Down a quart heading into the IBU World Cup #2 in Hochfilzen, Finland's Kaisa Mäkäräinen rallied to win Friday's sprint by more than 10 seconds. Susan Dunklee led the U.S. in 29th and Canada's Rosanna Crawford was another 5 seconds back in 34th.
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Hannah Dreissigacker
Susan Dunklee came within 3.1 seconds of a top 20 in 21st, which she was pleased with while wanting more. "Today certainly wasn’t our strongest team showing," she explained, citing their lack of on-snow time compared to other teams. "The season is long, and we still have time to tune up. We will get there."
Lowell Bailey went 2 for 2 on the weekend in Jericho, and two different U.S. women edged Canada's Rosanna Crawford for victories at the North American Rollerski Championships at the Ethan Allen Firing Range.
Following the final week of training in Finland and three days of rollerski races at the coveted Blink Festival in Norway, U.S. Biathlon coach Jonne Kähkönen gives an across-the-pond update from his native Finland.
Mäkäräinen Shows U.S. Biathlon Women the Ropes (and Swimming Holes) in Kontiolahti
Alex KochonJuly 31, 2014
The U.S. Biathlon Women's A-team has been spending the last two weeks soaking up Finnish life and studying the 2015 IBU World Championships course in Kontiolahti with reigning World Cup champion (and local hero) Kaisa Mäkäräinen.
Besides Susan Dunklee's podium, Rosanna Crawford finished a career-best 11th in the Oslo World Cup sprint and biathletes Lowell Bailey and Zina Kocher also made the top 20. Here's what the U.S. and Canadian teams had to say about their performances - and the horrible ski conditions in Oslo.
Mäkäräinen Completes Kontiolahti Sweep; Dunklee 7th Despite Many Misses in Windy Finland
Chelsea LittleMarch 16, 2014
In incredibly gusty conditions, Kaisa Mäkäräinen won the 10 k biathlon pursuit by a minute over Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. moved from eighth up to seventh despite a whopping seven penalties, thanks in part to the second-fastest ski time of the day - and other racers' struggles on the shooting range.
Dunklee Scores Second-Best Sprint Result in Eighth; Mäkäräinen Makes it a Double
Alex KochonMarch 15, 2014
Kaisa Mäkäräinen made winning at home a habit in the second-straight IBU World Cup sprint in Kontiolahti, Finland, edging Tora Berger and Gabriela Soukalova, who both cleaned. Susan Dunklee rose to eighth for her second-best sprint result of the season and her career. Two other Americans and three Canadian women made Sunday's pursuit.
Makarainen is Top Woman at Home in Kontiolahti; Dreissigacker Posts Best-Ever World Cup Finish
Seth AdamsMarch 13, 2014
Local girl Kaisa Makarainen took the top spot in today's World Cup sprints in Finland, while two Canadians, Rosanna Crawford and Megan Heinicke, got into the top 15.
Studebaker 35th in Pokljuka Sprint, ‘Panikslaget’ for Dunklee as Rifle Sight Falls Off
Chelsea LittleMarch 7, 2014
Sara Studebaker and Susan Dunklee qualified for Saturday's World Cup pursuit in Pokljuka, Slovenia - Studebaker because of her good shooting, and Dunklee despite losing a part of her rifle sight on trail. "I had very little chance of lining it up correctly to hit anything," Dunklee lamented after an incident that drew attention from international commentators.
US Biathlon Women End Olympics on ‘Happy’ Note, Best-Ever Seventh in Relay
Alex KochonFebruary 21, 2014
The US Biathlon women came out with both a fire and a desire to enjoy themselves in their last race of the Sochi Olympics: the 4 x 6 k relay. It worked as Susan Dunklee, Hannah Dreissigacker, Sara Studebaker, and Annelies Cook captured seventh -- an Olympic record for their program.
Both Susan Dunklee and Megan Imrie turned 28 years old this week - but how do you celebrate a birthday at the Olympics, when you are still training and recovering for a few of the most important races of your life, maybe even one that night? With a little creativity, and help from your friends.
‘Fighting Spirit’ Takes Dreissigacker to Career-Best 23rd, Leads North Americans in Olympic 15 k
Chelsea LittleFebruary 14, 2014
Disappointed with her sprint result and frustrated to sit out the pursuit, Hannah Dreissigacker "made a plan" and executed to achieve the best finish of her career, by 30 places -- at the Olympics, no less. The first-time Olympian led all North Americans with a 23rd-place finish. Megan Imrie of Canada placed 30th.
With Three Rookies, U.S. Biathletes Manage the Pressure, Put Three in Pursuit
Chelsea LittleFebruary 10, 2014
After Susan Dunklee turned in the best-ever U.S. women's performance in an Olympic sprint, Sara Studebaker clocked in at 44th and Annelies Cook in 53rd, while Hannah Dreissigacker just missed the cutoff for Tuesday's pursuit in 65th. "So actually getting there, it’s a huge feeling for me," Cook said of her first Olympic finish.
Germans Gap Field for Relay Win; Canadian Women Capture Unprecedented Fourth, U.S. Repeats in Eighth
Alex KochonDecember 12, 2013
The Canadians notched a national first of fourth place in the IBU World Cup women's relay on Thursday in Annency, France, and the Americans tied their collective career bests of eighth for the second-straight week.
Finally Perfect on the Range, U.S. Women Surprise with Eighth-Place Relay Finish
Chelsea LittleDecember 7, 2013
The U.S. team of Susan Dunklee, Sara Studebaker, Hannah Dreissigacker, and Lanny Barnes finished eighth in the World Cup relay in Hochfilzen - the best result of any of their careers. And they did it without Annelies Cook, the team's usual number two racer. "We're on our way up," Barnes said.
Norway’s Flatland Climbs to the Top in Women’s 7.5 k Biathlon
Seth AdamsNovember 29, 2013
A win in today's 7.5km women's biathlon for Norwegian Ann Kristin Flatland, a solid 16th place finish for American Susan Dunklee, and exciting 22nd place finish for Megan Imrie, which completes her Olympic qualification for Sochi.
Eleven U.S. Biathletes Picked for Pre-World Cup Camp in Sweden, Key in Olympic Qualifying
Chelsea LittleOctober 28, 2013
USBA picked 11 athletes to send to Europe this fall, based on trials races this summer in Jericho and last week at Soldier Hollow. Some of them will be picked for Sochi - but who? We clarify the qualification process, as well as getting some comments from High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler about the performances he saw in Utah last week.
Lowell Bailey swept both Tuesday and Thursday's sprint races at Soldier Hollow, while Susan Dunklee and Hannah Dreissigacker picked up wins for the women. The races are a step in the Olympic qualification pipeline.
FasterSkier caught the US Biathlon team during one of their hardest workouts of the training season in Lake Placid, with the added bonus of watching German gold medalist Andrea Henkel rollerski around with them.