a handful of U.S. athletes...

News US Biathlon

Irwin and Wright Speed to Ninth Place in Single Mixed Relay

US BiathlonJanuary 22, 2024

Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) and Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) skied to a ninth place finish in the single mixed relay at the sixth World Cup of the season in Antholz, Italy. Between the pair, both Irwin and Wright held top-10 ski times throughout the race, finishing only four seconds back from the eighth place Estonia and 30 seconds back from a top-five finish. “It felt good to ski with everyone...

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Wright Sprints to World Cup Personal Best

US BiathlonJanuary 14, 2024

Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) raced to a World Cup personal best 12th place in the men’s 10km sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany, his second race of the weekend. With only one miss in standing, Wright crossed the finish line just 0.9 seconds behind Philipp Horn of Germany. “I’m feeling really good on the skis,” said Wright. “Great contrast from Oestersund when I was 100th ski time, so good progression. Just loving it.” Wright was +50.1 behind the...

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Oberhof Racing Concludes With Solid Performance from Women’s Relay Team

US BiathlonJanuary 10, 2024

After a delayed start to the race weekend in Oberhof, Germany with rain and strong winds creating challenging conditions for the athletes, the U.S. Biathlon Team was able to pull off clean shooting, pursuit qualifications and strong relay performances. The focus now turns to this weekend’s races in Ruhpolding, Germany, which will kick off with the women’s relay on Wednesday, followed by the men’s relay, sprint and pursuit races, spread over five days. In the...

News US Biathlon

USBA—Standout Weekend In Lenzerheide to Wrap Up First Trimester

US BiathlonDecember 20, 2023

The first trimester of the IBU World Cup concluded this past weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Team USA’s Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) stepped up and had the best weekend of her career, landing eighth in the sprint on Thursday. The last time U.S. Biathlon had an athlete in the top ten was in 2022 when Irwin skied to seventh place in the individual event at the Olympics in Beijing. Irwin, who shot...

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First Mass Start of the Season, First World Cup 20/20 for Irwin

US BiathlonDecember 18, 2023

After two solid days of racing in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) found herself amongst the top 30 female biathletes in the world in the first mass start of the season. Adding to her list of World Cup personal bests, Irwin shot her first perfect 20/20. “Emil [Bormetti] and Armin [Auchentaller] gave me an amazing pep talk last night,” said Irwin. “We tried to focus on coming into this race with less...

News US Biathlon

Top World Cup Result Qualifies Bonacci for Pursuit

US BiathlonDecember 17, 2023

A stellar performance from Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT/Team Crosscut) landed him a World Cup personal best 49th place in the men’s 10km sprint in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. With just one miss in standing, Bonacci qualified for his first World Cup pursuit. “I am happy to have had a World Cup where I didn’t really feel stressed to race, and was just happy to have some sun and mountain air to go for a fun...

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Clean Shooting Propels Irwin to Eighth in Lenzerheide

US BiathlonDecember 14, 2023

Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) raced to a World Cup-best eighth place in the women’s 7.5km sprint, kicking off the first-ever World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. She landed just one spot off her career-best seventh place from the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, an historic finish for U.S. Biathlon. “Emil and Armin really helped me put together a good ski plan for the race the past couple of days, and I really felt...

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International Biathlon Referee: Sara Studebaker-Hall

US BiathlonDecember 13, 2023

Sara Studebaker-Hall, two-time Olympian and current U.S. Biathlon Director of Operations, became the first U.S. woman to earn her International Biathlon Union (IBU) technical delegate certification in 2022, one of only a handful of Americans to achieve that distinction. Fast-forward to the 2023 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, Studebaker-Hall took part in her first biathlon World Cup as an IBU referee. “Hochfilzen is such a great venue – they have such an experienced organizing...

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Östersund Results Built Momentum for Team USA Heading to Hochfilzen

US BiathlonDecember 6, 2023

After ten races in Östersund, Sweden, where the U.S. Biathlon Team saw personal best finishes, strong ski times and solid shooting performances, the team will now make the trip to Hochfilzen, Austria, where the three-day weekend will feature a sprint, pursuit and a pair of relays. Racing in Östersund kicked off with a strong performance from Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) and Sean Doherty (Center Conway, NH/National Guard Biathlon) to finish eighth...

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USA’s Bonacci Sixth in Kontiolahti IBU Cup

US BiathlonNovember 30, 2023

Flowers for Bonacci with Sixth Place Finish in Kontiolahti Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT/Team Crosscut) raced to a personal-best sixth place in the men’s 20km individual on Thursday’s opening day of the 2023/24 BMW IBU Cup season in Kontiolahti, Finland. Bonacci had just one miss in standing and crossed the finish line 13 seconds behind Vetle Paulsen of Norway. “I had a bit of a rough fall in terms of how I was shooting,...