Kontiolahti – Page 3

Norway Sweeps World Junior Biathlon Relays; Canada’s Junior Men Are Best Shots in Field, Race to Sixth Place

Chelsea LittleFebruary 24, 2012

In the opening junior men’s race of biathlon’s World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, Canada’s Kurtis Wenzel used near-perfect shooting to demolish the field and collect his second world championship title. His teammates, however, were less successful, shooting 80%, 60%, and 40%. “After the individual race I was a little bit down,” said Maxc Davies, who had missed 12 shots and placed 72nd. How things change. In Thursday’s junior 4 x 7.5 k...

Biathlon Juniors

French Men, Ukrainian Women Post Big Victories in Youth Biathlon Relays

Chelsea LittleFebruary 23, 2012

On Wednesday, Kontiolahti, Finland, became a venue that was hospitable for biathlon for the first time in perhaps several weeks. After the bitter cold of the World Cup races two weeks ago, a general lack of sunlight, and a persistent wind that has dogged even the best shots at World Youth and Junior Championships this week, today’s balmy sunshine was a welcome reprieve. “Today was an amazing bluebird day and there was almost no wind,”...

Biathlon Juniors

Behind Wenzel’s Victory, Canadians Place Two More in Top 20 at World Junior Biathlon Championships

Chelsea LittleFebruary 22, 20121

With Canada’s Kurtis Wenzel winning gold in the junior men’s 15 k individual, it was easy to overlook the other North American performances at biathlon World Junior Championships on Tuesday. But there were several other notable finishes in Kontiolahti, Finland, including top-20’s from Wenzel’s teammates Aaron Gillmor and Audrey Vaillancourt. Biathlon Canada, it appears, is on its way up. “It was certainly a welcome surprise to hear that Kurtis was in the lead after his...

Biathlon Juniors

After Year-Long Hiatus from Biathlon, Canada’s Wenzel Can Handle The Pressure, Picking Up Second World Junior Championship Title

Chelsea LittleFebruary 21, 2012

Canadian biathlon has been on the upswing all year, with top-ten performances from three different athletes on the World Cup and wins and podiums on the second-tier IBU Cup circuit. At World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, the Canadians had been hoping to continue their success, and started off well with a top-ten finish by Julia Ransom. But the athlete most likely to make waves was a young man who was also surrounded...

Biathlon Juniors

Canada’s Julia Ransom Returns to Form with Career-Best Eighth in World Youth Championships Individual

Chelsea LittleFebruary 21, 2012

The top Canadian and American women in the youth individual race at biathlon World Junior Championships on Monday couldn’t have had more different attitudes coming into the event. Canada’s Julia Ransom, for instance, was looking for payback. After a strong showing in 2010 in Torsby, Sweden, Ransom struggled in 2011, producing a top result of just 36th place in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. “Last year was definitely a frustrating year for me,” she told FasterSkier...

Uncategorized

Gow 11th in Youth Biathlon Individual; Americans Place Doherty and Dougherty in Top 30, Career-Best for Each

Chelsea LittleFebruary 21, 2012

The U.S. team at biathlon World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, is hoping that things will heat up in the next few days – both literally and figuratively. “It has been pretty cold all week but it warmed up today,” American racer Anna Kubek told FasterSkier. At World Cup races one last weekend, the Finnish venue flirted with legal temperatures and athletes swaddled themselves in layer upon layer of clothes, as well as...

Biathlon World Cup

The King is Back as Bjørndalen Rises to Top in Pursuit; U.S. Men, Stymied on Range, Keep Three in Top 15 (Updated)

Chelsea LittleFebruary 12, 20121

In case there was any doubt: the King still reigns. Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway had stood on the podium just once this season, and hadn’t won a World Cup race since December 2010. But on Sunday in Kontiolahti, Finland, the legend upped his tally of victories to 93 – a number that seems impossible for another athlete to ever match. At 38 years old, Bjørndalen also became the oldest athlete to ever win a...

Biathlon World Cup

Canada’s Lone Ranger, Zina Kocher, Nets Season-Best 12th in Kontiolahti Sprint; Studebaker 15th for U.S.

Chelsea LittleFebruary 12, 20121

Kontiolahti, Finland, didn’t seem like a logical place for either Canada’s Zina Kocher or U.S. biathlete Sara Studebaker to excel on Saturday. Kocher is traveling on her own, without the support of the Canadian team staff, while Studebaker raced in Friday’s mixed relay, unlike most of the top female competitors. And in fact, on Saturday morning, it almost seemed like none of the women would get a chance to do their best. “There was so...

Biathlon World Cup

Americans Collect Another Best-Ever Day, Taking Sixth in Frozen Mixed Relay in Kontiolahti

Chelsea LittleFebruary 10, 20121

When the temperatures outside drop down to -26 Celsius like they did in Kontiolahti, Finland on Thursday morning, ski racing becomes a game of survival. Breathing in cold air while asking lungs to work their hardest isn’t anybody’s idea of a healthy decision. And the extreme cold is even more tricky in biathlon, where nimble fingers are required to pull triggers and bulky mittens just get in the way. In Fort Kent, Maine last winter,...

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