In the first individual women's IBU World Cup race of the season, Darya Domracheva showed she's still the same ol' fast-and-cheery competitor, beating Finland's Kaisa Mäkäräinen by 28 seconds and Ukraine's Valj Semerenko, one of three to shoot clean, by 38 seconds.
Hajo Seppelt's documentary on ARD talks to multiple whistleblowers within Russian sports, and discovers not only widespread systematic doping - to an extent comparable to the old East Germany - but regular procedures to cover up positive tests, as well as strange financial arrangements.
Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey led the U.S. in the men's 20-kilometer individual on Wednesday, the first individual World Cup of the season, in 11th and 20th, respectively. Most everyone struggled with the wind, and the Canadians were no exception with top finisher Brendan Green in 49th.
Emil Hegle Svendsen, the third-winningest man in World Cup history, said earlier this year that he was losing motivation for biathlon. Well, with perfect 20/20 shooting and a monster win in Östersund, Sweden, he's remembering exactly what he loves about the sport: winning.
U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover was in West Yellowstone for the first time in nine years last week, and FasterSkier checked in with him to get his take on the races. "This is my first time actually seeing the younger athletes in particular, so it’s exciting to see who’s coming up," he explained.
Before the first stop on the IBU World Cup circuit continues in Östersund on Wednesday, we bring you a synopsis of last weekend's racing action and links to full reports.
Sadie Bjornsen was, in a way, trying to avoid the kind of seventh-place showing she broke out with last year in Kuusamo, Finland. Instead, she placed 17th on Sunday for a result she was pleased with, especially considering how much it hurt. Jessie Diggins was 39th and four more Americans were in the top 60.
Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw always want podiums, that's a given, but at this point in the season -- at the first World Cup weekend in Kuusamo, Finland -- they were pleased with top-15 results. Also on Sunday, Emily Nishikawa pulled off a career best in Europe in 38th in the women's 10 k classic.
Therese Johaug took the fun out of fighting for first, proving herself untouchable throughout Sunday's two-lap 10 k classic on the first day of World Cup distance racing in Kuusamo. Teammate Marit Bjørgen knew the race was for second and narrowly edged Sweden's Charlotte Kalla.
Noah Hoffman is headed back home before his season really started. With 1 kilometer to go in his first official race the season, the 25-year-old U.S. Ski Team member suffered a lower-leg injury after crashing hard on a troublesome downhill corner. He is due in Denver on Monday afternoon, and plans to see a specialist for an official diagnosis shortly after.
The United States biathlon team started the season off on the right foot, finishing the World Cup mixed relay in seventh place and being within a shot of the leaders for the entire race. "Today we were in it all the way until the end- It gives us good confidence going forward," said Tim Burke.
In the big leagues this season, Finland's Iivo Niskanen, 22, not only notched his first World Cup podium on Sunday, but he won the men's 15 k classic individual start in front of a packed stadium in Kuusamo. Two Finnish skiers made the top three, and Norway's Martin Sundby took second.
Martin Fourcade shook off the ghost of Östersund blunders past, and sprinted his way to victory for France in the final meters of today's World Cup mixed relay. Norway was second, Germany third, and plenty of teams showed that they should be in contention all season long.
Eirik Brandsdal repeated his Kuusamo feat from last year, winning the classic sprint there for the second-straight year. He led a Norwegian sweep of the men's top four, outlasting Northug in a double-pole showdown to the finish, and 21-year-old Sondre Turvoll Fossli placed third in his first World Cup final.
In the middle of the day under the lights in Finland, Marit Bjørgen opened the season with a result that likely only surprised herself. "I am grateful to win today,” she said. "It’s still a sprint." Two other Norwegians joined her in the final, as did Slovenia's Katja Visnar, American Ida Sargent, and Russia's Natalia Matveeva -- but not Justyna Kowalczyk.
The first race of the season was no problem for U.S. Ski Team member Ida Sargent, who said she had a lot to think about during Saturday's classic sprint -- the first World Cup race of the season in Kuusamo, Finland -- but she used it to fuel her best-ever result on the international circuit.
Alex Harvey came close to making the semifinals in the classic sprint, but like many in the field he struggled with icing klister over the top of one of the course's biggest hills. The rest of his team - Lenny Valjas, Devon Kershaw, and Perianne Jones - didn't make the heats.
The four-man Canadian World Cup Team we've come to know over the years is back at it again, and has been training for the last two weeks with four other top domestic skiers -- Perianne Jones, Emily Nishikawa, Graeme Killick, and Jesse Cockney. This week, most of the team will test its stuff with the best of them at the World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland.
A November, 2013, urine sample belonging to Russian biathlete Alexander Loginov has tested positive for EPO using a new technique. Since the test, Loginov - a double World Junior Champion - competed in the Olympics and had several World Cup podiums, including when he was second and American Lowell Bailey third in Kontiolahti.
The 2014 Olympics in Sochi were an unmitigated disaster for German cross country skiing and biathlon. We look back on why, using our own observations and a 235-page Germany Olympic committee analysis of the country's performance in Sochi. With problems identified, the question becomes: what about now?