The first individual IBU World Cup race took place a week ago in Östersund and wrapped up this past Sunday. Here, we recap everything from biathlon in Sweden and at home in Canmore, to the Lillehammer mini tour and nordic-combined competitions, and second U.S. SuperTour stop in Bozeman, Mont.
Photos from an exciting day of mass start racing in Canmore, Alberta, on Sunday. American and Canadian men and women contested NorAms, and Canada also used the youth and junior categories as selection trials for age-group championships in Minsk, Belarus, this winter.
Emil Hegle Svendsen talked about throwing out his skis; Ole Einar Bjørndalen didn't use his best. Nathan Smith hopes for stonegrinding before the next World Cup and Susan Dunklee's skis might go back to Fischer for care. One thing is certain: Östersund did a number on skis. How do you come back from that?
Martin Fourcade came out firing, missing several of his targets on Sunday, but pulling off a 10-second victory in the men's 12.5 k pursuit on the last day of the Östersund World Cup nonetheless. Canada's Nathan Smith cleaned three stages to reach the top three, but missed three on his last stage to finish 16th.
The last time Kaisa Mäkäräinen opened the season with a win in Sweden, she also won the overall World Cup title. Is she going to do it again? Canada's Rosanna Crawford finished 14th, and is also excited to see what comes next: "I know there is so much potential."
The United States biathlon team went into today’s World Cup pursuits looking for improvement, and two athletes nailed it: Lowell Bailey finished 17th and Susan Dunklee 19th. Both used deliberate shooting strategy on Ostersund's gusty range to make their moves.
It wasn't easy, but two Canadian biathletes overcame bumpy conditions to have strong races in the World Cup men's 10-kilometer and women's 7.5 k sprints, with Nathan Smith in ninth and Rosanna Crawford in 12th.
Nothing went perfectly for the U.S. in Ostersund today, but one thing is clear: Tim Burke and Susan Dunklee are fast! Burke finished 17th and was excited about improving his ski performance in the sprint, a format which is shorter than he would prefer. Lowell Bailey was 23rd while Dunklee and Leif Nordgren missed the points but made the pursuit.
When Tiril Eckhoff missed a shot in standing, she assumed she'd have maybe a top ten in today's World Cup sprint. Instead, she charged to the top of the results sheet, and stayed there despite several clean-shooting challengers. She joined her brother (and coach) Stian on the list of Norwegians who have won in Ostersund, and called out Norwegian journalists for doubting her.
After a wildly disappointing 20 k individual on Wednesday where he missed six shots and finished more than ten minutes behind the winner, French biathlon star Martin Fourcade pulled himself together and turned in a dominating performance in the 10 k sprint today, winning by 28 seconds.
Two Canadians notched career bests on Thursday in the first individual World Cup race of the season: Megan Heinicke in 12th and Rosanna Crawford with a best 15 k result of 16th. The best part for Biathlon Canada is, it's neither of their signature races.
Susan Dunklee came within 3.1 seconds of a top 20 in 21st, which she was pleased with while wanting more. "Today certainly wasn’t our strongest team showing," she explained, citing their lack of on-snow time compared to other teams. "The season is long, and we still have time to tune up. We will get there."
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.
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.
The IBU doing away with the double-pole zone and trying something new for relays and mass starts: only three lanes, and skating right off the bat. Will it work? Three of the women who started Sunday's relay - including two-time World Cup Champion Kaisa Makarainen - are unconvinced, saying that in a small, competitive field, it's potentially unfair for some teams to start 20 meters behind the front compared to just one row back in the old format.
Rosanna Crawford worked out her pre-World Cup nerves by leading the World Cup mixed relay halfway through leg one. The team's early advantage was negated by Zina Kocher's two penalty loops, but Crawford, Nathan Smith, and Marc-Andre Bedard can still call themselves the best three shooters in the race.
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.