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.
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?
Charlotte Kalla is heading home to Sundsvall to eat some smoked salmon and prep for Kuusamo; Calle Halfvarsson survived the prologue despite breaking a pole right out of the start gate, and bested the Poland's Maciej Starega as well as his Swedish teammates for the win.
Fredrik Lindström, a biathlon World Championships medalist, hadn't done a ski race in six years. But he beat out the Swedish national ski team in the Bruksvallarna 15 k, and had them joking about adding him to a relay team. In the women's 10 k, Charlotte Kalla skied to a 52-second win over Maria Rydqvist.
For reasons as wide-ranging as fairness of competition, stress on athletes, health of coaches, and saving money, several North American ski and biathlon organizations have policies limiting the use of high-fluoro waxes at some competitions. And they have nothing but positive feedback from their experiences.
Curved ski poles and all, Ole Einar Bjørndalen picked up his first win of the season. The 40-year-old Norwegian biathlete showed nerves of steel with a clean final shooting stange, then kicked it in on the last lap of the Sjusjøen mass start and pass teammate Lars Helge Birkeland.
Not just a flash in the pan, Italy's Dorothea Wierer outshot Tiril Eckhoff of Norway for her second straight victory in the season-opening races in Sjusjøen, Norway, today.
Norwegian veteran Alexander Os, whose last good season (by his own estimation) was in 2008-09, has been training independently for years - and shot to the top in the men's biathlon season opener today. Simon Fourcade of France was second and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen of Norway third.
Canadian World Cup and IBU selection races wrapped up Friday at Frozen Thunder, with a second-straight sprint determining which eight men and eight women would start the season on the World Cup or IBU Cup. Four were prequalified.
With Dorothea Wierer posting a 37-second win and Karin Oberhofer placing third, the Italian women started the biathlon season with a bang in Sjusjøen today. Norway, led by Tiril Eckhoff in second place, was still the strongest and deepest team, however.
Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle appealed the IBU's 2-year ban for testing positive for a prohibited stimulant, which she argued was ingested accidentally in a supplement. The Court of Arbitration for sport agreed, saying that a six-month suspension was sufficient. Six months is up and the star can return to competition.
Temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius didn't keep Canada's top biathletes from contending for spots on the World Cup and IBU Cup on Thursday, with Nathan Smith and Rosanna Crawford topping the competition in the opening sprints of trials at the Canmore Nordic Center.
Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen, who became the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time this past winter in Sochi, Russia, was awarded Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Olympics on Friday in Bangkok.
Latvian biathlete Edgars Piksons, a 2006 and 2010 Olympian, has tested positive for a metabolite of the most commonly used anabolic steroids. The International Biathlon Union is referring his case to its Anti-Doping Hearing Panel.
U.S. Biathlon, unlike some national teams, doesn't select its World Cup team each spring. Certain team members prequalify, but there were at least two spots up for grabs at the four-race rollerski trials held in August and October in Jericho, Vt. The final team was announced Tuesday, one month before the season starts in Sweden. (Updated)
While two Americans won Friday's Frozen Thunder sprints, Canada had its revenge on Monday, taking four of six podium spots. In the men's 10.8 k skate race, Devon Kershaw bested Kris Freeman by five seconds to take the win. In the Women's 7.2 k race, biathlete Rosanna Crawford edged Liz Stephen for the win.
Newly-minted Biathlon Canada national team member Macx Davies talks season prep and Frozen Thunder: "When you have a long ski, catching up with friends is one of the few things that can shorten the long hours on the track," he writes. "Finally I am skiing. Finally the season is here. Finally it is winter."
Clare Egan and Max Durtschi have been promoted to the highest rung of U.S. Biathlon's Development structure, while Patrick Johnson, Kelsey Dickinson, Jakob Ellingson, and Paul Schommer have joined the Development Group.
After moving to Truckee, California, a little over a year ago to join the Far West Elite Team, Patrick Johnson has picked up biathlon. Now a member of USBA's Development Team, he has his sights set on IBU Cup racing this year and hopefully an Olympics in the future.