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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Anastasia Kuzmina

  • Crawford Fourth in Ruhpolding Mass Start; Burke 21st

    Crawford Fourth in Ruhpolding Mass Start; Burke 21st

    Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford (26) waves to some 20,000 spectators in the stands during the flower ceremony of the women’s 12.5 k mass start at the 2018 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, after finishing in fourth place. (Screenshot: ZDF broadcast)

    Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Rosanna Crawford.

    For a few minutes, it looked like Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford could clutch her second podium in her second-straight individual race in Ruhpolding, Germany, in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start on Sunday. Maybe it could even be the first World Cup victory of her career.

    After cleaning also the 20th of 20 targets — as the only competitor to achieve that on Sunday in the elite mass start field of just 30 athletes — Crawford headed out on the final loop 16 seconds ahead of Czech Republic’s Veronika Vitkova, with Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen and Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier a few additional seconds behind, all of them former World Cup winners and world champions.

    “I was really surprised to leave the range in 1st, these are the 30 best women in the world,” Crawford wrote in an email.

    On the prior loop, Crawford had lost just about ten seconds to those three and Darya Domracheva of Belarus, before passing them on the range with her flawless shooting. Mäkäräinen and Dahlmeier each incurred a penalty, having to ski 150 extra meters before they could return to the course to chase after her, while Vitkova had also remained clean in that stage.

    But would the Canadian’s lead be large enough to reach the finish first, keeping some of the strongest skiers of the field at bay?

    Anxiously looking behind several times, Crawford was overtaken by Dahlmeier and Mäkäräinen, but kept Vitkova behind her to stay in podium contention. Yet her lead was dwindling.

    Kaisa Makarainen of Finland celebrates winning the women’s 12.5 k mass start in Ruhpolding, Germany, as Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (r) takes second, Veronica Vitkova of the Czech Republic (far left) races to third, and Canada’s Rosanna Crawford (c) fourth. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    Out of the final downhill in a meandering section of turns, Mäkäräinen moved in front of Dahlmeier and held that ski-length lead into the finish. She crossed the line in a time of 34:05.6 minutes (with two penalties), with Dahlmeier just 0.8 seconds behind (also with two penalties) before collapsing to catch her breath.

    Cheered on from the side of the track by coaches and teammates, Crawford remained in front right until the little tree branches marking the finishing lanes, but Vitkova was already on her tails.

    “I really thought if I made it to the stadium in front of Vitkova I’d be able to hold her off, but she had the slip stream and I my legs just felt like concrete,” Crawford wrote.

    Choosing the lane to her right, Vitkova pushed hard and managed to outsprint Crawford to the line for third (+4.6, with two penalties) while Crawford finished 0.6 seconds back in fourth (+5.2, with no penalties). For Crawford, the result was her career best in a mass start, and she received many congratulations from her peers and the ovations from thousands of spectators during the flower ceremony following the race.

    “I would have love to hold onto a podium but was pretty dead on my last loop,” she continued, adding that she had woken up to a sore throat and congestion on Saturday, which persisted on Sunday. “In hindsight it was a mistake to be looking over my shoulder to see how close they were, I really should have just kept pushing, but this being a position I’ve never been in before I was pretty overwhelmed! Next time I will just keep fighting till I cross that red line in the snow! But having the two of the strongest women chasing me down was a bit scary! Kaisa is so fast and Laura I’m sure wanted to give the fans what they came for, a German podium!

    “I was pretty disappointed when I crossed the line in 4th, but as time went by I got more and more happy,” she added. “To have hit another 20/20 is fantastic, especially in the high pressure situation of a Mass Start. With that race I went 50/50 in Ruhpolding!”

     

    Germany’s Denise Herrmann followed in fifth (+16.7), almost making up for a penalty lap in each of the four stages by also skiing the fastest course time on each loop. Domracheva finished sixth (+23.7) after she had missed two more targets in the final standing stage (0+0+1+2).

    For Vitkova it was the second podium of the season, after another third place in the sprint in Oberhof, Germany.

    “I knew that Kaisa and Laura are behind me,“ Vitkova said of the exciting last loop in the post-race press conference. “My feeling on the skis was very good, and I believed that I can catch Rosanna. … It was very nice, now we have Olympic season and my results are better and better, so I am very happy.”

    For Mäkäräinen, it was her first victory of the season and 22nd overall in her career. She also moved into the lead in the overall World Cup Total Score, 19 points ahead of Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina in second.

    “I appreciate silver and bronze a lot, too, since all podium places mean you had a good race, but victory is victory,” Mäkäräinen said in the press conference. “We were skiing quite fast all the last loop, I was on my limit all the time. … Happy that it ended this way.”

    Dahlmeier, coming off a cold that forced her to forego the previous week of races in Oberhof, Germany, was satisfied with her result as well, despite narrowly missing out on another victory in front of her fans after anchoring her relay team to a win on Saturday.

    “It was a lot of fun today, a really great race that had everything, suspense at the shooting range, a fight on the loop … and incredibly exciting with that finish sprint,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ZDF after the flower ceremony, according to a translation. “For me this was the perfect race to close out the week in Ruhpolding.”

    “It was like Kaisa said, a really fast loop for us,” Dahlmeier later explained in the press conference. “We had really good equipment today, so for me it was a little bit easier on the downhill parts. We [caught] Rosanna Crawford, and I was in front on the last hill up the [shooting range climb]. Then we had the final sprint, and Kaisa was a little bit faster than me today. But I am very happy about this second place, and I think it is a really good sign that I am in good shape.”

    As Crawford had told FasterSkier following her podium in the individual race, she considers Ruhpolding a “special place”, after she raced her first Junior World Championships there in 2008, her first World Cup in there in 2010, and on Thursday, her first World Cup podium (when she was third in the 15 k individual). She has followed that up with another one of her best results of her career.

