Conditions for the first race of Swedish Biathlon National Championships weren’t exactly wonderful in Solefteå, Sweden on Friday. “The weather has been really bad with warm temps and wind,” U.S. National Team Head Coach Per Nilsson told FasterSkier. “It was on the edge to hold the races… today was deep slush, gusty wind and challenging conditions for everybody.” It showed: in the senior division, Helena Ekholm and Carl Johan Bergman took the sprint titles with...
In the first four days of racing in Kontiolahti, Finland, American hopes for its biathletes just hadn’t panned out. In race after race at the World Youth and Junior Championships, the U.S. racers were held back by one thing after another. They notched a few finishes in the high 20’s and 30’s – and mostly placed far lower on the results sheet. On Friday, two Americans broke out of the slump and raced into the...
On Wednesday, Kontiolahti, Finland, became a venue that was hospitable for biathlon for the first time in perhaps several weeks. After the bitter cold of the World Cup races two weeks ago, a general lack of sunlight, and a persistent wind that has dogged even the best shots at World Youth and Junior Championships this week, today’s balmy sunshine was a welcome reprieve. “Today was an amazing bluebird day and there was almost no wind,”...
The U.S. team at biathlon World Youth and Junior Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, is hoping that things will heat up in the next few days – both literally and figuratively. “It has been pretty cold all week but it warmed up today,” American racer Anna Kubek told FasterSkier. At World Cup races one last weekend, the Finnish venue flirted with legal temperatures and athletes swaddled themselves in layer upon layer of clothes, as well as...
SEEFELD IN TIROL, Austria In his address to the competitors and spectators who packed the bleachers of the Bergisel stadium during the Opening Ceremonies of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, IOC President Jacques Rogge emphasized the importance of the Games with respect to the core Olympic values. “You have a chance to be true champions, not only by winning medals, but by conducting yourself like Olympians,” Rogge told the 1,078 Youth Olympians...
(Note: This is the first in a series of interviews with athletes who will be competing at the first-ever winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria this winter.) The North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships, held in Jericho, Vermont last month, were the last in a series of qualifying races for U.S. athletes hoping to compete at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in January. While YOG as a whole includes athletes ranging from 14 to 19...