Biathlon – Page 69 – FasterSkier

With Strong Shooting, Neuner Takes Fort Kent Mass Start; Studebaker 23rd

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 13, 2011

Magdalena Neuner is among the fastest skiers on the biathlon circuit—but that’s never been her problem. In the past, it has been her shooting that held her back. So when Neuner puts together a good performance on the range, she’s tough to beat. She did just that in Sunday’s 12.5 k mass start in Fort Kent, hitting 19 of 20 targets to capture a dominating 24-second win over her teammate Andrea Henkel. Belarus’s Darya Domracheva...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

With a Little Luck, Bailey Career Best Ninth in Fort K. Mass Start; Fourcade Wins

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 13, 2011

Lowell Bailey (USA) was so sure that he wouldn’t be racing in Sunday’s mass start in Fort Kent that he told his family to go home. His sister still stuck around. But when Bailey did luck into a start, skiing and shooting his way to a career-best ninth place, his mother wasn’t around to see it—she was driving back to New York. “I owe my mom a little bit of an apology, I guess,” he...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Henkel Doubles Up in Fort Kent; Studebaker Makes Mass Start

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 12, 2011

Germany’s Andrea Henkel skied to her second straight World Cup win on Saturday in Fort Kent, besting her teammate Magdalena Neuner by 25 seconds in the 10 k pursuit. Neuner and Henkel came into the final shooting stage together, and Neuner, a stronger skier, looked to have the race wrapped up when she hit her first four targets. But her last round went awry, and she couldn’t overcome the 25-second deficit she accumulated in the...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

In Pursuit, Svendsen Gives Fort Kent Faithful What They Came For

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 12, 2011

A real crowd finally showed up on Saturday in Fort Kent, for the first time in three days of World Cup racing. They got exactly what they came for in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit: an exhilarating, back-and-forth battle culminating in a finishing sprint that was decided by inches—leaving fans and athletes alike unsure of who was the victor. Five minutes after he lunged with Frenchman Martin Fourcade, Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen finally learned that...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Bailey Blunder Likely Costs Him Top-20, Mass Start Spot

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 12, 2011

After some strong results in last weekend’s races in Presque Isle, Lowell Bailey appeared to be on his way to another solid finish in Fort Kent. Through two of four shooting stages in Saturday’s 12.5 k pursuit, the American had just one penalty, and had moved up substantially from his starting bib of 31. As he skied into the range for the third time, he unslung his rifle, and looked down for his next clip....

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Germans Sweep Fort Kent Podium; Studebaker Clean in Second Straight Sprint

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 11, 2011

Northern Maine is best known for its ties to Scandinavia—both New Sweden and Stockhom are within striking distance of the biathlon venues in Fort Kent and Presque Isle. But in the raw conditions for Friday’s 7.5 k World Cup sprint, it was the German women who felt more at home in Fort Kent. Battling through frigid temperatures and a swirling breeze, Andrea Henkel led her country to a sweep of the top three, with Miriam...

Biathlon Racing World Cup

Svendsen Sensational in World Cup Return in Fort Kent

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 10, 2011

For Emil Hegle Svendsen, it was admittedly a bit of a gamble to fly to the U.S. from his home country of Norway, for a single weekend of racing. “It’s always a risk,” he said. But after his first of three World Cup races in Fort Kent, the trip has already paid off, thanks to the $15,000 Svendsen will collect for his win in Thursday’s 10 k sprint. A candidate to represent Norway in the...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Mixed Results for N. American Men in Fort Kent; Perras Hits Career Best

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 10, 2011

Fort Kent is only 50 miles from Presque Isle, but competitors in the biathlon World Cups were greeted with an entirely different environment when the circuit picked up and moved northward on Monday. Swirling winds and grinding courses were the challenges in Presque Isle; frigid temperatures and one massive hill welcomed athletes in Fort Kent. On the Canadian and American teams, members hail from locations across the entire continent—from Lake Placid and Quebec to Alberta...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Rugged Racing on Tap for Fort Kent World Cup

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 9, 2011

Cold snow, Spartan living, and one wicked long, wicked steep hill—welcome to Fort Kent. “Reminds me of Russia,” said Norwegian biathlete Tarjei Boe, the leader of the men’s overall World Cup standings. After a week in the relative metropolis of Presque Isle, the biathlon World Cup circuit has now moved to the small town of Fort Kent, in Maine’s northern-most reaches, for three more races. Both women and men will race a sprint, a pursuit,...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Scottie Pippen Could Make Fort Kent Appearance

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 8, 20112

There’s plenty of star power already in Fort Kent, in the form of the European athletes preparing for this weekend’s biathlon World Cup. But if everything goes according to plan, there will be at least one more celebrity on the sidelines on Friday and Saturday: former Chicago Bulls basketball player Scottie Pippen. “Right now, we’re planning for a visit from Scottie Pippen,” said Nancie Thibodeau, the event director for the Fort Kent World Cup. Pippen,...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