    “The crowd was amazing in Ruhpolding this whole week! I loved having my first podium at one of the most popular World Cup venues,” she wrote. “We had incredible skis all week and our techs worked so hard, a big shout out to them! I think none of them have voices this morning from cheering so hard in yesterday’s race!!”

    And regardless of whether or not Crawford reached the podium on Sunday, multiple-time World Champion Dahlmeier pointed out, “There is no big difference even between a place in the 40s or a victory,” she said of the ups and downs of her weekend and the sport in general during the press conference. “With the shooting, you can have one or two [misses] more and you are somewhere out of the best 30. Then the next day you can win a race or be on the podium … That’s the difference between cross-country and biathlon, and that’s why we love it.”

    J.T. Bø Wins Men’s Mass Start Ahead of Fourcade; Burke 21st

    US Biathlon’s Tim Burke racing to 21st in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start at the 2018 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: US Biathlon/NordicFocus)

    Earlier on Sunday, US Biathlon’s Tim Burke successfully cleaned the first two stages in the men’s 15 k mass start to stay in contention for a top position. He left the range in 11th position and just 8 seconds behind the pace set by World Cup leader Martin Fourcade of France in first and his Norwegian rival Johannes Thingnes Bø in second.

    “The atmosphere was great out on the course today with 25,000 fans,” Burke wrote in and email to FasterSkier. “No matter how many times I have done this, racing in that environment is always exciting.”

    Then Burke missed the last shot in his first standing bout and had to ski a penalty lap. He came back on the course in 13th, just ahead of Fourcade who had incurred two penalties in that stage. Then Burke skied the fifth-fastest course time on the next loop, trying to again close a gap to the group ahead.

    “I felt decent throughout the race but am definitely looking forward to racing on some different courses that better suit my strengths,” Burke wrote. “Ruhpolding is filled with short, steep climbs that are almost always followed by some type of recovery. Because of that, it ends up being an endless cycle of sprint then recover, which is definitely not my forte.”

    After he missed two more targets in the final standing stage, Burke lost 10 positions and another 50 seconds to the leaders, leaving the range in 23rd. On the final loop he made up two places, passing Norway’s Lars Helge Birkeland and Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev, to finish 21st (+1:30.2, with three penalties).

    “Overall, I am happy with where I am at right now,” wrote Burke, who placed fourth in a 10 k sprint at the previous World Cup in Oberhof. “I just have to work on a few small details and then a top result should be possible.”

    Ahead of Burke, the mass start was decided when Johannes Bø extended his lead on the fourth loop before the final shooting to almost 20 seconds, then returned to the course in first place despite a penalty in the last standing.

    On the last loop he defended his lead ahead of three French athletes with Antonin Guigonnnat, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Fourcade chasing after him. Though Bø skied the second-fastest course time overall, he lost 14 seconds to Fourcade on the last loop and crossed the finish line 4.5 seconds ahead of Fourcade in 37:11.2 minutes (with one penalty).

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø (2) racing to a win in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start at the 2018 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, with France’s Martin Fourcade behind him. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    At the press conference, Bø acknowledged that he was worried Fourcade would catch him.

    “I was thinking about it when I saw him out on the tracks there, but I tried to just stay in my own lane for the tracks, and it was very good practice to stay on the lead on the last lap,” Bø said. “It’s very tough, mentally, and you just have to think forward and not so much about the people behind.

    “When you fight for the win, you don’t want to be weak, you know?” Bø added when asked what gave him strength on that last loop. “So it’s just to be happy with the pain in the legs and ski as fast as you can.”

    Fourcade — who temporarily dropped to 15th following two misses in the third stage — could not quite catch Bø and settled for second (+4.5), with two penalties (0+0+2+0).

    “It was a really good fight at the front of the competition,” Fourcade said inatthe press conference. “I didn’t take enough time to be stable on my [first standing stage] and I missed two, but I think I could [have missed] three on that; it was a really bad one. … I knew that with two mistakes advantage, it would be really hard to come back on Johannes, and when I saw that he missed only one on the last shooting, I knew that it was already over for me.”

    So he focused on at least catching his teammates Guigonnat and Fillon Maillet on the final loop, who had left the range in second and third, respectively.

    “It was really special to fight with them because we know each other — our strong points and our weaknesses,” Fourcade said. “I knew that I had to be really faster than Antonin before the last finish [stretch], because he’s a really good sprinter.”

    Fourcade’s 26-year-old teammate Guigonnat, who had been called up to the French World Cup team for the last three races, finished third place (+8.4, with no penalty). It was the second World Cup podium of his career, following up on another third place in the sprint in Annecy, France, earlier this season.

    “I didn’t feel much pressure because I’m clearly an outsider, so nobody’s cheering for me, I think,” Guigonnat modestly said in the press conference. “And the other guys, they are fighting each other for maybe the yellow bib [of the World Cup leader] or things like this, and then I just do my job and that’s it.”

    Fillon Maillet finished fourth (+12.6, with one penalty), and Bø’s older brother Tarjei Bø placed fifth (+14.2, with one penalty) after he made up by five positions on the final loop.

    Burke learned Saturday that he could race the 30-man mass start, after being listed as the third alternate based on his current World Cup Total Score. After Sunday’s race, he’s up to 26th in the overall standings.

    “A few athletes in front of me were sick so they decided to sit out,” Burke explained in his email. “This is very normal for a mass start, you can usually count on 1 to 3 athletes sitting out. I ended up doing that earlier this season [for the World Cup in Annecy] when I sat out the Mass Start because of a cold.“

    Aside from Crawford and Burke, no other North Americans qualified for Sunday’s mass starts via the top-25 positions in the World Cup Total Scores, respectively the five best results of those outside those ranks in the individual race.

