Returning once again to the Rocky Mountains, motivated juniors from the US Biathlon Team took to the peaks and valleys of Colorado in their annual endurance camp. The two-week camp challenged these hopeful juniors to post an impressive week (30+ hours) and several additional over distance workouts that could even make Freeman drool. The amazing deep-blue sky and terrain of the Rocky Mountains provided a great environment to train—and also some vibrant sunburn aided by...
(Note: this interview is the third in a series of profiles of USBA coaches. The first two were with Jonne Kahkonen.) When Patrick Coffey was hired by the United States Biathlon Association (USBA) as an assistant coach in 2008, he had only three years of coaching experience, making him an unusual choice for a national team position. But what he lacked in formal training and experience, he made up for in passion. In those three...
At World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia this year, the Ukrainian women’s biathlon team already had to deal with mixed feeling about their silver medal performance in the relay. Now, they have to add another variable to the mix – a mistake which led to a positive doping test by their anchor skier, Oksana Khvostenko. A Strong World Championships Showing Coming into the last handoff in the 4 x 6 k relay, Ukraine was in the...
At the end of the women’s relay at 2011 World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, star biathlete Olga Zaitseva abruptly announced her retirement, sending the biathlon world and the Russian team into a tailspin. As FasterSkier wrote at the time, Zaitseva was fed up with the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), the politics, and the pressure associated with representing her country. Since then, there has been much speculation about her possible return. Zaitseva initially stuck to...
(Note: This is the second in a series of interviews with U.S. Biathlon Association coaches and staff. The first was with USBA Head Coach Per Nilsson.) Last summer, the U.S. Biathlon Association made a big change by hiring Jonne Kahkonen as a dedicated head coach for the women’s team. Up until that point, the women hadn’t had their own program. “There were enough of us to really warrant having a women’s coach, and having a...
FasterSkier Performances of the Year The FasterSkier Performance of the Year Award is presented in three categories – cross-country, biathlon and nordic combined, with men’s and women’s in the first two. We will start with cross-country. XC Performance of the Year (women): Kikkan Randall (USA/USST) In some ways this is the easiest of the Performance of the Year awards – there is no question that it will go to Kikkan Randall. The challenge is picking...
When FasterSkier in an interview last week. “Pichler, because he’s had big success in Sweden and many years… maybe it was time for him to move.” Past Animosity with Russia While the challenge of coaching a supremely talented yet frustratingly inconsistent group of women may be appealing to Pichler, the move to Russia is puzzling given his past relationship with the RBU. For several years, Pichler – who is outspoken on many issues – very...
In the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Zach Caldwell led a much-discussed, multi-year effort to pin down the best stonegrinds and waxes for the challenging, variable conditions at Whistler Olympic Park. Caldwell’s months and months of hard work even drew the attention of National Public Radio, which Kris Freeman’s horrific skis in the opening 15 k freestyle in Vancouver. When the best skiers and wax techs in the world can be baffled by conditions,...
When Norway’s new star biathlete Tarjei Boe got sick just prior to the first national team camp with the Olympic Development and had to postpone his departure, he was flooded with offers for the next winter.
After many years on the national and international stage, 2010 Olympian Haley Johnson is calling it quits. 29-year-old Johnson, who had several of the top U.S. women’s finishes in biathlon events in the last five years, was nominated for the national team again this year. So it came as a surprise to some that she turned down that nomination and is instead moving to Denver to finish her college degree and get married. “She called...
FasterSkier Biathlete of the Year Biathlete of the Year (men): Lowell Bailey (USA/USBA) Bailey was one of several bright spots in a somewhat rocky year for the US men’s biathlon team. Coming off a run of several seasons where expectations continued to rise for the program, what with Tim Burke leading the overall World Cup for a time in 2010, Jeremy Teela reaching the World Cup podium in 2009, and a number of strong relay...
(Note: this is first in a series of interviews with the coaches and staff of the U.S. biathlon team.) When Per Nilsson took over head coaching duties for the U.S. biathlon team after the 2006 Olympic Games, the U.S. men had already begun a slow ascent in the nations cup standings, climbing from 20th place in 2003 to 15th after Torino. With Nilsson’s help, the rise has continued: the men have now finished either 10th...
Scattered across the United States are a handful of skiers belonging to an exclusive club—one that includes Kris Freeman, Colin Rodgers, and Morgan Smyth. Earlier this month, biathlete Tim Burke became the club’s newest member, but not by choice. Instead, he joined the other three when he lay down on an operating table in Lake Placid and went under the knife, to relieve the symptoms of compartment syndrome. Quietly, Burke had endured the condition since...
The International Competition Committee of the U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) has announced their nominations for the 2011-2012 national team. While the men’s team will keep its eight-athlete quota, the women’s team will grow from four to six, thanks to the success of the U.S. women at all levels of competition this year. Five athletes achieved the A1 criteria and are nominated to receive USBA’s highest level of support. The three women include Laura Spector,...
On March 11th, Olga Zaitseva’s future in biathlon appeared, to all outsiders, to be bright. After competing in four events at World Championships, only the mass start and relay remained, both events in which Zaitseva had won gold in the past. She had also been elected to the International Biathlon Union’s Athlete’s Committee by her peers. With only two men and two women on the committee, it was an honor. As the weekend progressed, things...
Skarverennet in Norway, the unofficial international season finale, draws deep and competitive field of racers from both the biathlon and cross-country World Cup circuit. This year, it’s a pursuit: the men will chase the women for the overall title.
I promised a separate post on Leif Nordgren earlier, so here it goes. I don’t really have any fancy analysis to present, but here’s his results in major international competitions (WC, WBC and OWG): Obviously, the guy is young and this is his first season skiing on the WC circuit “full time” or mostly so. [...] Related posts:
It may not have been the Olympics, but you couldn’t tell from the weather. Just like at Whistler Olympic Park last year, the weather for the US Biathlon Nationals at Mt. Itasca, MN had a little bit of everything, with some significant rain during the Sprint competitions on Thursday, gorgeous sunshine with firm snow during Saturday’s Pursuit, and light drizzle with heavy overcast for the Mass Start on Sunday. The athletes had good attitudes however,...
And…..we’re done for the season! Related posts:Race Snapshot: IBU WC 4 Mass Start Race Snapshot: IBU WC 6 Men’s Mass Start Race Snapshot: IBU WC 6 Women’s Mass Start Related posts:
Another good day for the US women; nice job ladies! Related posts:Race Snapshot: IBU WC 1 Men/Women’s Pursuit Race Snapshot: IBU WC 2 Men’s Pursuit Race Snapshot: IBU WC 2 Women’s Pursuit Related posts: