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Martin Fourcade

Saturday Rundown: Otepää and Hochfilzen (Updated)

IBU World Championships (Hochfilzen, Austria): Men’s relay [UPDATED] Russia’s four-man relay team hit nearly every target on Saturday, using a total of just three spares to clean 40 targets, and stayed out of the penalty loop to capture gold in the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. It was the last team event and the second-to-last day of the championships, with the men’s and women’s...

From Fans to Competitors, Biathlon World Goes Wild for Bailey’s Gold

HOCHFILZEN, Austria–As Lowell Bailey sprinted around the final four kilometers of the 20 k individual on Thursday, the stadium announcer told the crowd that they were witnessing something special. Fans who had been watching the sprint and pursuit earlier in the World Championships had seen Bailey come oh-so-close to the podium, only to miss out, finishing fourth in the sprint and sixth in the pursuit. This time, he was on track to stay on that...

Dream Come True, Bailey Wins World Championships Gold, First Ever for American Biathlete

HOCHFILZEN, Austria—Four days ago, Lowell Bailey left the shooting range after cleaning his fourth stage in the pursuit, and was in second place. Things didn’t go his way and he saw first World Championships silver, then bronze, slip from his grasp as other men were stronger on the Hochfilzen race course’s big hills. He placing fourth in the sprint. Today, the American biathlete again left the range after cleaning his fourth stage. Two key differences:...

Thursday Rundown: Gold for Bailey at IBU World Champs

IBU World Championships (Hochfilzen, Austria): Men’s 20 k individual Lowell Bailey became the first American biathlete to become a world champion on Thursday in the men’s 20-kilometer individual race at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. Wearing lucky bib 100, Bailey started near the back of the field and cleaned four consecutive stages in the longest-format race on the circuit, then finished with the new best time of 48:07.4 minutes, 3.3 seconds faster than...

Sixth Place for Bailey in Pursuit, Gow 23rd; Fourcade Gets His Hochfilzen Gold

HOCHFILZEN, Austria — In a World Championships that started as a contentious battle of snubs between France and Russia, the first week ended with three guys who couldn’t be happier to compliment each other on the podium. Starting third in Sunday’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit, after earning bronze in the sprint, Martin Fourcade of France was nearly perfect. He only missed the last of his 20 shots and cruised to a 22.8-second victory for his first gold...

Germany’s Doll Takes First Win, a World Champs Gold; Seven North American Men Into Pursuit

HOCHFILZEN, Austria—On a day when the wind seemed like only a flutter, it could still throw the World Championships biathlon field into disarray. Take Martin Fourcade, the best biathlete in the world this year. He missed two shots out of ten: one in prone, and one in standing. “When I crossed the finish line, I expected to be top ten,” the Frenchman said in a press conference. “Then when I saw the race I expected...

Bailey Fourth in World Championships Sprint, Second-Best Result Ever for American

HOCHFILZEN, Austria – The U.S. men’s biathlon team got off to a slow start this year. Sean Doherty had mononucleosis. Leif Nordgren injured his toe in a freak accident and had to miss weeks of competition. And Tim Burke said he has felt “flat” all season. Many have been frustrated… “Except for Lowell!” Burke exclaimed, referring to teammate Lowell Bailey. “One of the benefits of having a strong team is that when some of us...

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

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...

Friday Rundown: Antholz & Whistler (Updated)

NorAm Western Canadian Championships (Whistler, B.C.): Freestyle sprints [UPDATED] On Friday, the first day of the NorAm Western Canadian Championships at Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley, British Columbia, Dahria Beatty and Jess Cockney topped the women’s and men’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint A-finals, respectively. Beatty, of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) and Canada’s National U25 Team, started the day by qualifying in second, 0.31 seconds behind her fellow AWCA and U25 Team member, Olivia...

Fourcade Continues Record Season in Ruhpolding Pursuit

Even Martin Fourcade himself seems surprised with his season so far in the record books. “I know what I did this season is incredible,” the French biathlon star said in Sunday’s press conference in Ruhpolding, Germany. “Even in my best dreams I could never imagine that.” Fourcade continued his series of stellar performances in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. But he cut it close this time on his way to his 10th victory...

Burke Gives It One More Shot for Season-Best 12th; Bailey 18th in Ruhpolding Sprint

This week, Tim Burke reached a serious tipping point. A US Biathlon veteran with six International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup podiums to his name (including a silver medal at 2013 World Championships), Burke third in a sprint in Östersund, Sweden. So far this season, Burke, less than a month out from his 35th birthday, had failed to crack the top 20. His season-best result was men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in Ruhpolding, Germany, using...

Sunday Rundown: Alpe Cermis, Oberhof, Lahti, Soldier Hollow (Updated x5)

U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): Classic sprints Jennie Bender of Bridger Ski Foundation and Kevin Bolger of the University of Utah won national titles in the classic sprints at 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow earlier Sunday afternoon. They each took narrow – but, for sprinting, relatively uncontested – victories, as each was in the lead coming into the stadium and led through the final 180-degree turn into the finishing straight. In the women’s race, Bender took the...

Fourcade Unshaken by Oberhof Winds; Burke 26th and Season-Best 34th for Currier

With cold, fierce gusts of wind blowing over the biathlon range in Oberhof, Germany, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit on Saturday was decided in the first standing stage. Out of a top group of seven athletes, only France’s Martin Fourcade was able to shoot clean to create a 35-second gap. In the final shooting, he cleared his targets in a slow but controlled rhythm, avoiding the penalty lap once again, while his...

Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): 10 k skate [UPDATED] Don’t bet against Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) in a distance skate event. The 36-year-old took another national title in the 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, earlier today in the first event of the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Gregg’s winning time was 27:00.6 on a cold, slow-snow morning at SoHo. Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University) was second, 2.2 seconds back,...

Eberhard Starts 2017 with Oberhof Sprint Win; IBU World Cup Skiers Call Special Meeting

Even Martin Fourcade is a mere mortal who can’t win every race he competes in. After winning the first three sprints of the 2016/2017 season and five races in a row, for once the French biathlon star had to settle for an eighth place after uncharacteristically missing three targets in his standing shooting stage. That left an opening for other athletes to shine on Thursday afternoon in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the International Biathlon Union (IBU)...

Czech and British Biathlon to Boycott Tyumen World Cup, Other Teams Consider Joining

In response to evidence of widespread doping in Russia, the Czech Biathlon Union became the first to discuss a boycott. The Czechs will not attend a World Cup stage to be held in Tyumen, Russia, in March; they have been joined by the British Biathlon Union. Several other countries say they hope that the International Biathlon Union will move the event. But the Russian Biathlon Union put out a defiant press release denying any involvement in doping. A Boycott Grows At the...

Sunday Rundown: La Clusaz, Nove Mesto, Ramsau, Klingenthal, Obertilliach, & Rossland (Updated x4)

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. *** FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup in Klingenthal [UPDATE] Ben Loomis tallied two top 10’s and his U.S. Nordic Combined teammate Ben Berend...

Fourcade Makes It Three in a Row in Nove Mesto; Bailey 21st in Mass Start

“The soft the supple step and sturdy pace, that in the smallest of all circles turns, moves like a dance of strength around a core in which a mighty will is standing stunned.” – The Panther, second verse, by Rainer Maria Rilke. English translation by Stanley Appelbaum At the turn of the 19th century, the Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist Rilke frequently visited the town of Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, on holidays with his family. Later...