    The IBU World Cup continues in Antholz, Italy, with sprints on Thursday, Jan. 18 for the women and Friday, Jan. 19 for the men.

    “My fiancée will come down, so I’m looking forward to have her on her first World Cup outside Norway, so that will be fun,” Bø revealed when asked about Antholz at the press conference.

    “That’s good news for me, because he will be really tired for competitions,” Fourcade quipped, as both laughed.

    Fourcade continues to lead Bø in the Total Score standings, now just 44 points ahead with 666 points.

    Results: Women| Men

  • With ‘Biathlon Family’ Behind Her, Crawford Third in Ruhpolding 15 k

    With ‘Biathlon Family’ Behind Her, Crawford Third in Ruhpolding 15 k

    Rosanna Crawford celebrates with her Biathlon Canada teammates Emma Lunder (l) and Julia Ransom (r) after placing third for her first-career IBU World Cup podium on Thursday in the women’s 15 k individual in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    For a while it looked as if the podium in the women’s 15-kilometer individual at the Thursday’s IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, had been all but decided with only a few more athletes circling the course. But then the favorites who had already finished had someone to worry about.

    Along with some 13,000 spectators in the stands, they paid close attention to the video walls in the arena, as one late-starting Canadian — Rosanna Crawford — had just set the best split time after the third shooting by hitting every target for the third time in a row. She was even 1.8 seconds ahead of race leader Dorothea Wierer of Italy.

    “I actually didn’t know I was fighting for a podium until the fourth loop,” Crawford told FasterSkier on the phone after the race. That’s where Czech wax technician, Tom Zidek, a former Biathlon Canada wax tech, told her she was is in first place.

    Canada’s Rosanna Crawford (standing) celebrates her first IBU World Cup podium on Thursday after placing third in the women’s 15 k individual in Ruhpolding, Germany, while Sweden’s Emma Nilsson (who placed 36th) unclips. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    “I was like, Oh God!” she recalled with a laugh. “But I think that kind of helped as well because then I knew to expect the crowd for the last standing.”

    Could this be Crawford’s big day? Coming into the range for the final standing shooting, the 29-yaer-old Canmore native knew she likely would get a season-best result if she did not totally implode, but needed to shoot clean again to stay in podium contention and not get hit with the individual race’s merciless one-minute penalty per miss.

    “I made sure just to set up properly, and then I took an extra breath before my last shot and was pretty pumped to see it turn to white,” Crawford recalled of her last shooting stage. “I am a person who really likes cue words and I have a few sentences that I repeat over in my head. … I knew the only way I was going to hit the targets is if I only thought about the present moment.”

    After she had cleaned all five targets for the fourth time, bringing her shooting percentage to a perfect 20-for-20 (the first time she had ever done so in a race), Crawford skated off the shooting mat with a smile on her face. She left the range now 7.8 seconds behind Wierer’s time (after the Italian had also hit all 20 targets), but was still more than 20 seconds ahead of Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (who had incurred one penalty in her first prone shooting but shot clean after that) and Ukraine’s also clean-shooting Yuliia Dhzima.

    “Being one of the last competitors with bib 96 I had a lot of time to wait,” Crawford said at the IBU’s post-race press conference. “I knew all the eyes were on me probably for my last two shootings. That is something I have never experienced before, going from the third loop onwards where everyone was cheering for me around the loop. … It’s a feeling I have never had before to hit all 20, so I was really excited to ski out of the range.”

    With her team staff, including head coach Matthias Ahrens running next to the track cheering her on, Crawford chased around the loop up the steep “Wall of Ruhpolding” climb. Overall she skied the 26th-fastest course time of the day, and on the final loop in softening conditions, her loop time ranked 48th. But she still hung onto the podium.

    “The course had broken down a little bit, with a hundred-and-something starters, so by the time I went around I was really searching for the best line, which I think paid off as well,” Crawford said.

    The women’s 15 k individual podium at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, on Thursday, with Italy’s Dorothea Wierer (c) in first, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (l) in second, and Canada’s Rosanna Crawford (r) in third. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    Coming out of the downhill and onto the finishing stretch with the thousands of spectators cheering her on, Crawford fought the clock. She was out of reach of Wierer, but still within striking distance of Mäkäräinen in second. At the finish, Crawford was third, 21.2 seconds behind Wierer and 8.5 seconds behind Mäkäräinen in second place (+12.7). The Canadian was comfortably ahead of Dhzima in fourth (+45.9), while another clean-shooting Ukrainian, Valj Semerenko, placed fifth (+52.6).

    “I am so excited today, it was really special, my first time hitting 20-for-20 as well,” Crawford said at the press conference. “I really love Ruhpolding! It was my first World Juniors, my first World Cup, and my first podium, so it’s a very special place for me.”

    As Crawford skied into the finish she looked up to the nearest video monitor to check if she indeed had managed to hold her position on the podium for the first time. But she didn’t have to wait long for confirmation as her teammates and coaches already rushed out into the finish to hug and congratulate her.

    “Julia [Ransom], Emma [Lunder] and Sarah [Beaudry], they kind of pushed past the IBU guys, which I don’t think they were allowed to do, but Canada’s not on the podium every day so they let them sneak by to give me a hug so that was really special,” Crawford told FasterSkier. “I’ve been with these girls the past couple years now and so to be able to celebrate with them is amazing. Their results have been so inspiring for me … [My coach Roddy Ward] also jumped the fence, which I don’t think was allowed, so that was nice to be able to see him as well.

