It was a good day for US Biathlon. Two skiers in the top-15 in an individual start race. Today, Clare Egan placed 11th, Joanne Reid 15th in the 7.5-kilometer sprint at the IBU World Championships in Östersund, Sweden. It’s a big stage and it can come with big nerves and expectations. Here are the emails we received from Egan and Reid respectively after the race. “I’m really happy with my race. It’s always a thrill...
On Friday’s second day of racing at the IBU World Championships in Östersund, Sweden the women raced the 7.5-kilometer sprint. Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina skied a single penalty lap to mark a winning time of 22:17.5 minutes. Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold shot clean to place second, 9.7 seconds back. Laura Dahlmeier of Germany also shot clean to earn third place at 12.6 seconds behind. In her fourth World Championships, Clare Egan for the U.S. earned her...
IBU World Cup Soldier Hollow (Midway), Utah women’s 7.5 k Sprint The name itself carries with it a reputation for high heart rates. Nestled on the East slope of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, Soldier Hollow (SoHo), the sight of this week’s IBU World Cup races, features tracks well above 5,000 feet in altitude. Junior and senior skiers understand that a hard effort at SoHo come with a mandatory lactic acid tax. Not since 2002 at the...
IBU World Cup Canmore, Canada 15 k/ 12.5 k Short Individual Races Sun, mountains, and what may have seemed like relatively warm temps allowed the IBU World Cup events to proceed on Thursday in Canmore, Canada. It’s been Polar Vortex cold in Canmore. Cold enough to thwart the original plans for traditional length 20-kilometer and 15 k individual races, for men and women respectively. With cold temperatures predicted all week, and a window of legal-limit...
With six of the nine stops on the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup circuit complete, IBU athletes will take a brief hiatus from Europe this February and venture across the Atlantic for a race tour in North America. The first stop for biathletes, coaches and fans will be Canmore, Albert. Canada–the last World Cup races having taken place there in 2016. Following Canmore, the IBU will head for U.S. soil: The Soldier Hollow Nordic...
IBU World Cup Biathlon Ruhpolding, Germany 10 k / 7.5 k sprint Cutting to the chase: it has been dumping in certain regions of the alps. Ruhpolding, Germany, site of this week’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup’s has been no exception. The men’s 10-kilometer sprint that went off today under clear skies had been postponed, it was scheduled to run Wednesday. Men’s Sprint Results Anatasiya Kuzmina won the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Thursday...
FIS World Cup Dresden, Germany 6 x 1.6 k Freestyle Team Sprint The first World Cup team sprint of the season was run amidst drizzle and the Dresden, Germany city-scape as the women raced a total of six 1.6-kilometer laps. Round and round on the looping course, the pace was a mix of tactically subdued speeds with sustained bursts of energy to break the pack. After all the speed changes and exchanges with one athlete...
IBU World Cup Nové Město, Czech Republic 12.5 k / 10 k Pursuit Johannes Thingnes Bø won his fifth race of the IBU World Cup season by taking the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit in Nové Město, Czech Republic in a time of 31:59.0 minutes. Bø skied four penalty laps on his way to victory. Russia’s Alexander Loginov also skied four penalty laps, and finished second 6.2 seconds back. The elder Bø brother, Tarjei Bø, placed third...
IBU World Cup Nové Město, Czech Republic Women’s 7.5 k Sprint On Friday in Nové Město, the women contested a 7.5-kilometer sprint. Norway’s Marte Olsbu Røiseland won the day in 19:44.6 minutes for her first IBU World Cup victory. Røiseland shot clean on the day. It was her second top five result this season after placing fifth in Pokljuka, Slovenia’s pursuit. Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier finished in second 4.5 seconds back after missing one target for...
FIS World Cup Davos, Switzerland 1.5 k Freestyle Sprint Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report On a lovely Davos, Switzerland day, Sophie Caldwell of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) was the day’s fastest qualifier for the women, stopping the clock in 2:46.28 minutes. Caldwell looked cool and in-form on her way to place second overall on the day for her first podium of the season. The win went to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson after...
Today in Hochfilzen, Austria, Dorothea Wierer of Italy won the sprint in a time of 21:04.9 minutes. Wierer missed one shot standing for a single penalty during the race. Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland was close behind in second, 0.6 seconds back. Mäkäräinen also had one missed target standing. Third place went to Russia’s Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht, finishing 24.4 seconds behind. Yurlova-Percht short clean in the race. Susan Dunklee was the best placed American in 34th (+1:33.0,...
This season, the US Biathlon Association (USBA) hired on two new coaches; 47-year-old Armin Auchentaller from Italy and Germany’s 42-year-old Michael Greis. Auchentaller’s primary duties are with the women’s team whereas Greis will focus on the men. The U.S. team comes off the retirements of two of its steady-stars; Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke. (Burke was hired in May as USBA’s athlete development manager.) The hiring of the two coaches is part of a plan...
FIS World Cup Beitostølen, Norway 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k Relay Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway the women raced a 4 x 5-kilometer relay on firm tracks and under partly cloudy skies — Saturday’s races featured fresh snowfall. Norway I took the win in a total time of 57:23.6 minutes. In order of relay legs, Heidi Weng, Therese Johaug, Ragnhild Haga, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg comprised the team that raced at the...
FIS World Cup Beitostolen, Norway 15 k/30k Freestyle Individual Start Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report With snow falling and trees covered with fresh snow, Beitostølen, Norway’s wintery essence was on full display during the women’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Saturday. Keeping her distance win-streak alive was Norway’s Therese Johaug who won her fourth World Cup distance race of the season making it four for four in 2018/2019. Johaug won in a time of...
Last week U.S. Biathlon’s Rollerski Team trials concluded at Soldier Hollow (SoHo) outside Midway, Utah. Along with the trials this summer in Jericho, Vermont, the SoHo results helped determine any remaining U.S. roster spots for the opening races on the IBU World Cup. On Monday, Nov. 5th, U.S. Biathlon announced it’s World Cup team for the first round of races in Pokljuka, Slovenia beginning Nov. 30th. For the women, Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, and Joanne...
The first time I contacted Russell Currier for a retirement interview, it was mid-April. I had asked him to share his story, and no more than 24 hours after my initial email to Currier, I received a response. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’m actually in Bozeman right meow,” he’d written. Digging through my memory bank, I recalled Currier having come to Bozeman one other time. Two Aprils ago, the Stockholm, Maine, native spent a...
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) –
2018 USBA Junior/Senior Nationals American biathletes officially wrapped up their race seasons at the 2018 US Biathlon Association (USBA) nationals last Thursday through Saturday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. The event kicked off with Lowell Bailey edging his teammate and longtime training partner Tim Burke by 5 seconds in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint on Thursday, March 29. Bailey started 15th out of 17 men and skied a single penalty lap after his prone shooting...
OSLO, Norway — In the last relay of French star Marie Dorin Habert’s career, she turned in a crucial performance to bring her team to the front. Anaïs Bescond extended the gap and France took the win in the women’s 4 x 6-kilometer relay here at Holmenkollen by 14.4 seconds over Germany. Was she nervous going into the last team event she will ever race? “I wasn’t really nervous,” Dorin Habert, 31, said in a...
FIS Cross Country World Cup Finals (Falun, Sweden): 10/15 k classic mass starts Men’s report Day 2 of World Cup Finals in Falun entailed 10- and 15-kilometer classic mass starts on Saturday, and in the first race of the day, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski pulled out a thrilling finishing-sprint victory over Norway’s Marit Bjørgen. After American Jessie Diggins led early in the first 2.5 k loop, Bjørgen set the tone from the front for most of...