What started out like any other cold turned into a season-ending downward spiral for Devon Kershaw, who, in the midst of what would have been his eighth World Championships, had to forgo racing and leave Sweden early to recover at his fiancée’s home in Oslo, Norway.
Finn Hågen Krogh is trying to make a case for himself to race at World Championships, and he did about all anyone could ask on Saturday and Sunday, winning the last two races before the 2015 World Championships begin in Falun, Sweden, later this week.
American Jessie Diggins finished 17th after posting the fifth-fastest time at the 1.8-kilometer mark, while Liz Stephen -- who finished fifth overall in the 2015 Tour de Ski -- took 26th. Rosie Brennan came in 32nd and was just a few seconds from cracking the top 30, while Kikkan Randall finished 33rd.
It had been almost two months since Emily Nishikawa raced on the World Cup, yet the 25-year-old Canadian National Development Team skier picked up essentially where she left off, collecting her second-best result of the season on Sunday in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle in Östersund, Sweden. “It was great to get racing on the World Cup again today,” Nishikawa wrote in an email after placing 36th in Sunday’s race. “My goals for today were just...
Marit Bjørgen took her 90th World Cup win in Sweden today, and the 12th of this season. Confidence boosted, she plans to start six competitions at World Championships - but says that she thinks six gold medals is a goal too many.
Simi Hamilton made it to the semifinals in Saturday's World Cup classic sprint in Östersund, Sweden, to end up 11th overall, and Andy Newell took 12th for his best result of the season. Sadie Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell made it to the quarterfinals as well and ended up 22nd and 20th overall, respectively.
This weekend, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, of Rocky Mountain Racers, will make her World Cup debut in Östersund, Sweden. Less than a week later, she'll appear at her first World Championships in Falun, Sweden, where she hopes to start the classic sprint and 10 k freestyle.
This Monday the USST announced 16 cross country athletes will represent the U.S. at the 2015 FIS Nordic World Championships in Falun, Sweden. Headlined by defending World Champions Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins, a mix of veterans and newcomers will take on the world's best.
The first individual IBU World Cup race took place a week ago in Östersund and wrapped up this past Sunday. Here, we recap everything from biathlon in Sweden and at home in Canmore, to the Lillehammer mini tour and nordic-combined competitions, and second U.S. SuperTour stop in Bozeman, Mont.
Emil Hegle Svendsen talked about throwing out his skis; Ole Einar Bjørndalen didn't use his best. Nathan Smith hopes for stonegrinding before the next World Cup and Susan Dunklee's skis might go back to Fischer for care. One thing is certain: Östersund did a number on skis. How do you come back from that?
Martin Fourcade came out firing, missing several of his targets on Sunday, but pulling off a 10-second victory in the men's 12.5 k pursuit on the last day of the Östersund World Cup nonetheless. Canada's Nathan Smith cleaned three stages to reach the top three, but missed three on his last stage to finish 16th.
The last time Kaisa Mäkäräinen opened the season with a win in Sweden, she also won the overall World Cup title. Is she going to do it again? Canada's Rosanna Crawford finished 14th, and is also excited to see what comes next: "I know there is so much potential."
The United States biathlon team went into today’s World Cup pursuits looking for improvement, and two athletes nailed it: Lowell Bailey finished 17th and Susan Dunklee 19th. Both used deliberate shooting strategy on Ostersund's gusty range to make their moves.
Nothing went perfectly for the U.S. in Ostersund today, but one thing is clear: Tim Burke and Susan Dunklee are fast! Burke finished 17th and was excited about improving his ski performance in the sprint, a format which is shorter than he would prefer. Lowell Bailey was 23rd while Dunklee and Leif Nordgren missed the points but made the pursuit.
When Tiril Eckhoff missed a shot in standing, she assumed she'd have maybe a top ten in today's World Cup sprint. Instead, she charged to the top of the results sheet, and stayed there despite several clean-shooting challengers. She joined her brother (and coach) Stian on the list of Norwegians who have won in Ostersund, and called out Norwegian journalists for doubting her.
After a wildly disappointing 20 k individual on Wednesday where he missed six shots and finished more than ten minutes behind the winner, French biathlon star Martin Fourcade pulled himself together and turned in a dominating performance in the 10 k sprint today, winning by 28 seconds.
Two Canadians notched career bests on Thursday in the first individual World Cup race of the season: Megan Heinicke in 12th and Rosanna Crawford with a best 15 k result of 16th. The best part for Biathlon Canada is, it's neither of their signature races.
Susan Dunklee came within 3.1 seconds of a top 20 in 21st, which she was pleased with while wanting more. "Today certainly wasn’t our strongest team showing," she explained, citing their lack of on-snow time compared to other teams. "The season is long, and we still have time to tune up. We will get there."
In the first individual women's IBU World Cup race of the season, Darya Domracheva showed she's still the same ol' fast-and-cheery competitor, beating Finland's Kaisa Mäkäräinen by 28 seconds and Ukraine's Valj Semerenko, one of three to shoot clean, by 38 seconds.
Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey led the U.S. in the men's 20-kilometer individual on Wednesday, the first individual World Cup of the season, in 11th and 20th, respectively. Most everyone struggled with the wind, and the Canadians were no exception with top finisher Brendan Green in 49th.