    Biathlon Canada celebrates Rosanna Crawford’s podium on Thursday in the IBU World Cup 15 k individual in Ruhpolding, Germany, with (from left to right) coach Roddy Ward, Crawford, Emma Lunder, Julia Ransom, and Sarah Beaudry. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    “It’s just such a team effort to get to the podium,” she continued. “I’m the one out there skiing and shooting, but I couldn’t have done it without the amazing skis on my feet or my coaches behind the scope, so Matthias and Roddy were really important there, and I couldn’t have done it without the girls who I train with all summer. I’m just so grateful for this team that I’m on.”

    “So proud!!!” her longtime boyfriend and teammate Brendan Green wrote on Instagram with a screenshot of Crawford finishing.

    “Brendan is amazing,” Crawford said. “I’m sure he was pretty nervous. He was the first text messages and tweets and Instagrams that I had on my phone. Right now I’m having dinner with him and then we’ll go to the awards ceremony tonight. It’s really special.”

    “It’s incredible for me, not something that I was really expecting this season,” she told German broadcaster ZDF in an interview immediately after the race. “I didn’t have the best summer of training so to be on the podium is really special for me.”

    That was an understatement. Last spring, Crawford and her family dealt with a severe personal tragedy with the loss of her brother Jordan.

    “It was such a hard summer for me, losing my brother in April,” she told FasterSkier. “I really wish he was here today so I could celebrate with him, too. I miss him a lot. Jordan was a huge cheerleader for me. He always believed in me. Whenever I was home, he was always cooking me food and helping me take care of the dogs, and he was always so concerned that he was causing me stress. … Jordan loved the outdoors so whenever I was out in a valley or skiing or mountain biking, he was always in my thoughts, and wishing I could share these things with him. It was really hard on the whole family, but it brought us closer together as well in some ways, to support each other.”

    Asked if she had caught up with her family members yet, including her sister Chandra Crawford, a 2006 Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing, she said she had spoken to all of them.

    “Training was always a little bit on the back burner for the first couple months while we were all grieving and then once finally the motivation came around again to start training, it felt right and proper,” she said of her offseason and transition to another race season. “But then again, the results just were not paying off through the first trimester [of the World Cup] and I didn’t know what I was doing wrong and I was really starting to lose hope.”

    Crawford’s previous best non-relay result this season was 39th in the 10 k pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria. And her last time in the top 10 outside a relay race was back in December 2014, where she placed fourth in a sprint and seventh in a pursuit in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

    Coincidentally, Germany’s ZDF network featured the Canadian women’s team in a preview to the individual race, filming them and coach Ahrens while they attended a one-hour cooking class in Ruhpolding. But they certainly had not intended it as a segment on a likely podium finisher for the very next race.

    “Yes, of course the Bavarian food fueled me around the course,” Crawford said with a laugh when ZDF asked about that.

    “Just thank you so much to the fans. There is no way I would have been able to ski around that last loop without them,” she added.

    “This really describes the biathlon family,” Crawford later explained in the press conference. “That it doesn’t matter which country you are from, people will be cheering for you. And not only the fans but also the techs. Jarko, Kaisa’s head wax tech, who used to wax for Canada, he was giving me splits off of Kaisa telling me, ‘You are ahead of Kaisa, go get her!’ So they might have to have a serious conversation tonight! It was really incredible.”

    Rosanna Crawford (Biathlon Canada) finishing third in the IBU World Cup women’s 15 k individual in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    In her interview with FasterSkier, Crawford also spoke of a Ukrainian coach who cheered her on for the final loop. “I think this really describes what the biathlon family actually is,” she said. “It’s not the IBU. It’s the coaches and the athletes and the wax techs and the fans, that is actually the biathlon family.”

    Despite all the support she had felt throughout the year, Crawford had a season she was not satisfied with so far, with two 39th places as her best results (excluding relays). Going into this race, she ranked 79th in the overall World Cup standings. Last weekend, instead of starting at the World Cup in Oberhof, Germany, she raced two sprints on the IBU Cup in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia, where she placed 15th and 22nd. More so than a demotion, that was a move Biathlon Canada made to give other women on the team a chance to qualify for the upcoming Olympics.

    “This season has definitively not started out very good for me, and then getting sent to the IBU Cup was really frustrating,” Crawford said on the phone. “But I did really like the course in Osrblie, and it was the best skiing I’d felt all year so I really tried to carry that momentum into today’s race. … I think staying in Europe over Christmas was incredibly beneficial for us.”

    Crawford’s previous career bests in non-relay races have come in sprints, with her fourth place in Pokljuka and a fifth place in Hochfilzen, both during the 2014/2015 season. She’s been on the podium before, placing second with teammate Nathan Smith in the single mixed relay in Östersund, Sweden, to open the 2015/2016 season.

    “There’s just so many lessons you learn over the years, and trying to bring it all together and to have it pay off on one day is exactly what we’re all hunting for out there,” Crawford concluded.

    Fourth Career Victory for Wierer

    Italy’s Wierer, who frequently performs very well in this competition format and also won the individual in Ruhpolding in 2016 (Crawford placed 18th back then as the best North American) set the best time on Thursday, crossing the line after 41:29.0 minutes.

    “I am really happy about this,” Wierer said at the press conference. “I knew that it’s all about the shooting. In the last individual competition I shot really bad, but the last weeks I feel really confident about my shooting. I think the track was really good, and hard conditions are much better for my skiing. The shooting range wasn’t difficult today, there was nearly no wind.”

    Asked about having to wait if her time would ultimately be good enough for first place, she added with a laugh: “I was looking [at] Rosanna, and I was afraid of her. But finally I saw that she was some seconds behind me. I wasn’t sure because on the last round I lost a lot, I was really tired, but at the end she didn’t get me!”

