Leif Nordgren missed two weeks of training and the first weekend of World Cup racing after coming down sick over his holiday break. After a less-than-satisfying return to elite competition, he hatched a plan to use Open European Championships to get revved back up. In today's pursuit, he did just that.
Audrey Vaillancourt has spent a lot of time bouncing around different European race circuits this season. Today, she eked out a 2-second victory in the 15 k individual at Open European Championships thanks to the best shooting in the field, and among the fastest range times. It's the first time a Canadian has ever won a race at the Championships.
Minnesota native Anna Kubek started off her week right with a sixth-place finish in the junior women's 12.5 k individual at Open European Championships for biathlon. Kubek was just 14 seconds off the podium. In the men's 15 k race, Christian Gow of Canada finished 15th.
Tuesday’s individual races in Osrblie, Slovakia, left the U.S. team at Under-26 Open European Championships one chance to grab the results they’d been hoping for all week. So could they do it? “The individual was another decent race, but not what I wanted,” Russell Currier told FasterSkier in an e-mail. “I’m a little disappointed, but there’s still plenty of room for hope left in the season.” Currier finished 21st in the 20 k, four-stage race, his...
The U.S. biathlon team could be forgiven for having high expectations going into this year’s Under-26/Open European Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia. Last year, Leif Nordgren entered just one race at the event, and didn’t even finish. But a few weeks later, he notched three top-thirty finishes at senior World Championships. In that same U26 series in Ridnaun, Italy, Russell Currier repeatedly finished in the 20s and 30s. But just two weeks ago, he bettered those...
Thursday night, the Slovakian town of Osrblie kicked off the 2012 Open European Championships of biathlon with an elaborate ceremony featuring athletes from 32 different countries. On Friday, racers flooded past on the trails and hundreds of shots were fired on the range, by the best field the venue has hosted since its last World Cup in 2005. What are the Open European Championships? The event, which lasts a week, actually serves several purposes. It’s...