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Biathlon

Coverage of elite Biathlon racing and news – from the junior level to the World Cup.
(Press Release) In Race of Her Life, Deedra Irwin Posts Top Finish Ever by an American Biathlete

BEIJING, China (Feb. 5, 2022) – Things don’t always go according to plan, but occasionally someone can exceed even her wildest expectations. Such was the case for Deedra Irwin of Pulaski, Wisconsin, who on Monday turned in the best Olympic performance ever by an American biathlete, finishing seventh in the women’s 15-kilometer individual event at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre northwest of Beijing. “I was trying to focus on just working on everything I’ve worked on this week,”...

(Press Release) U.S. Equals Best Mixed Relay Finish at Olympics

BEIJING, China (Feb. 5, 2022) – The American quartet of Susan Dunklee Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) and Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Team Crosscut & USABA) finished seventh in the mixed relay Saturday as the Beijing 2020 Winter Games biathlon competition got underway at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Center. The result tied the best-ever finish for Team USA in an Olympic mixed relay, equaling...

Olympic Biathlon Schedule & Who and How to Watch

Schedule All Times Eastern Standard Time Saturday, February 5th 4:00am EST – Men’s and Women’s Mixed Relay – Zhangjiakou, China Monday, February 7th 4:00am EST – Women’s 15k Individual – Zhangjiakou, China Tuesday, February 8th 3:30am EST – Men’s 20k Individual – Zhangjiakou, China Friday, February 11th 4:00am EST – Women’s 7.5k Sprint – Zhangjiakou, China Saturday, February 12th 4:00am EST – Men’s 10k Sprint – Zhangjiakou, China Sunday, February 13th 4:00am EST – Women’s...

(Press release) U.S. Women’s Relay Heads into Beijing with Best Finish in 28 Years

In the final women’s relay competition before the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, the 14th ranked U.S. Women’s Biathlon Team raced to a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s 4×6-kilometer event at the BMW IBU World Cup in Antholz. It marked the best relay finish for the women’s team in a World Cup since 1994 when the U.S. took the silver medal in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. However, today’s performance bettered that race 28 years ago in terms of time...

(Press Release) Clare Egan Fourth in Antholz

Antholz, ITA – US Biathlon Team and Craftsbury Green Racing Project athlete Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) grabbed the second-best finish of her career with a fourth place in Friday’s 15km Women’s Individual competition in Antholz, Italy. The result comes after Egan went home for Christmas and skipped the Oberhof World Cup to prepare for the Beijing Games. “The biggest challenge with my preparation has been staying positive and patient while I try to get my physical shape...

(Press Release) Schommer 9th In Antholz

U.S. Biathlon Team and Team Crosscut athlete Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI) on Thursday added to his already stellar season with the first top-10 performance of his career. Schommer, who earlier this season qualified for his first Olympic Winter Games, placed ninth in the 20km Men’s Individual race in Antholz, Italy under gusting conditions and on one of the more challenging 20km courses on the IBU World Cup. “Today’s approach was the same as it’s been...

Reid, Irwin, and Nordgren Round Out U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team Nominations

The U.S. Biathlon International Competition Committee nominated the final three athletes for the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team roster on Sunday following completion of the final trials events at the IBU Cup competition in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia. Nominated were Olympic veterans Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) and Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.), along with Olympic newcomer Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, Wis./National Guard Biathlon & USBA). The trio joins previously nominated athletes Jake Brown (St. Paul, Minn./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon...

Sean Doherty Named to Third Olympic Team

Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) became the fifth biathlete to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The discretionary selection was announced by the U.S. Biathlon International Competition Committee on Monday following Doherty’s dominating performance in the sprint and pursuit races at the U.S. Biathlon Olympic Trials held in Arber, Germany, Jan. 2-3. “Sean performed really well and kept his focus during two really challenging races,” said U.S. Biathlon Director of High Performance Lowell...

Youth & Junior Teams Named for Upcoming International Events

Seventeen youth and junior athletes have been selected to represent Team USA at upcoming international events, including the 2022 IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, Feb. 23-March 2. The U.S. Biathlon International Competition Committee announced the team selections on Friday following three days of trials at the Soldier Hollow venue in Midway, Utah, Dec. 28-31. “I want to thank Soldier Hollow for doing a great job in hosting these trials,” said U.S. Biathlon...

Jake Brown and Paul Schommer Qualify For U.S. Olympic Team

Biathletes Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA) and Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Team Crosscut & USBA) have qualified for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 by virtue of their performances at this season’s IBU World Cup events. It marks the first Olympic team for both as they join Olympic veterans Susan Dunklee(Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USABA) and Clare Egan(Cape Elizabeth, Maine/USBA) as early qualifiers. Dunklee and Egan qualified through their respective...

How to Watch the 2021-22 FIS Cross Country and IBU Biathlon World Cups

The long-awaited “how to watch” article is here. I hear you — the season is a week away. What took so long? Simply put, negotiating contracts with the various agencies that film and produce World Cup coverage is a complicated process. Olympic Channel announcer Chad Salmela used the word “cumbersome” to explain the process through which NBC secures the rights to these broadcasts. Cumbersome is not ideal when it comes to small niche sports that...

Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival Draws Big Crowds in Annecy, France

Nordic festival are two words most North American ski fans can only dream about. Skinny skiers here are unlikely to experience the reality of such an event for themselves unless they make a trip across the Atlantic. For residents of France, the opportunity to participate in the second edition of the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival presented itself this weekend and there were many eager attendees. This lucky expat was among the masses. For those unfamiliar...

Egan Sweeps USBA Rollerski National Championships; Doherty and Schommer Lead Men’s Field

This post will be updated with men’s comments as available.  The 2021 U.S. Biathlon National Rollerski Championships were held this past weekend in Jericho, VT, hosted by the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club.  As the annual event was held in a virtual format in August 2020 due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, the weekend marks a welcome return to public national level biathlon competition. Participants from clubs throughout the U.S. made their way to Northern Vermont to...

Susan Dunklee and the Change Wants to See: Part II

This is part II of an interview with U.S. biathlete Susan Dunklee. In her final season racing World Cup, Dunklee has decided to take on a leadership role, as an Athlete Ambassador for gender equity, with the International Biathlon Union. You can find part one of the interview here. This portion of the interview focuses on an incident that crystalized Dunklee’s resolve to foster cultural change in her chosen sport. Dunklee posted a two-Instagram post...

Susan Dunklee and the Change She Wants to See: Part 1

Back in 2008, Susan Dunklee chose to become a biathlete after finishing her collegiate ski career. This was a solid decision both for Dunklee and for the US Biathlon program. With two World Championship silver medals, she is the most decorated biathlete from the U.S. women’s team. Born and raised in Vermont, Dunklee finds comfort in familiarity. During the offseason, she is based near Craftsbury and can often be found training with her Green Racing...

USBA Announces New Assistant Coach Dana Hatton (Press Release)

Press Release   New Gloucester, Maine: US Biathlon is pleased to announce the hiring of Dana Hatton as the new National Team Assistant Coach. Dana grew up in Maine and skied with the St. Lawrence Varsity Nordic Ski Team for four years. Most recently, Dana spent two years as the Graduate Assistant Coach for the St. Lawrence Ski Team, where she completed her Masters degree in Leadership. “We are thrilled to have Dana onboard as...

IBU Bans Some Fluorinated Products for the 2021-2022 Season

With time to spare before the 2021-2022 race season, the International Biathlon Union clarified on Monday their fluoro wax policy. In a press release titled “IBU bans harmful fluor products from biathlon events,” the sport governing body banned the use of C8 fluorinated products. C8 compounds, also known as PFOAs, are eight chain fluorocarbons that have historically been used to enhance ski speed in certain conditions. The IBU’s stance brings it into compliance with current...

Soldier Hollow Collegiate/PG Biathlon and XC Summer Training Group

  Team Soldier Hollow is looking for ambitious skiers and biathletes who want to train and race at a high level collegiately or professionally and who will contribute to our growing club and vision of “Developing Champions in Sport and Life.” We invite you to spend your summer training at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic venue for XC skiing and Biathlon and more recently, host of the 2017 XC World Junior Championships and 2019 BMW...

Dunklee In Reach of Olympic Qualification After Nove Mesto World Cup (Press Release)

Press Release NOVE MESTO, Czech Republic (March 13, 2021) – Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.) has become the second U.S. female biathlete to meet the standards set for early qualification to the 2022 U.S. Olympic team at the end of the season. Early qualification is available for up to two athletes who meet the standards of the U.S. Biathlon selection procedures, in this case, two top-12 finishes at an IBU World Cup race during the 2020-21 season. With her second eighth-place...

Susan Dunklee Places 8th with Season Best World Cup Result (USBA Press Release)

USBA Press Release NOVE MESTO, Czech Republic (March 12, 2021) — American Susan Dunklee(Barton, Vt.) was one of 14 competitors to shoot clean in the 103-woman field during Friday’s women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the BMW IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto. Her marksmanship earned Dunklee her first top-10 finish of the season in an individual race as she stopped the clock 37.2 seconds behind winner Tiril Eckhoff of Norway, who took the gold medal despite...