    On her 35th birthday, Mäkäräinen finished second (+12.7). She was the only finisher in the top five with a penalty, incurred during her first prone shooting.

    “It’s a good present,” she said at the press conference when asked about her second place. “I have actually managed to do many good races on my birthday, so this is nice. … 19 out of 20 is really good for me, probably my best shooting this winter, so I am really happy about that and not thinking too much about that one penalty.”

    “It’s an amazing place,” she added when asked about her tendency to do well in Ruhpolding. “I like it a lot here because the crowd is really close to us, and there were a lot of people from Finland here, also my parents and their friends. So it was a nice atmosphere today.”

    She added that she did not intend to extensively celebrate her birthday with her family.

    “I will celebrate by having a massage and good dinner,” Mäkäräinen said. “Just basic things, the athlete’s life goes on, we have more races to come.”

    Dunklee 27th, Ransom 34th

    For US Biathlon, Susan Dunklee finished 27th with three penalties (1+1+1+0), staying ahead of a number of competitors who performed better on the range thanks to her 14th-ranked ski time.

    “Certainly the highlight for me today was watching Rosanna crush it,” Dunklee wrote in an email. “Her whole team, athletes and staff, were overjoyed. It’s inspiring to see and lends positive energy to all the North Americans going forward.”

    “This was the first race that felt normal for me and not an extreme high or low,” she wrote of her own race. “It’s a relief. The skiing felt great today and I have no doubts in it going forward. Shooting is finally rounding into form; 85% is a solid result. My goals going forward are to stay healthy and happy and I believe that’s what I need most to perform well in February.”

    US Biathlon’s Clare Egan in front of the stands in the finish of the women’s individual 15-kilometer race at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. Initially she was ranked 35th, and ultimately ended the race in 57th. (Screenshot: ZDF broadcast)

    Starting about in the middle of the field in bib 43, her teammate Clare Egan was initially 35th as she came into the finish, waving to the cheering crowd as she was shown on the video wall. As more athletes ended their races ahead of her, she ultimately finished 57th (+4:26.3) with three one-minute penalties (0+1+0+2).

    “Finally a race I can be proud of!” Egan commented in an Instagram post.

    “We will field our first women’s relay this weekend,” Dunklee wrote of their team, which will be joined by athletes who competed at the IBU Cup in Arber, Germany, on Thursday. “It has been a challenging season so far living and traveling with such a small crew, trying to stay upbeat and carry the team with a skeleton group.”

    Starting the race early in bib 5 and thus completing her race before Crawford’s had even begun, Biathlon Canada’s Julia Ransom placed 34th (+3:35.0) with two penalties (1+1+0+0). Sarah Beaudry finished 53rd (+4:18.6) with two penalties (0+1+1+0), and Emma Lunder was 67th (+5:21.7) with four penalties (1+0+2+1).

    After their own races had concluded, they could only wait for Crawford after learning about the great day she was having and excitedly ran out into the finish to greet her.

    “It’s really amazing for our country and for our sport,” Crawford said in the press conference. “Hopefully there will be a few more eyes on biathlon during the Olympics. The last person to get a podium was Zina Kocher in the individual as well [a third place in Östersund during the 2006/2007 season]. So this is becoming a special race for Canada. Julia Ransom had a personal best with a ninth place in Östersund, so we seem to be individual specialists.”

    Skardino Earns Individual Discipline World Cup

    Since the IBU does not count the races at the upcoming Olympics for World Cup points and standings, this second individual race was also the last one on the competition calendar this season.

    Thus Nadezda Skardino of Belarus, who won the first individual race of the season in Östersund, managed to claim the “crystal globe” award in that discipline by finishing seventh in Ruhpolding on Thursday (+1:04.8, with no penalty). It was Skardino’s first World Cup discipline title.

    Despite finishing ahead of her in fourth on Thursday and another third place from the race in Östersund, Ukraine’s Dzhima could not make up enough points and placed second in the standings just five points back, while Mäkäräinen was third. Even without Crawford still finishing ahead of Skardino and Dhzima the outcome would have been the same.

    “It was my dream, and now I’m minus one dream in my life,” a smiling Skardino told the IBU. “I am very happy, because I thought about it after my win in Östersund. … And now I did it! Today I was not very fast on the tracks, I only thought about my clean shooting. I understood that I can win [the discipline title] if I shoot clean. I knew if some more people stay between Yuliia and me I could lose more points and still lose this, but after all people finished I was very happy I did it!”

    Crawford placed 12th in that ranking as the best North American, scoring 2 points for her 39th place in Östersund and 48 for the third place in Ruhpolding.

    The women’s World Cup Total Score leader Anastasia Kuzmina of Slovakia, coming off two victories last weekend in Oberhof, placed eighth on Thursday (+1:32.3, with three penalties) to retain her lead there.

    Races in Ruhpolding continue with a men’s relay on Friday and women’s relay on Saturday, before concluding with mass starts on Sunday. Crawford is now qualified for that race as one of the five best athletes this week not currently in the top 25 of the overall World Cup; she is now ranked 48th in the Total Score standings.

    — Alex Kochon contributed reporting

    Results

  • Notes and Quotes: French Biathlon World Cup Weekend

    Notes and Quotes: French Biathlon World Cup Weekend

    Martin Fourcade of France leads the IBU World Cup 15 k mass start in Le Grand-Borland, France, on Sunday. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    LE GRAND-BORNAND, France — After a long weekend of racing, beginning with heavy snow and continuing with glazed tracks, the biathlon World Cup is on break for two weeks to recalibrate and rejuvenate as the athletes prepare for the rest of the season and the 2018 Olympics in February.

    Here’s what some members of the field thought about the races this weekend – the bits of interviews and press conferences that didn’t make it into our race reports.