French Biathlete Boeuf to Race World Champs Sprint in Oslo

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 7, 2011

Alexis Boeuf didn’t have to sprint to win Sunday’s World Cup biathlon pursuit in Presque Isle, since his margin of victory was a decisive 10 seconds. But if the event had come down to a last-minute drag race, it’s unlikely that Boeuf would have had much trouble dispatching his competition. The 24-year-old Frenchman is a talented sprinter. How talented? Well, in December, he raced in a cross-country World Cup sprint in Davos, Switzerland, and qualified...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Berger Takes Women’s Pursuit in Presque Isle; Studebaker 28th

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 6, 2011

Biathlon is a tough sport to dominate, with millimeters often meaning the difference between a missed target, and a win and second place. But over the past few weeks, Norway’s Tora Berger has still been close to unstoppable, with five victories in her past six races. After a minor hiccup in Friday’s sprint—in which she finished second—Berger was back to the top spot on the podium on Sunday, topping France’s Marie Dorin and Belarus’s Darya...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Boeuf Steals Pursuit Win After Peiffer Implosion; Bailey 16th

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 6, 2011

For three quarters of Sunday’s 12.5 k pursuit in Presque Isle, Arnd Peiffer had the biathlon race locked up. The German started the day in bib one, with a 16-second advantage over France’s Martin Fourcade, and grew his lead to more than a minute in the first half of the race—thanks to strong skiing and just one penalty over three shooting stages. To his competitors, Peiffer seemed untouchable—each time they entered the range, he was...

Biathlon Racing World Cup

US Just Misses Top Half in Presque Isle Mixed Relay

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 6, 2011

It’s not often that the U.S. biathlon team gets to race a relay in front of a home crowd—in fact, it hasn’t happened in more than seven years. So when the American squad of Sara Studebaker, Haley Johnson, Jay Hakkinen and Jeremy Teela took to the course in Presque Isle in Saturday’s World Cup mixed relay, the race was just as much for the hundreds of red-white-and-blue-clad spectators as it was for the athletes themselves....

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Germany Takes Prime Time Mixed Relay in Presque Isle

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 5, 2011

Germany’s biathlon team is deep enough that most other countries have their hands full even when they field their best athletes. But in Saturday’s mixed relay, many only put forth their second string—and the result was predictable. With a crowd of up to five million watching a rare prime-time broadcast back home, the German squad of Kathrin Hitzer, Magdalena Neuner, Alexander Wolf and Daniel Boehm raced to a convincing 30-second win in Presque Isle, ME,...

Biathlon General Juniors Results

Leadoff Skiers Gow and Boutot Turn In Strong Performances in World Junior Biathlon Relays

Chelsea LittleFebruary 5, 2011

Going into Saturday’s relays, Grace Boutot hadn’t had the best World Juniors of her career. In Canmore in 2009, the American was second in the youth women’s individual race and contributed to a fifth-place relay team. But this year, in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, her top finish was 39th in the individual. “I haven’t had the results that I hoped for in the past two days,” she said after the pursuit. And after the individual,...

Biathlon General Juniors Results

Russia Dominates in Biathlon World Junior Championship Youth Relays

Chelsea LittleFebruary 4, 2011

After a World Junior Championships where it has already proven dominant in the medal counts, Russia sealed the deal by winning both the youth men’s and women’s relays in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on Friday. And it wasn’t even close: both teams won by more than a minute, the men over Italy and the women over Ukraine. Elena Badanina, the leadoff skier for the Russian women’s team, doesn’t see herself as becoming a star, despite...

Biathlon Racing World Cup

Studebaker Races to Best American Finish in Years; Ekholm Wins in PI

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 4, 2011

Sara Studebaker could not have picked a better day for it all to come together. Thanks to clean shooting and a strong day on her skis, the 26-year-old American raced to a career-best 14th place in front of a home crowd in northern Maine, for what U.S. Biathlon staff called the top women’s World Cup result for an American in at least five years, if not a decade. In the 7.5 k sprint in Presque...

Biathlon Racing World Cup

Peiffer Takes Presque Isle Sprint; Bailey Leads Americans in 25th

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 4, 2011

It’s not the Super Bowl yet, but there was no lack of enthusiasm from fans greeting World Cup biathlon’s return to northern Maine. Hundreds of spectators turned out to the Nordic Heritage Center on Friday morning to watch Germany’s Arnd Peiffer win the men’s 10 k sprint in Presque Isle, the first elite-level international race on American soil in seven years. Peiffer, a burly 23-year-old, shot clean to top France’s Martin Fourcade and Russia’s Ivan...

Biathlon

Aroostook County Preview: Athletes to Watch at the Biathlon World Cup in Maine

Chelsea LittleFebruary 3, 20113

On Friday morning at 9:30 a.m., the United States will hold its first World Cup race since 2004. The IBU World Cup circuit will be making stops in Presque Isle, Maine, this weekend, and then in nearby Fort Kent next weekend. While it might take almost as long to get to “The County” from the U.S. as from anywhere else, the races should be spectacular. If you can’t make it to Maine, the event will...

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