Simon Schempp of Germany picked up his third-straight individual win on the IBU Biathlon World Cup, besting three rivals in a tight sprint finish for the pursuit title in Antholz, Italy. After skiing in podium position early, Canada's Brendan Green slipped to 18th place.
Darya Domracheva of Belarus won her 21st IBU World Cup race on Friday by nearly 27 seconds over Finland's Kaisa Mäkäräinen in second, and Germany's Laura Dahlmeier tallied her first podium in third in the 7.5 k sprint. Susan Dunklee executed her plan to place eighth for a season best.
Brendan Green couldn't say for sure what's brought him so much success lately -- could be the venues or the minor cues he's been working on -- but his coaches have a hunch. The Canadian biathlete became the first man on the circuit in the last two seasons to shoot 50-for-50 in four-straight IBU World Cup races.
Simon Schempp lives and trains in Ruhpolding, Germany, and now he can say he has won a biathlon World Cup there too - by just 8 centimeters in a three-man photo finish and one of the most exciting races of the season. Brendan Green of Canada completed a perfect 40-shot weekend to snag his second top 20.
Missing the wax meant that Susan Dunklee's good feelings about Friday's sprint didn't show up on the results sheet. But the U.S. biathlete turned it around in the mass start, taking her now-fast skis all the way up to third before falling to 16th place, still a season best. Megan Heinicke, in the first mass start of her career, finished 23rd for Canada.
The Canadian men showed some more depth despite heavily falling snow on Saturday, with competitive finishes from Brendan Green and Scott Gow in the IBU World Cup 10 k sprint. In 16th, Green qualified for Sunday's mass start.
A German transplant, Megan Heinicke went into Friday's IBU World Cup sprint seeking a top 30, like always, but more specifically to maintain her focus. She did just that, finishing a career-best 11th as a result, 52.3 seconds behind a new Norwegian winner: Fanny Welle-Strand Horn.
Emil Hegle Svendsen and Lowell Bailey had a few things in common on Thursday. While Bailey started the four-leg race for the Americans and Svendsen anchored the Norwegians, both led to the finish and capitalized on one critical hill to do so.
The Canadians got off to a strong start, skiing in second throughout the first leg of Wednesday's 4 x 6 k women's relay at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. The Czech women held steady up front to tally their second-straight relay win in the last week.
Sergui Sednev of Ukraine is the latest athlete to be caught in the International Biathlon Union's re-testing of suspicious anti-doping samples from seasons past. At stake are two seasons' worth of results. All of the old samples have now been tested, but it's unclear whether more suspensions are still to come - a month passed between the analytical result in Sednev's case and the release of his name.
Darya Domracheva faced an 18-second deficit when she left the range for the last time in Saturday's mass start, but she made that up and more, winning her third competition of the season. Veronika Vitkova capped the "best week of my career" with a second-place finish; Canada's Rosanna Crawford was 20th and the United States' Susan Dunklee 27th.
France's Martin Fourcade used a cushion from fast skiing to allow for a relaxed-shooting pace. It was an investment that paid off, being the day's only perfect shooter, earning him first place with a comfortable margin.
“If they wanted a fair race, there’s no way it would start today,” was what Tim Burke said of the crazy conditions in Oberhof, Germany, for the World Cup sprint. While no North Americans made the top 30, Lowell Bailey (USA) led the way in 34th and Christian Gow of Canada placed a solid 48th in his individual World Cup debut.
Despite heroic efforts by the organizing committee to truck in snow and repair a race course that melted overnight, nobody seemed happy to race in Oberhof, Germany, today. Skiing was treacherous, shooting unfair - even race winner Martin Fourcade suggested the IBU rethink its schedule.
Another windy day in Oberhof, Germany, for the IBU World Cup 7.5-kilometer women’s sprint race caused some of the big names to make huge errors on the range and created room for new faces on the podium.
There was wind. There was fog. There were crashes. In a normal World Cup relay, 12 spare rounds and a penalty loop would place a team far back indeed. But in Oberhof, Germany, today, it represented excellence - and Russia claimed their third-straight men's relay victory.
It was a warm one in Oberhof, Germany, on Wednesday, but the Czech Republic women remained consistent, both with their skiing and shooting, in the 4 x 6 k relay to win by nearly 9 seconds over France. Belarus rebounded from 10th to third, and the Canadians were lapped on the final loop.
The United States Biathlon Association expanded its selections for World Youth and Junior Championships from eight to 13 athletes, and named four who will also get to compete at Open European Championships. Plus, some action shots by Lake Superior Biathlon coach Daniel Guay.
Eight biathletes, hailing from New England through Minnesota to the West Coast, have been named to the U.S. team for World Youth and Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus, in mid-February. Team namings came after a three-race trials series in Mount Itasca, Minnesota. Additional discretionary picks are anticipated after January 1st.
Gelsenkirchen and the Veltins Arena pulled off arena biathlon as only the Germans can on Saturday: a field including 11 Olympic medalists from around the world flew around the trails and shot their way through fierce competition. But the day also featured fireworks, gluhwein, and the World Championships Snowball Fight.