    On Pressure

    “This was tougher than some World Cups where we are less expected. But it’s also what we want, asking for a World Cup at home. We know that it’s not the same as when we are competing in Norway. It’s so much bigger in terms of emotions. I would do it again.”

    — Martin Fourcade (France)

    Susan Dunklee of U.S. Biathlon after the mass start, which moved her up to being ranked 30th on the World Cup after a disastrous first two weeks of racing had left her out of the points. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    On Annecy & Le Grand-Bornand

    “I like this place. Four years ago I was on the podium too in the pursuit behind Johannes. I was one year later on holiday here. I like this place, I like the people. It’s a really nice nature, mountain, valleys. I know that I got some Reblochon cheese, too.”

    — Erik Lesser (Germany)

    “It was very loud. I couldn’t hear what my coaches were saying on the side of the course at all. I knew they were there because I could see them out of the front of my eyes, but their voices just got lost in that big, massive noise. Getting this many people here, is absolutely incredible. It has grown so much since last time [in 2013]. It’s a lot of positive energy, and that counts for a lot.”

    — Susan Dunklee (USA)

    “I love it. It’s definitely a different race course with those steep little bumps. But I think it could be [more often] on the circuit.”

    — Julia Ransom (Canada)

    “There are amazing trails that go up the valley. I just went for a classic cruise yesterday just looking around everywhere in awe. The food… We are staying right in the downtown, and the food in our hotels is like cheese and dessert after every meal. I’m like ‘oh no I have to pass on that…’ And the fans, too, I couldn’t believe it. They are so loud, cheering for everyone. I was a little bit overwhelmed just with the sound during the race. I was like ‘okay, keep going’. I love this place.”

    — Emma Lunder (Canada)

    Anastasiya Kuzmin of Slovakia leading the women’s mass start. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “We had a really good atmosphere four years before. But now we really have so much snow in the mountains and in the village. That is why we all make biathlon – we love winter and we love the snow. I’m really happy to have such good conditions here.”

    — Laura Dahlmeier (Germany)

    “You can feel power from the mountains and the snow. What is more important is that there are many fans here… you feel the power from the people who are always supporting you. It’s like a big energy wave. On the track it helped me. Thank you so much.”

    — Anastasiya Kuzmina (Slovakia)

    “Every athlete has their World Cup which is their favorite and where they always do good races. And I think this is one of my top three venues on the World Cup. I really like it here.”

    — Johannes Thingnes Bø (Norway)

    “I want to point out that the organization and the popularity of biathlon grew a lot since 2013. I was really surprised to see so many people around the track cheering, not only local athletes but also international athletes. I could hear them saying my name. So I want to thank them for supporting us.”

    — Anton Shipulin (Russia)

    On Three Weeks of Racing, and Now a Break

    Emma Lunder of Canada competing in the mass start in Le Grand-Bornand, France. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “I think it’s great to finish with a nice race. Now I can enjoy the time at home, the time in France. And keep confident of the work which was done.”

    — Justine Braisaz (France) after winning the mass start

    “I think my shape is getting better and better and also on the shooting range. It’s important to make some good races, it’s good for your own feeling. It’s good for the Christmas holiday now.”

    — Laura Dahlmeier (Germany) after finishing third in the mass start

    “To have good races going into the Christmas break, that’s all I could ask for… Now we can feel like we did a good job, relax, and get some good training in.”

    — Emma Lunder (Canada), who had her best-ever World Cup result and qualified for her first mass start

    “Yeah, I definitely felt [the fatigue] today, but you kind of come to expect that after the first trimester. Now we have a good block of recovery time, and I’ll definitely be looking forward to a few days off.”

    — Lowell Bailey (USA)

    (l-r) Erik Lesser, Martin Fourcade, and Johannes Thingnes Bø after the mass start. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “It is always a fight there. Today [Erik] Lesser was there also and [Anton] Shipulin is coming back top-six too. They will be stronger after Christmas.”

    — Johannes Thingnes Bø (Norway), winner of the sprint and pursuit, after the mass start

    “I’ll be getting some good volume training in, I think. Kind of reset the body and get a bit of a training load.”

    — Scott Gow (Canada)

    “I felt pretty tired today, and then on top of it everyone is fast in the mass start… I was looking forward, looking forward to the finish line.”

    — Emma Lunder (Canada), after the mass start

    “Now I’m just [working on] my good shooting and staying concentrated on the shooting position. I think I need a little bit more time, a little bit more practice. But I’m happy that my ski times are still good.”

    — Anastasia Kuzmina (Slovakia)

    Mission Accomplished

    Scott and Christian Gow of Canada after the pursuit, where they both finished in the top 30. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “I was hoping to just lock up the Olympic qualification and get that off my back, which is really nice. And then really just put together a solid three sets of races. Last year I was sick, and I wasn’t even in Europe at this point. I was kind of just slogging my way back to good health. So I’ve had some good races here and it’s a good block to start the year… Last year taught me how to grind through something that isn’t the best hand of cards that you could have been dealt.”

    — Sean Doherty (USA), who was named to the U.S. Olympic Team after his performances this weekend

    “I’m really glad that we are finally part of the podium. Finally third, on the World Cup.”

    — Anton Shipulin (Russia), after finishing third in the pursuit and earning Russia’s first podium of the season

    Goals

    Laura Dahlmeier of Germany setting up to shoot in Thursday’s sprint. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “I’ve been trying to win the yellow bib every year since I came in the World Cup. But I’ve never had a chance. So we will see this year. But I know it’s a long way there. Now I’m just focusing on the race today, and the next race, and not about the whole season. I’m in good shape here and I try to do the best I can.”

