A day after besting Germany's Simon Schempp on the last loop, Anton Shipulin of Russia did so again -- this time beating the German by a second for the men's relay victory. Schempp partially blamed a lapped skier. The U.S. men ended up sixth, tying their season best from a week earlier, while Canada placed 11th with strong shooting.
The IBU World Cup women's relay podium saw three new teams on Sunday after France won the team event by 17.2 seconds over the Czech Republic, and Russia finished 21.1 seconds back in third. The Canadians ended up 13th and the U.S. settled for 17th after being lapped.
Tim Burke couldn't quite excel on the shooting range enough to get that great race he was hoping for, but the American team has one more chance in Sunday's relay. Brendan Green led the Canadians in 31st.
22-year-old Canadian biathlete Julia Ransom just wanted to score some World Cup points this year - top 40's - to feel like she was on track. She blew that goal out of the water in the Antholz, Italy, on Saturday, shooting a perfect 20-for-20 and skiing to 19th place.
Two names on the Antholz pursuit podium were familiar, but also notable: a World Champ who had never won a World Cup, and a new mom who is returning from a year off. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. finished 17th, flying on the tracks with the fourth-fastest ski time of the field.
For Germany's Simon Schempp, it's three years in Antholz and three sprint wins. Can he also triple up on the pursuit on Saturday? Meanwhile, Tim Burke led North American starters with a 17th place finish. "This was one of my best performances in a sprint race, although the result does not reflect that."
Two Russians cleaned Thursday's sprint at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, and both landed on the podium. Olga Podchufarova captured her first World Cup win, finishing 8 seconds faster than Italian runner-up Dorothea Wierer, and Russia's Ekaterina Yurlova hit every target for third. Meanwhile, three North Americans qualified for the pursuit: Rosanna Crawford in 33rd, Susan Dunklee in 37th and Julia Ransom in 46th.
How often do you see ten biathletes lined up at the firing range, but no one pulling the trigger? In Sunday's World Cup women's relay, patience was the name of the game as strong winds swirled around Antholz, Italy.
Norway took the team relay in the World Cup men's 4x7.5 k biathlon in Antholz, Italy.
Susan Dunklee had her best shooting of the year to move from eighth up to sixth in the World Cup pursuit in Antholz, Italy, on Saturday, the best U.S. result of the year. Canada put two women in the top 30, and American Hannah Dreissigacker moved from 60th up to 42nd - beating former star Miriam Goessner on her final loop.
Simon Schempp of Germany picked up his third-straight individual win on the IBU Biathlon World Cup, besting three rivals in a tight sprint finish for the pursuit title in Antholz, Italy. After skiing in podium position early, Canada's Brendan Green slipped to 18th place.
Darya Domracheva of Belarus won her 21st IBU World Cup race on Friday by nearly 27 seconds over Finland's Kaisa Mäkäräinen in second, and Germany's Laura Dahlmeier tallied her first podium in third in the 7.5 k sprint. Susan Dunklee executed her plan to place eighth for a season best.
For the second time this season, a women's World Cup biathlon competition was called off mid-race due to deteriorating conditions. On Sunday, it was fog that enveloped the stadium in Antholz, Italy, making it impossible to see the targets on the shooting range. Megan Imrie (CAN) and Annelies Cook (USA) were on course at the time, and talk about what happened.
Sitting in fourth place at each of the first three handoffs, the Canadian men were in the game for the entirety of today's World Cup biathlon relay in Antholz, Italy. They eventually finished sixth - the first time any of them could remember going to the flower ceremony as a team. France won the race, anchored by Martin Fourcade.
This weekend Russell Currier hit the biathlon World Cup for the first time this season, and was happy with his performances heading into the Olympics: in the sprint he finished 60th, using the 17th-best ski time of the day to make up for a bevy of penalties, and then he improved his shooting in the next day's pursuit.
Germany's Andrea Henkel skied with both calm and grit, shooting a perfect 20-for-20 and delving deep into the pain cave to hold off a charging Nadezhda Skardino of Belarus in the final kilometer of today's World Cup 10 k pursuit in Antholz, Italy. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. was in a top-five position for over half the race before being felled by shooting errors.
Tim Burke skied the third-fastest course time in the 12.5 k pursuit in Antholz, Italy, today, and placed 14th to lead the U.S.; Lowell Bailey was close behind in 16th. Comments from Burke and USBA High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler, plus Sara Studebaker (39th place) explains why the Antholz range is tough and JP Le Guellec (38th) checks in before World Championships.
Despite a few penalties - "bugs" that he hoped he could work out before World Championships - Anton Shipulin led Saturday's biathlon pursuit in Antholz, Italy, wire to wire. Jakov Fak turned on the afterburners so snag second place, and Daniel Mesotitsch finished third.
Starting in 14th position, over a minute behind sprint winner Anastasiya Kuzmina, Tora Berger didn't think she had much of a chance in today's World Cup biathlon pursuit. Despite two penalties, her ferocious skiing brought her into the spotlight under the Antholz sun.
Lowell Bailey led the U.S. with a seventh-place finish in the 10 k sprint in Antholz, with a time 40 seconds slower than that of race winner Anton Shipulin of Russia. Five North American men will start the pursuit on Saturday.