For the last five years, there has been an ammunition shortage in the U.S. The shortage is most acute in inexpensive rimfire-type ammunition, particularly .22-caliber, which is preferred by competitive and recreational shooters (i.e. biathletes). Coaches from several U.S. biathlon clubs weigh in on whether they've experienced issues with obtaining team ammo.
Last month, Norwegian shooting coach Joar Himle, who previously coached biathlon greats like Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Halvard Hanevold, visited the Canadians for a weeklong camp in Canmore. While he mostly worked with individual athletes, he also had them do a few interesting drills, including a sort of 'shoot 'til you miss' exercise, which takes about an hour on the range.
At age 21, Brian Olsen worried that coming out as gay would negatively affect his performance as a biathlete. Years later, he's using his position as an athlete rep to advocate for governing bodies in Olympic sports to think more carefully about the environment they're creating for gay and lesbian athletes. That might start here in the nordic community.
This spring, nordic organizations across the U.S. and Canada were hit hard by cuts from their Olympic funding partners. U.S. Biathlon Association President Max Cobb says his group wasn't one of them: USBA didn't get its full request, but it got enough. "It's a relief," he said. USBA also has the added benefit of a foundation to help with additional fundraising.
Meet the 11 candidates up for nomination to U.S. Biathlon's X or development-group teams, from high-school upperclassmen to post grads.
IBU President Anders Besseberg explained to FasterSkier that he is "harmonizing" the blood screening procedures at Olympic Games between biathlon, skiing, and speedskating, and then the IOC will take over all administration of the tests. But his claims that VP for Medical Issues Jim Carrabre never contacted him about the issue is false, as e-mails shared by Carrabre show that he did try to ask the president why the decision was taken.
The International Biathlon Union's Executive board voted last month to discontinue its blood testing at the Olympic Games, meaning that the Athlete Biological Passport program will no longer be implemented there. The decision was taken without consulting the organization's Medical Committee, and the IBU has not offered an explanation to its members.
Former Canadian biathlete Jim Carrabre, now a doctor practicing in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, is launching a bid for the presidency of the International Biathlon Union. He will run against Anders Besseberg, who has held the position since 1993. A longtime antidoping advocate, Carrabre is also running on a platform of good governance and global development of the sport.
Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team member Sarah Murphy jokes that when the team's founders, Bjorn and Kristen Hanson, decided to open a ski shop they had two rules. Rule number one: change the world. Rule number two: sell some ski stuff. The joke is not far from the truth as the couple is revolutionizing nordic ski team sponsorship by creating a family atmosphere for fringe members of the sport.
Paquet, the personal coach for Jean Philippe Le Guellec and whose contract was not renewed by Biathlon Canada, will move to oversee the American development and "X" teams as well as regional development efforts. "The new job is exactly what I was looking for," Paquet told FasterSkier.
Own the Podium increased biathlon's budget from last season's $200,000 to a still-low $250,000 - less than its post-Vancouver award despite better performances. "I see great potential in the Nordic sports where a single athlete who is at that level can win multiple medals," Biathlon Canada's Chris Lindsay said. "We’re potentially going to be missing out on a bunch of those podiums."
After winning bronze in the pursuit at the 2010 Olympics, Marie Laure Brunet was tapped as the next big thing in French biathlon. At age 25 and after two World Championships medals followed by a few tough seasons, she's hanging up her rifle for good.
U.S. Biathlon CEO Max Cobb says that it took four or five years for his organization to get on its feet after splitting from modern pentathlon in 1980 -- but that whatever route U.S. Nordic Combined takes, the good news for them is that they have proven success and that direct fundraising tools have entered a whole new realm in the past few years.
The U.S. Biathlon Association is focusing resources on the future: for the first time in years, there's a development team, a recruitment camp, coaches seminars and regional development efforts. Plus, High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler is now the Chief of Sport, and will also oversee development - that's "why I’m staying with U.S. biathlon," he said.
After a long and grueling Olympic season, the U.S. biathlon team's "A" athletes are getting back to training with a sun- and snow-filled camp in Bend, Oregon. "There's more snow than last year, to be honest – it’s really perfect," said High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler.
Last year, Casey Smith transitioned away from school at Montana State University and into full-time training at the Maine Winter Sports Center. His first season as a senior biathlete reaped big rewards: an appearance at Olympic Trials, podiums at the Czech Cup, and a top-30 finish at Open European Championships. As recognition, Smith earned a "B" team nomination.
There could be such a thing as national-team walk-ons as a result of an upcoming US Biathlon tryout camp, a new format of its kind aimed at talented endurance athletes in the J1, OJ or collegiate age category.
Due to some communication miscues, we were initially unable to get in touch with Jean Paquet regarding the elimination of his coaching position with Biathlon Canada. Now we have: here's his side of the story about how the Valcartier National Team Center is being shut down, and what the centralization push may mean for the future of Canadian biathlon.
Chris Lindsay and Matthias Ahrens of Biathlon Canada have both confirmed that the national team's Valcartier training center will be closed down later this spring, and with it coach Jean Paquet's contract has not been renewed. Ahrens hoped that Paquet would still provide staffing on race tours; Paquet's athlete Jean Philippe Le Guellec lamented the centralization push that was a major part of the decision.
The U.S. biathlon team says that they were far from surprised when Lowell Bailey and Susan Dunklee broke through and onto the podium at the end of this season. That gains the team some recognition: "It’s obvious that we have more athletes that are a threat for everybody now for the top results," head coach Per Nilsson says.