Ostersund IBU World Cup

IBU World Cup: France takes the win in Östersund’s 15 k Indivudual, Egan in 35th

FasterSkierDecember 5, 2019

The women contested the 15-kilometer individual race in Östersund, Sweden on Thursday. As the IBU World Cup gets into gear, the French are proving to be podium top-step magnets. (Martin Fourcade won the men’s 20 k individual race on Wednesday.) Justine Braisaz won in 42:35.1 minutes while missing two targets in her first shooting stage, otherwise she shot clean. Ukraine’s Yuliia Dzhima was second (+11.1; 0+0+0+0), and France’s Julia Simon third (+17.7; 0+0+0+2). Clare Egan was...

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Fourcade Leaves Östersund with a ‘W’; Bailey 17th; Christian Gow Gets Career-Best 21st

Alex KochonDecember 4, 2017

If you were to ask France’s Martin Fourcade what’s wrong with a second and third place, and even two fourth place finishes in the first four races of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season, he’d likely politely tell you nothing — it just wasn’t up to his usual standards. “Despite my two podiums here, I felt that if I had not won here, it would have been my worst season opener since, for...

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Herrmann Captures Second Win in Östersund; Ransom 23rd

Harald ZimmerDecember 3, 2017

Twenty months ago, Germany’s Denise Herrmann was a cross-country skier, ending the Ski Tour Canada in 28th place in the 10-kilometer classic pursuit in Canmore, Alberta. And one with a very successful career, earning an Olympic bronze medal in the relay in Sochi in 2014 and narrowly missing out on another one with a fourth place in the team sprint. But her heart seemingly was no longer in the sport. A month after the 2015/2016...

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Herrmann Rises to First IBU World Cup Win; Ransom 29th in Östersund

Alex KochonDecember 2, 2017

Just over a year and half ago, Germany’s Denise Herrmann took a giant leap and diverged from her career as a World Cup cross-country skier to stated at the time. “The switch to a new discipline will be a big challenge, I am aware of that, but I am confident that I can do it with diligence, courage, and determination!” After bouncing between the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Cup and IBU World Cup last season,...

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Norway’s Bø Crushes Östersund 20 k; Three North Americans in the Points

Harald ZimmerNovember 30, 2017

Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø routinely races with a rifle completely coated from the stock to the barrel in a bright golden paint, and on Thursday, in the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup men’s 20-kilometer individual race in Östersund, Sweden, that display of his ambitions to be the best biathlete in the world didn’t even seem ostentatious. The 24-year-old, three-time world champion didn’t just win the race, he won by a huge margin distancing the...

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A New Season for Biathlon Canada: Ransom Rockets to Career-Best Ninth

Alex KochonNovember 29, 2017

Entering this season, members of Biathlon Canada had everything to gain and not a whole lot to lose. They had already had theirprequalifying for Canada’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup Team for the first trimester of racing, Ransom, 24, jumped into the 2017/2018 season with the Sunday. Three days later on Wednesday, it was another ballgame. With little to lose in the women’s 15-kilometer individual in Östersund, Ransom raced to a career-best ninth, which...

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Sunday Rundown: Lillehammer, Östersund & West Yellowstone (Updated x6)

FasterSkierDecember 4, 2016

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. (Note: This Rundown has been updated to include comments from U.S. Nordic Combined’s Bryan Fletcher, who placed ninth on Sunday at the World...

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Third-Straight Top 15 for Bailey After Shot at 4th in Östersund

Alex KochonDecember 4, 2016

Starting with just under a minute separating him from first place, Lowell Bailey made sure he didn’t get too caught up on what could be. A veteran member of US Biathlon’s national team, Bailey started the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit on Sunday in 13th, exactly 59 seconds behind the first man out of the gate, Martin Fourcade of France. Fourcade had according to a press release. “We were going very close. Before going to Östersund, I...

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Koukalová Nabs First Win of Season; Dunklee 22nd in Östersund Pursuit

Harald ZimmerDecember 4, 2016

Last year’s defending overall World Cup champion Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic also had started out fairly well into the new season during the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup opening week in Östersund, Sweden. But a victory was still missing. She corrected that on Sunday, moving up from the third starting position, told Swiss broadcaster SRF. “All the top stars congratulated me … I can only remember half of it. It’s like a movie...

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Fourcade ‘From Another Planet’; Bailey 13th in First IBU World Cup Sprint

Harald ZimmerDecember 3, 2016

Just like in the 50 wins in the individual race on Wednesday. Despite starting early in bib 11, Fourcade knew no other athlete was likely to beat him in his current race shape when he manages to shoot no penalties, celebrating with both arms raised high as he crossed the line. And he immediately set his sight on another goal: winning three races in a row, four if you count his win in the single...

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Bailey, Burke Open World Cup Season in 15th, 16th in Östersund

Alex KochonDecember 1, 2016

Lowell Bailey is the two-year anniversary earlier this fall. Both are US Biathlon team veterans, and at 35 and 34 years old, respectively, they’re still lighting up the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup. The teammates and training partners, based out of Lake Placid, N.Y., finished one place and 2.1 seconds apart on Thursday, with Bailey ending up 15th and Burke 16th in the first men’s individual World Cup race of the season: the 20-kilometer individual in Östersund,...

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Reid Blasts into Top 30 for Career Best in Blustery Östersund

Alex KochonNovember 30, 2016

Wind and picked up the sport a little over a year ago, it’s even more impressive that she recorded her first World Cup top 30 in the longest-format (four-stage) biathlon race on one of the windiest race days in recent memory. “This was definitely my best result, probably more due to luck than anything else,” Reid wrote in an email on Wednesday night. Of 99 finishers, only one woman hit all 20 targets: third-place finisher Darya Yurkevich of Belarus....

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French Dream Team Tops IBU Single Mixed Relay; Canada 7th

Chelsea LittleNovember 27, 2016

By mid-afternoon in Östersund, Sweden, on Sunday, Norway had already claimed a win in the mixed relay. But there was another event still on the schedule: the single mixed relay, a relatively new format with just one man and one woman per team, skiing short loops of a kilometer and a half. Each athlete skis and shoots twice, then tags off, then repeats: two relay legs each for a total of eight shooting bouts. While Norway...

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Crawford Keeps Her Cool for 13th in Östersund 15 k; Egan Leads U.S. in 44th

Alex KochonDecember 3, 2015

If you were wondering whether a podium in the first race of the season took the pressure off Rosanna Crawford for the first individual women’s race on Thursday, the answer is no. The Canadian biathlete explains her mindset and physical form during the 15 k individual, in which she placed 13th.