Citing poor air quality which irritated airways, a Norwegian team doctor says he provided competitors with asthma medication at Junior and U23 World Championships in Romania last season. But American and Canadian competitors and coaches do not remember having such problems, and expressed surprise that such medications were being given to young athletes with no medical history of asthma.
Not many skiers are accustomed to skiing in slush, but those able to find their stride on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-50s in Rasnov, Romania, tended to fare better on the second day of U23/Junior World Championships. Stratton juniors Katharine Ogden and Julia Kern notched top 20's and Jasper Good (U.S. Nordic Combined) achieved 11th in the first nordic-combined competition.
It was 50 degrees and sunny on Monday in Rasnov, Romania, which sounds pleasant, but what's it like racing in? "Pretty darn hot," Julia Kern explained, after racing to a career-best 16th in the freestyle sprint on Day 1 of Junior/U23 World Championships. Another American, Logan Hanneman placed 15th, and Julien Locke led Canada in 16th in the U23 men's race.
On the final day of IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Cheile Gradistei, Romania, the Norwegian women and Russian men bested the field in the junior relays, while the U.S. women placed 12th and Canadian men finished 14th.
It was a stretch to reach the podium, but the Canadian team of Teo Sanchez, Adam Runnalls, and Zachari Bolduc were in contention until late in the youth men's 3 x 7.5 k relay at World Championships, ultimately finishing fifth. The American men placed 15th. The Canadian women were 10th in the 3 x 6 k relay and the American women 16th.
Sean Doherty's just like any 20 year old, except that he has 10 biathlon world junior titles to his name and won the last race of his junior career in Romania on Sunday. "I get nervous just like any other human,” he explained. “There’s a lot of pressure for these races I just did, and I’m really happy with how I performed with it all, but it’s something that’s not that easy to deal with.”
Sean Doherty locked up silver in Saturday's junior sprint to become the most decorated athlete ever at IBU Youth/Junior World Championships, and another American, Maddie Phaneuf landed her second-straight top seven of the week.
The Canadian biathletes are on a roll at IBU Youth World Championships with three athletes in the top 21 on Friday in the youth men's and women's sprints. Teo Sanchez led the team in 17th, Nadia Moser broke through in 19th, Adam Runnalls was 21st, and Megan Bankes 26th for Canada.
Two Canadian men, Teo Sanchez and Adam Runnalls, and one woman, Megan Bankes, notched career-best top 20's on the first day of IBU Youth World Championships in Cheile Gradistei, Romania.