The classic races of World Championships took place in Val di Fiemme: interval start, relay, marathon. Biathletes competed in Oslo, Americans held their own in Slavic Cup action, and Swedes (and everyone else) gave it their all in the Vasaloppet. Summaries of the action, along with links to reporting and results.
Martin Fourcade seemed to have everything under control, Tim Burke seemed to be out of the picture after two penalties - how much can change in the final lap of a biathlon race. Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic held off Fourcade in the 15 k mass start to earn his first win, while an audacious charge past several top racers left Burke just off the podium.
With Tarjei Bø, who edged Martin Fourcade by 0.1 seconds in the sprint, still lacking fitness after a late start to the season, Fourcade skied away with the win in Oslo today. But he couldn't have been more happy than the third-place finisher: this year's double gold medalist at World Junior Championships, Alexandr Loginov moved up from fifth in the sprint after earning his first World Cup starts.
Norway's young gun Tarjei Bø redeemed a challenging season with perfect shooting and a World Championship gold in Sunday's mass start. Lowell Bailey shot clean through three stages but missed the podium with two final penalties. Tim Burke crashed early and was knocked out of contention.
The Canadian men's relay team placed 8th in the 4x7.5k relay, the best mark ever at a championship event. The U.S placed 12th.
Tim Burke ended America's 26-year medal draught at World Championships on Thursday by claiming a silver medal in the 20 k individual. "I was crying in the woods," said his coach Per Nilsson. It was both a historic day for U.S. Biathlon and a momentous personal triumph for Burke in a season of up and down results.
Tim Burke’s silver medal-winning performance for the U.S. Biathlon team gave the Americans a big reason to celebrate on Thursday, but the team’s performance as a whole was worth noting, too. Three members finished in the top 30 — after Burke, Leif Nordgren took 22nd with two penalties and Lowell Bailey was 29th with three errors.
Nine American and Canadian athletes competed in the 10/12.5 k pursuits at IBU World Championships on Sunday. Here are some photos of the action.
Starting in the mid-30's, Lowell Bailey and Jean Philippe Le Guellec didn't let disappointing sprint results keep them down. Bailey cleaned a four-stage race for the first time in his career, placing 13th; Le Guellec had just one missed target to end up 15th.
Across both the men's and the women's teams, six of the eight Americans qualified for the 60-person pursuits on Sunday. Tim Burke was the lone man to make the top 30, while Annelies Cook led the women's squad in 45th. All six are ready to improve in the pursuit.
US Biathlon's International Competition Committee has named four men and four women to the 2013 World Championship team. World Championships will be held in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, starting February 7th.
Tim Burke skied the third-fastest course time in the 12.5 k pursuit in Antholz, Italy, today, and placed 14th to lead the U.S.; Lowell Bailey was close behind in 16th. Comments from Burke and USBA High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler, plus Sara Studebaker (39th place) explains why the Antholz range is tough and JP Le Guellec (38th) checks in before World Championships.
After romping to a win in the sprint on Saturday, Martin Fourcade of France had to work far harder on Sunday, draining his reserves to outsprint Dmitry Malyshko at the end of the 15 k mass start. Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway staged an impressive comeback from two penalties to take third; Tim Burke was 17th in his first race back from illness.
In the men's 4 x 7.5 k relay in Ruhpolding Martin Fourcade anchored France to a 9-second victory over Norway, redeeming themselves of their last memory of the venue. Lowell Bailey and Leif Nordgren put the U.S. in second at the halfway mark, but the Americans ended up 14th.
A strong team effort, where each racer skied among the fastest times of the day withstood the pressure of the notoriously loud and crazy Oberhof fans, gave the U.S. their best relay result in the era of modern biathlon.
Friday's World Cup relay turned into a barnburner in Oberhof, with Emil Hegle Svendsen desperately trying to make up nine seconds on Dmitri Malyshko in the final 2.5 kilometer on the newly-salted tracks. The Russian held strong, though, and gave his team the victory.
50,000 fans in a soccer stadium. Bulletproof glass protecting them from a shooting range. 20 of the world's best biathletes. Magdalena Neuner suspended on a trapeze. This is what you'll find at the World Team Challenge, a which happened in Germany today. Susan Dunklee shared her experience after placing tenth with Tim Burke.
Tim Burke (USA) has not only recovered from his compartment syndrome scare two winters ago, but he has also finally regained his confidence after having surgery. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) won the mass start, but Burke was on the podium for the first time since 2010.
On Thursday in Pokljuka, Slovenia, Burke turned in a season best fourth-place finish in the 10 k sprint even though he never reached his top speed. Lowell Bailey finished 36th on a broken toe.
Jakov Fak (SLO) earned his first regular-season victory last weekend in Hochfilzen, Austria, and on Thursday in Pokljuka, Slovenia, he built off that success in front of a home crowd. His slim 0.8-second win in the 10 k sprint over Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen was the first World Cup victory Slovenia has ever seen on home soil.