Ever played at Fenway? Lined up across from Peyton Manning? Fed Lionel Messi a perfect cross? Playing with heroes of sport is generally closed to most of us mortals – but not for fans of biathlon this October 5.
Before leaving for Germany for a three-week camp in Ruhpolding and Oberhof, US Biathlon's Hannah Dreissigacker talks about how she's made strides in her sport -- specifically in shooting -- and why combo workouts are some of the best ones biathletes can do.
Images from the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the Ethan Allen Firing Range on Aug. 11, the last of the two-day North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt. (Women's 10 k pursuit photos to come.)
Photos from Day 1 of the North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships at Ethan Allen Firing Range: women's 7.5 k and men's 10 k sprints.
Coming off breakout seasons, Hannah Dreissigacker, 26, and Rosanna Crawford, 25, each saw the top of the podium over the weekend at the North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt. The sprint winner, Dreissigacker learned what it's like to be hunted, and Crawford chased her down for the pursuit win.
In an effort to ring in 2013/2014, we’re kicking off our second-annual elite team preview – now called “The 12.” Starting with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project and proceeding in no particular order, we’ll profile 12 of the biggest powerhouses in U.S. cross-country skiing throughout the next several weeks. Don't worry, we'll get to Canada, too.
After a successful demo in the small Alaskan village of Kiana last year, former national team biathlete Zach Hall coordinated an effort to introduce biathlon to six villages this year as part of Lars Flora's NANANordic program. For kids in the villages, the combination of skiing and hunting just makes sense; for the athlete coaches, it was the experience of a lifetime.
Liz Guiney, Andrew Dougherty and Pete Hegman join the 2013-2014 Craftsbury Green Racing Project roster.
With the Olympics looming, the U.S. Biathlon Association cut its national team to the smallest it has been in years, with no new members and only one athlete under the age of 25; development was cut almost completely. President and CEO Max Cobb hopes that good performances in Sochi will be a rising tide that lifts all boats in his sport.
Former college skiers Susan Dunklee, Annelies Cook, and Hannah Dreissigacker decided not to go straight to vacation when their World Cup biathlon season ended. Instead, they're racing SuperTour finals - for most, the first classic races and first sprints of the season. After a collection of top-ten results, it looks like a good decision, but they're also keeping things fun with an intra-team "Biathlon Cup" competition.
Sorry, New Hampshire: the Vermont-based teams of Craftsbury, Stratton, and UVM had a lock on the podium at the Craftsbury Spring Tour after 10/15 k pursuits based on the previous two days' results. Sophie Caldwell consolidated her lead to win by a mile, while Pat O'Brien worked some slick skis through the sunny snow to edge out Eric Packer.
Several U.S. skiers competed in the Engadin 42 k marathon two weekends ago in Switzerland, with Hannah Dreissigacker and Matt Liebsch both finishing in the top 25. Oliver Burruss blew away his top-100 goal in 50th. Burruss and Dreissigacker recall their first Engadin.
Susan Dunklee used a broom handle and cleaned her first World Cup-caliber race on Friday, leading the U.S. women to a repeat 11th at IBU World Championships in the 4 x 6 k relay. The Canadian women got off to a strong start and settled for 12th.
Across both the men's and the women's teams, six of the eight Americans qualified for the 60-person pursuits on Sunday. Tim Burke was the lone man to make the top 30, while Annelies Cook led the women's squad in 45th. All six are ready to improve in the pursuit.
US Biathlon's International Competition Committee has named four men and four women to the 2013 World Championship team. World Championships will be held in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, starting February 7th.
The German women skied away form Russia at the end of the women's 4x6km biathlon relay for the win with France taking third. The U.S. team placed 10th and Canada 11th.
More on the women's World Cup sprint in Antholz, Italy, from U.S. women's coach Jonne Kahkonen, 18th-place finisher Annelies Cook, and Audrey Vaillancourt of Canada, who finished 55th in just the second weekend of World Cup racing in her career.
Careful skiing at altitude and a single penalty on the range netted Annelies Cook the best finish of her World Cup career, placing 18th in a 7.5 k biathlon sprint in Antholz, Italy today. The win went to Olympic sprint champion Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia, who hasn't seen much of the podium since Vancouver.
Note: This is the fifth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) Coaches: Pepa Miloucheva (head coach, 15th season), Jeremy Nellis (junior coach) Senior roster: Ida Sargent (U.S. Ski Team), Susan Dunklee...
The U.S. Biathlon Association has announced its 2012-13 national team, which consists of 12 returning members and a single new nomination. The squad is led by five Americans who achieved top-ten results on the 2012 World Cup circuit, and were rewarded with “A1” nomination: Tim Burke, Lowell Bailey, Russell Currier, Jay Hakkinen, and Susan Dunklee. In total, seven women and six men will make up next year’s national team, a slight decrease from last year’s...