    — Johannes Thingnes Bø (Norway), currently trailing Martin Fourcade by 20 points in the World Cup Total Score

    On Ski Speed

    “I’m definitely working my way back into it. I don’t feel 100% on skis. I felt good all the way up to the beginning of the season, and then got set back with some sickness. But I’m still confident with how we trained this summer, and the path towards PyeongChang, so just have to stick to the plan.”

    — Lowell Bailey (USA)

    “Honestly, my skiing, I’m not very satisfied with it at the moment. It’s coming back, step by step, and week by week it has improved, but I feel like there is a lot of room there and I don’t totally feel like myself yet. There’s still plenty of season left.”

    — Sean Doherty (USA)

  • Saturday Rundown: Annecy, Toblach, St. Ulrich, Rossland (Updated)

    Saturday Rundown: Annecy, Toblach, St. Ulrich, Rossland (Updated)

    The photo finish for first in the men’s skate sprint final on Saturday at the NorAm in Rossland, B.C., with Julien Locke (near) outstretching Evan Palmer-Charette for first, and Julian Smith (r) taking third third ahead of Bob Thompson (yellow NorAm leader’s bib). (Photo: CCC/Twitter)

    NorAm Mini Tour (Rossland, B.C.): Freestyle sprints

    On Day 2 of NorAm racing in Rossland, British Columbia, Julien Locke, of the Black Jack Ski Club and Canadian National U25 Team, won the men’s 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint final on his home trails by just one-hundredth of a second over Evan Palmer-Charrette, of the National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay, in 2:38.13. NTDC Thunder Bay had two on the podium with Julian Smith in third, 0.4 seconds behind Locke.

    Locke started the day by qualifying second, just 0.06 seconds behind Bob Thompson (NTDC Thunder Bay), who won the qualifier in 2:39.49. Locke went on to finish second to Thompson in the first quarterfinal, then won the second semifinal while Thompson won the first semi.

    In the final, Locke tallied his first NorAm win of the season, while Thompson, last weekend’s classic-sprint winner at Sovereign Lake, placed fourth (+0.43), missing the podium by three-hundredths of a second. Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic) finished fifth (+1.78) and Sebastien Boehmler-Dandurand (Canmore Nordic/Stefan Kuhn HP Team) sixth (+5.21) in the men’s final.

    Also on Saturday, American Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) racked up her second-straight win in Rossland (after topping Friday’s 5 k classic), winning the women’s 1.4 k skate-sprint final in 3:03.36. Canada’s Andrea Dupont (Rocky Mountain Racers) finished 2.5 seconds later for second place and Zina Kocher (Foothills Nordic) scored her first podium of the season in third (+3.53).

    Dupont won the women’s qualifier in 3:07.68, and Gregg qualified second, 0.87 seconds back. Dupont went on to win the first quarterfinal and first semifinal, while Gregg won her quarterfinal and semifinal as well. (Gregg’s quarterfinal had four racers, compared to five in Dupont’s quarterfinal, as only 21 women competed in the senior women’s heats.)

    Also in the final, Laura Leclair, of the Centre National d’Excellence Pierre Harvey/Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH), finished fourth (+6.11), Maya MacIsaac-Jones (U25 Team) was fifth (+6.31) and Sophie Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk) sixth (+8.57).

    Results: Heats | Qualifier

    ***

    OPA Cup (St. Ulrich, Austria): 5/15 k classic

    On the second day of Alpen Cup (a.k.a. OPA Cup) racing in St. Ulrich, Ida Sargent of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) finished third in the women’s 5 k classic behind two Russians, Elena Soboleva and Natalia Matveeva, respectively.

    Soboleva took the win in the individual-start race in 14:25.8, and Matveeva was 12.5 seconds back for second place. Just like Matveeva, Sargent reached the podium for the second-straight race in third (+18.1), after placing third in the freestyle sprint on Friday (Matveeva finished second in the sprint).

    Germany’s Antonia Fräbel finished fourth (+21.0) and American Sophie Caldwell (USST), who won the sprint the day before, placed fifth (+22.7). The other USST member in the race, Julia Kern finished 15th (+53.5).

    The men raced a 15 k classic, with France’s Alexis Jeannerod taking the win in 38:45.6. Germany’s Thomas Wick was 4.7 seconds back in second, and Russia’s Gleb Retivykh placed third (+11.3). The lone American man racing, Andy Newell (USST) finished 36th (+2:07.1) out of 125 finishers.

    The three-day OPA Cup weekend in St. Ulrich wraps up Sunday with 10/15 k freestyle mass starts.

    Results: Women| Men

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcxx2GhlDfv/?taken-by=juliakernski

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Annecy, France): Women’s and men’s pursuits

    Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after placing sixth and reaching the flower ceremony in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup on Saturday in Annecy, France. After starting 10th, sixth stands as a season-best for Dunklee. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    Women’s race report

    Men’s race report

    Germany’s Laura Dalhmeier captured her first win of the season, preventing Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina from her third-straight win, and American Susan Dunklee raced to a season-best sixth in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France.

    Canada’s Emma Lunder achieved a career-best 18th after starting 34th, and her teammate Julia Ransom placed 27th after starting 39th.

    In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit that followed, Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø started first, shot clean and fended off his competition to rack up his fourth-straight victory — winning by more than a minute.

    And for the second-straight race, France’s Martin Fourcade finished second, this time 1:01.4 minutes behind Bø, who crossed the line first in 32:52.1. Fourcade had to ski two penalty laps later in the race (0+0+1+1), while Russia’s Anton Shipulin, who started sixth and had a single miss (0+0+0+1), rose to third place (+1:10.5).

    American Lowell Bailey shot clean to race up to 14th (+2:13.9) after starting 35th. His US Biathlon teammate Tim Burke finished 26th (+3:03.1) with three penalties (1+0+1+1), after starting 10th.

