Since I’ve been neglecting biathlon a bit lately, I figured I owed everyone a biathlon post, particularly given the shocking 5th place finish the other day by Susan Dunklee. So here is some historical data on how the US and Canada have performed at WBCs over the years. First, measured by finishing place: The blue [...] Related posts:
RUHPOLDING, Germany – When Susan Dunklee was leading Wednesday’s World Championship 15 k individual race, fans, coaches, and journalists alike were scratching their heads. Who is this Susan Dunklee? The American World Cup rookie is not unknown on the circuit – coming in to these races she had scored World Cup points eight times and finished in the top 20 in a sprint in Antholz, Itlay – but she wasn’t too familiar, either. While the...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – After calling biathlon on Eurosport for 15 years, Sigi Heinrich has seen a lot of races, but the veteran commentator says he never gets bored watching the sport. FasterSkier caught him in the media center to talk about the World Championships so far, why biathlon is Europe’s most popular winter sport, and what the U.S. chances might be in the men’s relay. FS: You were never a biathlete – so how did...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Three members of the U.S. women’s biathlon team knew before they even started their races on Wednesday was going to be a good day at World Championships. As Lanny Barnes was waiting to start her four-stage, 15 k individual race, she heard over the loudspeaker that teammate Susan Dunklee was finishing – and that she was in the lead, almost guaranteed a top-five finish or maybe even a medal. “Before I started...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – In last year’s World Championships individual, Helena Ekholm of Sweden navigated blustery conditions to claim a two-minute win. This morning, she woke up with her usual pre-race jitters, and one more question on her mind. “Of course I this morning I am thinking, oh, maybe I am just the champion for a few more hours,” she said in a press conference after the race. The women’s 15 k had plenty of twists...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Susan Dunklee started today’s World Championship 15 k individual race with bib number one, and she wasn’t too happy about it at the time. In the sprint, the American had started dead last, almost an hour after the first woman. Today, she was looking forward to being seeded in group one and skiing the whole race with other top athletes. “I thought for this race, ‘yes, I’m going to be in the...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – As has been the case so many times this week, the Canadian men’s team was simply not satisfied after the 20 k World Championships individual on Tuesday. “The course was nice,” Jean Phillipe Le Guellec told FasterSkier, struggling to find some positive notes from the race. His performance, he said, was not one of them. “My shooting was just – there was nothing I could do,” he lamented. “You can’t come in...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – After Jay Hakkinen’s sprint race on Saturday, where he missed five of ten shots including four in the standing stage, the American veteran was so upset that he didn’t have any interest talking to the press. On Tuesday after the 20 k individual race, the willingness to chat served as a barometer for Hakkinen’s feelings about his performance. “We can talk today,” he joked at the finish line. “It was good enough.”...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – After two straight races with Martin Fourcade emerging victorious and familiar, tradition-rich countries like Norway, Sweden, and Russia rounding out the podium, it could be easy to forget that the world of biathlon is a broad one. But in today’s World Championships 20 k individual race, Jakov Fak of Slovenia reminded the world that his tiny country, home to just two million people, has the talent to cut it on the world’s...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – On Sunday, for the first time during these World Championships, the sun went behind the clouds over the Chiemgau Arena here in Ruhpolding. The same could be said for U.S. medal aspirations, as both Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke fell victim to shooting errors after it seemed like they could be en route to the best World Championships results of their careers. “Today we’re definitely disappointed,” Burke said in an interview after...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Two Canadians had high hopes for Sunday’s pursuit: Jean Phillipe Le Guellec was 14th after Saturday’s World Championship sprint, and teammate Zina Kocher 18th. They were poised, it seemed, to have career-best finishes. Le Guellec had never finished in the top ten at World Championships, but started just 12 seconds outside it on Sunday. Kocher was shooting for a top-16, which would have guaranteed her funding through Athletics Canada for the next...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – In Saturday’s World Championships sprint, Darya Domracheva of Belarus tried her hardest to best Germany’s Magdalena, but it was to no avail. On Sunday, their battle spilled over into the 10 k pursuit, with the two women at many times so close that they shared the shooting range with each other. Each was confident that they could be the first across the finish line. “I am very strong at the moment,” Neuner...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – After Saturday’s World Championship sprint race, the silver medalist Emil Hegle Svendsen swore that he was going to chase down bib number one, Martin Fourcade of France. But in Sunday’s 12.5 k pursuit the focus was all on Fourcade, who was often leading and never far from the front. And instead of the Norwegian, he battled his way to the finish with Saturday’s bronze medalist, Carl Johan Bergman of Sweden. The stage...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – With more than 250 racers contesting yesterday’s World Championships 7.5 and 10 k sprints, there was plenty of news that didn’t make it into our race reports – both from international stars and from our own interviews with U.S. and Canadian athletes. Here are some of the notable bits that we couldn’t fit in: – Bronze medalist Carl Johan Bergman of Sweden wasn’t really expecting a medal yesterday, but he was expecting...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Canada’s Zina Kocher had a lot to think about during today’s 7.5 k sprint. But this her tenth World Championships, and Kocher says she’s learned a few things along the way. Today, she didn’t let all of the worries and problems get to her head. Instead, she stuck to business and finished 18th. “This is probably the most calm I’ve felt in a long time for a World Championship, so that’s crucial...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Not a single one of the North American men was pleased with their race in the World Championships 10 k sprint today – at least that’s what they said at the finish. One after another, the biathletes reported that they felt slow. Tim Burke. Jean Phillipe Le Guellec. Lowell Bailey. Russell Currier. Nathan Smith. Marc-Andre Bedard. Here’s a typical soundbite, this time from Le Guellec. “Skiing wasn’t really awesome, actually,” the Canadian...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – What Norway is to skiing, Germany is to biathlon. And the thousands of German fans filling the Chiemgau Arena today wanted only one thing: German gold. They’d been denied that pleasure in Thursday’s mixed relay, where a combination of shooting errors and a last-minute time reduction for the Norwegians bumped the German team from what seemed like a sure win down to third place. And in the men’s sprint earlier today, the...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Martin Fourcade of France and Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway have butted heads all season, passing the yellow World Cup leader’s bib back and forth; each has won three races so far and owns several more podiums. Svendsen started today’s World Championships sprint with bib No. 1 and wanted to end that way. Fourcade started with both the yellow bib and the red discipline leader’s bib, and he wanted to finish that...
With racing taking a break for the day in Ruhpolding, Germany, here’s a gallery from the kickoff race, yesterday’s mixed relay. Norway took the win followed by Slovenia and Germany. Click any photo to enlarge.
RUHPOLDING, Germany – It’s never a good start to a relay when the leadoff skier tags off in tears. Unfortunately for the U.S., that’s exactly what happened today at World Championships. Scramble leg Sara Studebaker suffered a minor implosion (although it was nothing compared Race report