The United States Biathlon Association has named a 10-member senior national team for the 2018-2019 season. For the first time in years, the roster features more women than men. Following 20-for-20 interview Lexie Madigan (Truckee, Calif./Auburn Ski Club) – 20-for-20 interview Grace Gilliland (Eagle River, Alaska/Alaska Biathlon Club) – 2017 20-for-20 interview Garrett Beckrich (Grand Rapids, Minn./Mt. Itasca Biathlon) – 20-for-20 interview Eli Nielsen (Stehekin, Wash./Methow Valley) –
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Leo Grandbois.) The 2018 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships went out with a bang on Sunday, with four pursuit races in Otepää, Estonia. Several North Americans had banner days, with American Chloe Levins racing up one spot to sixth place in the junior women’s 10-kilometer pursuit and Canada’s Megan Bankes and Nadia Moser placing eighth and 11th, respectively, in that same race. In...
IBU Youth World Championships (Otepää, Estonia): Youth women’s and men’s sprints Sweden’s Karin Elvira Öberg raced to her third-straight win of the week at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships in Otepää, and Pascale Paradis led Canada in 15th in the youth women’s 6-kilometer sprint on Friday. Paradis started 36th out of 92 women and shot 18-for-20, missing one on each stage (1+1), on a day when the top-two finishers had misses as...
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) 2018 Youth and Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 18-year-old Grace Gilliland, who is representing the United States at her second World Youth Championships. On Friday, Gilliland placed 55th in the youth women’s 6 k sprint, meeting her...
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Pascale Paradis and Canadian head coach Jacqueline Akerman.) IBU Youth World Championships (Otepää, Estonia): Youth women’s and men’s individual On Day 1 of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships in Otepää, Canada had two women finish in the top 11 of the youth women’s 10-kilometer individual race on Monday. Both are brand new to the Youth World Championships scene, with 15-year-old Pascale...
IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Youth relays The Norwegian and Russian youth men’s and women’s youth relays teams took either first or second on Monday in their last race of International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, with Russia winning the women’s 3 x 6-kilometer relay and Norway topping the men’s 3 x 7.5 k. While Norway’s men’s team of Jørgen Krogsæter, Vebjørn Sørum, and Sivert Guttorm Bakken skied away from...
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Classic team sprints Defending champions Norway repeated gold in the women’s team sprint, with Heidi Weng and Maiken Caspersen Falla crossing the finish line first in Lahti, Finland. On the second-to-last loop, it looked like Russia could have something to say about that. Yulia Belorukova put in a furious sprint up the course’s biggest climb, and then beat Weng to the exchange. But her teammate Natalia Matveeva could not match the pace when Falla...
In another 20-something-question, fill-in-the-blanks series, we checked in with the world-class U.S. and Canadian biathletes that will be competing at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth & Junior World Championships Feb. 22-28 in Osrblie (also known as Brezno-Osrblie), Slovakia. Here’s 16-year-old Grace Gilliland, of the Alaska Biathlon Club and Alaska Pacific University (APU) Junior Ski Team, who is representing the U.S. at her first Youth Worlds. She qualified for today’s youth women’s 7.5 k pursuit with a 46th place in 10 k individual....
Rounding the sprint course in Osrblie, Slovakia, on Friday, American Chloe Levins didn’t let her mind wander to what could be. She had cleaned her first prone stage, which put her in contention for a top 10 among the field of 92 in the youth women’s 6-kilometer sprint, and another shooting stage without a miss could mean the race of her life in her second race at the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World...
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Nordic Combined individual normal hill/10 k Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany. That’s how the results read after the first nordic combined competition of the 2017 Nordic World Championships on Friday in Lahti, Finland, with Germany not only sweeping the podium but the top four of the men’s individual normal hill/10-kilometer Gundersen start. Johannes Rydzek notched his second individual gold medal in the last two championships (after winning the normal hill/10...
IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Youth individual races targeting the sprint. “I want to thank first my coaches at home, my parents who always supported me and all the team who did a great job for the race, the skis, thank you,” he told the IBU Junior Cup media. Also on Wednesday, American Vasek Cervenka, who trains with the Nove Mesto biathlon team, raced to 16th (+4:19.5) with five penalties (0+2+2+1). Also for the...
The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) held three days of youth and junior biathlon trials racing in Jericho, Vermont, January 28-30. At the end of the series, USBA named this year’s team to Youth and Junior World Championships. The competitions are slated for February. But the location is pending. The Championships were scheduled to be held in Ostrov, Russia, but USBA press release) Youth Women Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt./Mountain Top Nordic Ski Club) Amanda Kautzer (Plymouth, Minn./Loppet Nordic Racing/Michigan)...