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Scott Perras

American Men Unable to Capitalize on Sprint Success, Burke Leads with 16th in Nove Mesto Pursuit

With the U.S. men’s team notching their best day ever in Saturday’s sprint, hopes were high that the team could place athletes in the top ten or even the top five in today’s pursuit. But although the Americans were frequently close, they couldn’t pull it off. After starting with bib 6, Russell Currier missed a shot in the first prone stage which dropped him to 12th; and while Tim Burke, starting with bib 11, was...

Even After Losing Photo Finish to Italy, U.S. Notches Best-Ever World Champs Relay Finish

Was U.S. biathlon head coach Per Nilsson enthusiastic about his team’s relay finish at World Championships on today? “BEST EVER!” he wrote in an e-mail on Friday evening. “[It’s] fun to show that we have a team that can fight on the highest level in the world.” While the entire team had a strong performance in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, on Friday – leadoff skier Lowell Bailey tagged off in fifth place – Leif Nordgren was again...

Where the Heck is Khanty-Mansiysk?

The world’s best skiers are getting the experience of a lifetime in Oslo, competing in skiing’s ancestral homeland and getting cheered by a hundred thousand fans. The world’s best biathletes? They’re having a cultural experience too – in Siberia. World Championships are currently being held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, a town of 70,000 inhabitants situated almost 2,000 miles east of St. Petersburg. The International Biathlon Union charters flights from Oslo and Munich to transport athletes and...

Mixed Results for N. American Men in Fort Kent; Perras Hits Career Best

Fort Kent is only 50 miles from Presque Isle, but competitors in the biathlon World Cups were greeted with an entirely different environment when the circuit picked up and moved northward on Monday. Swirling winds and grinding courses were the challenges in Presque Isle; frigid temperatures and one massive hill welcomed athletes in Fort Kent. On the Canadian and American teams, members hail from locations across the entire continent—from Lake Placid and Quebec to Alberta...

Rupholding Courses, New for 2012 World Champs, Get Rave Reviews

When the small town of Ruhpolding, Germany, bid to host biathlon’s 2012 World Championships, they knew they had their work cut out for them. “Preparations for the World Champs 2012 start now,” said Mayor Claus Pichler in August 2008 when Ruhpolding won the bid. “I got plenty of feedback from the delegates at the IBU Congress.” And they have been busy ever since, completely renovating and reconfiguring the area’s stadium as well as giving the...

Two Canadian Biathletes in Top-20 in World Cup Sprint – Updated

Oberhof, Germany, has been kind to the Canadian biathlon team so far this year. After the men finished 11th in the relay on Wednesday, they had a banner day on Friday with finishes of 14th, 16th, and 34th from Brendan Green, Jean-Phillipe Leguellec, and Scott Perras. With a mass start competition coming up on Sunday, the team is feeling good. “With Brendan’s 14th place, we both managed to squeeze in the mass start race this...

In the World Cup sprints in Pokljuka, Slovenia on Saturday, two athletes took their first wins of the season. But while they hadn’t been atop the podium in Ostersund, Sweden, or in Hochfilzen, Austria, their strong performances weren’t entirely surprising: both Bjorn Ferry (SWE) and Magdalena Neuner (GER) were gold medalists at the Vancouver Olympics last year. Canadians led the North American contingent in both the men’s and women’s races. Men When FasterSkier

For the first time this season, someone who wasn’t Norwegian stood atop the men’s World Cup biathlon podium. After six straight races of Norwegian dominance, the spell was broken in Pokljuka, Slovenia on Thursday. The top Norwegian finisher, Tarjei Boe, didn’t even make the top ten. But Norway’s loss was Austria’s gain, as Daniel Mesotitsch picked up his third career World Cup victory, by almost a minute over Benjamin Weger of Switzerland. Sergui Sednev of...

With only a 1.2 k race loop and no penalty loop, the United States Biathlon Association (USBA) faced some major challenges in Canmore, Alberta, on the first day of senior trials racing on Tuesday. The stakes were high: top finishers from the race series will be able to join Sara Studebaker, Tim Burke, Jeremy Teela, and Leif Nordgren at early-season World Cups in Europe. But the race organizers got creative and and ultimately pulled off a...

Burke Stays Hot in Slovenia, 14th in World Cup Biathlon 20km

Pokljuka, Slovenia – Tim Burke (USA) continues to be a force on the World Cup Biathlon circuit, turning in his 5th consecutive top-20 finish. Burke skied very well, posting the 3rd fastest ski time of the day, but he was kept off the podium by his shooting.  In the 20km individual, biathletes do not ski a penalty loop for misses, but are instead assessed a one minute penalty.  Only one skier ahead of Burke had...