Mark Kirchner – FasterSkier.com

Fourcade Beats Schempp by a Toe in PyeongChang Mass Start

Harald ZimmerFebruary 18, 2018

FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, four years ago at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, as he narrowly lost a sprint finish for the gold medal in the mass start to Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen. “I was sure that Simon did it,” Fourcade said of Schempp at Sunday’s post-race press conference. “It was just because four years ago in Sochi, Emil did me a lot of pain, and tonight I was...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada General News Olympics Racing US Biathlon

Peiffer’s Bad Day Turned Golden; Bailey 33rd in PyeongChang Sprint

Harald ZimmerFebruary 11, 2018

FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, women’s sprint when his teammate Laura Dahlmeier won gold, while the presumed favorites such as France’s Martin Fourcade and Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø missed too many targets to contend for the medals. In his prone shooting, Peiffer reacted correctly to a strong gust of wind from the left side of the range, adjusting his sights with several clicks on his rifle. Then in the standing shooting he took...

Biathlon News Racing US Biathlon

Bailey Caps World Champs Mass Start in Sixth; Schempp Finally Gets Gold

Alex KochonFebruary 19, 2017

Before this year’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships, American Lowell Bailey had never cleaned a 20-kilometer individual or 15-kilometer mass start race. In layman’s terms, he had never hit all 20 targets in those types of races — the longest formats on the circuit. Not in a World Championships, not in a World Cup. That’s not to say shooting isn’t his strength; that’s just extremely difficult to do. Fast forward to Sunday, the last...

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Germany Wins First Gold of IBU World Champs; France and Russia Steal Mixed-Relay Show

Alex KochonFebruary 9, 2017

Germany was front and center for the first race of 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships on Thursday in Hochfilzen, Austria, but there was a sideshow that stole a good chunk of the limelight between France (namely Martin Fourcade) and Russia (namely Alexander Loginov). The action began with the 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5-kilometer mixed relay, a co-ed event where teams start women for the first and second legs, followed by men for the third and...

Biathlon General News Racing

Bjørndalen Up To Old Tricks As Norway Strikes Gold in IBU Mixed Relay

Chelsea LittleNovember 27, 2016

It’s a new season on the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup, but the Norwegian biathlon team made it clear that they didn’t want anything to change: just as they won the World Cup mixed relay trophy in 2016, they picked up a 33.7-second win in the event in Östersund, Sweden, on Sunday to kick off the new year. And just as he had so many times before, it was Ole Einar Bjørndalen — the “King...

Biathlon General News Racing

Béatrix Bests Svendsen for First World Cup Win; Smith 12th in Pokljuka Mass Start

Harald ZimmerDecember 21, 2015

On Sunday, French biathlete Jean-Guillaume Béatrix knew he was the luckiest man in Pokljuka, achieving the first World Cup victory of his career in a men’s 15-kilometer mass start he hadn’t planned on racing.