Note: This is the second piece in a three-part series following several groups of biathletes as they negotiate the college question.
HomeTag
IBU Cup
With Home-Field Advantage, North Americans Flex Their Muscles at Canmore IBU Cup Races
Chelsea LittleFebruary 17, 2012
Last year, the world’s best biathletes got a taste of northern Maine when the World Cup made stops in Fort Kent and Presque Isle. This season, the top racers are staying firmly ensconced in Europe. But instead of letting the sport get too comfortable on what could be considered its home turf, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) sent their eponymously named IBU Cup circuit across the Atlantic, and for the last week the “second World...
As IBU Cup Prepares for North American Swing, Canadians Laud Value in Athlete Development
Chelsea LittleJanuary 19, 2012
When American and Canadian skiers start consistently winning domestic races, they face a choice: do they stay on their home circuits, or head to Europe? And if a trip across the Atlantic is in the cards, where will they race? With limited World Cup quotas and a myriad of regional race circuits, skiers have to not only choose which of the many races they might attend, but also generally organize and fund the trips themselves....
U.S. Finalizes Biathlon World Cup Roster for Period Two, Adds to IBU Cup Squad (Photo Gallery)
Chelsea LittleDecember 23, 2011
For the World Cup athletes, Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Biathlon Association of team nominations for the second period of racing brought no surprises. Just as in the last weekend of World Cup racing in December, three women (Sara Studebaker, Annelies Cook, and Susan Dunklee) and four men (Lowell Bailey, Jay Hakkinen, Tim Burke, and Leif Nordgren) will represent the U.S. on the trails. But the real excitement of the day came from the selection...
While U.S. and Canadian skiers have been competing at FIS and World Cup races for several weeks now, the American biathletes waited until Sunday to kick off their season in an IBU Cup sprint. The race in Ostersund, Sweden, was actually the second of the weekend, but the U.S. team sat out of Saturday’s race. While the men were lucky to have skipped the windy conditions that shook up the result sheet in the opener,...
When U.S. biathletes left Altenberg, Germany after the pursuit race on Saturday, they were saying goodbye not only to the venue, but to the entire IBU Cup circuit. While the U.S. Biathlon Association is supporting the World Cup team for the rest of the year, no more Continental Cup races will be funded. Luckily, the team had plenty of satisfying results while in Europe, so the trip ended on a positive note. “I’m proud of...
U.S. Women Continue Hot Streak in IBU Cup Competition
Chelsea LittleJanuary 14, 2011
After last week’s success at the IBU Cup races in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, U.S. biathlete and 2010 Olympian Haley Johnson was promoted to the World Cup. You might think that sending the top finisher off to Rupholding would slow down the American women racing on biathlon’s second-most prestigious circuit. But you’d be wrong. Susan Dunklee, Tracy Barnes, and Annelies Cook – who all missed qualifying for the Olympics last year – didn’t need Johnson...
Strong Finishes for North Americans on IBU Cup, but is Increased European Presence Best for Domestic Biathlon?
Chelsea LittleDecember 29, 2010
This year, the U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) had a radical shift in its athlete development strategy: instead of sending a full squad to the World Cup and leaving the rest of the American biathlon field at home, they would minimize their World Cup presence to only those athletes who were succeeding, and field a much larger team at the IBU (International Biathlon Union) Cup races. While the U.S. biathletes that FasterSkier talked to, on and...
The U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) decided to try something new this year: instead of sending all of its best athletes to the World Cup, they would send a smaller group of developing athletes to the IBU Cup – biathlon’s equivalent of the Continental Cup, but more competitive – as well. “It’s better for athlete development to go to the IBU Cup and have success, than it is to go straight to the World Cup,” USBA...
Russian Biathletes Plan Comeback this Weekend
Inge ScheveDecember 7, 2010
With their doping suspensions completed and competition ban lifted, one Russian biathlete retires and two return to the international racing circuit this weekend.
There is no mercy for the Russian biathletes who want to return to the World Cup after sitting out their doping suspensions. They can’t race before they repay prize money they earned while cheating.
You may applaud it’s fairness and simplicity, or you may think the policy reads like a paragraph out of Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, but like it or not, the United States Biathlon Association is implementing a “same wax” protocol throughout the December biathlon trials at Mt Itasca. The waxing protocol will apply to both the IBU Cup Team Trials held December 12th – 22nd and the Jr/Youth World Team Trials, held December 19th – 22nd. Standard...