    Canada’s Scott Gow finished a second later for 27th (+3:04.1) after starting 16th and skiing four penalty laps (1+0+1+2). His brother Christian Gow moved up one spot to 29th (+3:06.6) after starting 30th and shooting 19-for-20 (1+0+0+0).

    The U.S. had four men in the pursuit, with Sean Doherty placing 30th (+3:07.0) with three penalties after starting 17th.

    Leif Nordgren improved to 48th (+4:54.9), up from 56th, despite three misses.

    ***

    FIS Cross Country World Cup (Toblach, Italy): 10/15 k freestyle

    Women’s report

    Men’s report

    The men’s 15 k freestyle podium at the Toblach World Cup in Italy, with Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger (c) scoring his first World Cup victory in first place, last weekend’s winner Maurice Manificat (l) of France in second, and Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    In the men’s 15 k freestyle on Saturday in Toblach, 24-year-old Simen Hegstad Krüger achieved his first individual World Cup victory in 29:58.8 minutes, and was joined on the podium by France’s Maurice Manificat in second (+10.6) and Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave in third (+11.5).

    Canadian World Cup Team member Alex Harvey missed the podium by 2.5 seconds in fourth place (+14.0), tying his best result of the season after finishing Ruka Triple mini tour in fourth place late last month in Kuusamo, Finland.

    Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov followed in fifth, Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh was sixth and Hans Christer Holund seventh, Finland’s Matti Heikkinen eighth, Switzerland’s Toni Livers ninth, and notably, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo — who hasn’t lost a race all season (he sat out last weekend’s 15 k skate in Davos, Switzerland) — was 10th.

    Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) was the lone American in the points (top 30) in 29th (+1:09.6), Noah Hoffman finished 40th (+1:24.5), Scott Patterson (USST) was 42nd (+1:29.4), and Paddy Caldwell (USST) 53rd (+1:50.0)

    For Canada, Devon Kershaw (World Cup Team) placed 38th (+1:22.1), Graeme Killick (World Cup Team) was 49th (+1:47.8), Russell Kennedy (Team R.A.D.) 60th (+2:13.2), and Knute Johnsgaard (World Cup Team) 85th (+3:28.3).

    The women’s 10 k freestyle podium on Saturday at the World Cup in Toblach, Italy, with Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (c) in first, and Norway’s Ragnhild Haga (l) and Heidi Weng (r) in second and third, respectively. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    In the women’s 10 k freestyle individual start in Toblach, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla tallied her third win of the season in 22:40.1 minutes, ahead of five Norwegians and American Jessie Diggins.

    Norway’s Ragnhild Haga was 5.8 seconds shy of Kalla’s time for second place, and her teammate Heidi Weng was another 8 seconds back in third (+13.8).

    Norway occupied second through sixth place, with Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in fourth (+17.9), Marit Bjørgen in fifth (+22.6) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in sixth (+29.3). Diggins led the U.S. Ski Team (USST) in seventh (+40.5), with Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen close behind in eighth (+43.5) and the second U.S. woman in the top 10, Sadie Bjornsen, another 0.4 seconds back in ninth (+43.9).

    The USST had three in the top 20 with Rosie Brennan placing 19th (+1:15.2) for her second-straight top-20 result (following a 17th place in last weekend’s 10 k freestyle in Davos, Switzerland). Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University) finished 36th and Liz Stephen (USST) was 47th.

    Emily Nishikawa (Canadian World Cup Team) led her team in 51st, Cendrine Browne (Canadian U25 Team) followed in 55th, Dahria Beatty (World Cup Team) was 69th, and Katherine Stewart-Jones (U25 Team) 77th.

    Results: Women | Men

  • Dunklee Sixth in Annecy Pursuit; Dahlmeier Back to World Cup Winning; Lunder 18th

    Dunklee Sixth in Annecy Pursuit; Dahlmeier Back to World Cup Winning; Lunder 18th

    Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (c), Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina (l), and Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi on the podium after Dahlmeier won the women’s IBU World Cup pursuit in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France, on Saturday. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    LE GRAND-BORNAND, France – Well, that didn’t take long.

    After missing the first stop on the World Cup calendar due to illness and showing less than her usual ski speed in Hochfilzen last weekend, Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier picked up her first International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup win of the season in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday.

    The 24-year-old German, who was the overall IBU World Cup champion last season as well as three-time individual gold medalist at 2017 World Championships, took an opening early in the race when Anastasia Kuzmina of Slovakia, the winner of Thursday’s sprint, missed a surprising three shots in her first shooting bout.

    “It was not easy to concentrate on the first shooting for me,” Kuzmina said in a post-race press conference. “Maybe it was [too much] emotion.”

    Dahlmeier, the second woman onto the range after being the runner-up to Kuzmina in the sprint, hit all her targets. Then again, and again. She looked on pace to clean the entire competition, but missed the last shot of her final standing bout.

    “She made three mistakes on the first shooting and then the door was a little bit open for me,” Dahlmeier said of her rival. “Then I was in front the whole time. In my last shoot was my first mistake. Then I thought, OK, she will win the race.”

    Kuzmina had climbed back to second place, and also hit the first four targets of her final shooting bout. But then she took a long, long pause before the final shot – and missed it anyway.

    “I was in the penalty loop,” Dahlmeier said. “But then she didn’t come. I couldn’t see her. I heard the sound of the spectators. And she had also this mistake. I’m very happy to be in front now.”

    “I gave a chance to Laura,” Kuzmina said of her earlier misses. “And also she gave me a chance on the last shooting, but you see the result.”

    Susan Dunklee chasing France’s Anais Chevalier en route to sixth place in the women’s 10 k pursuit on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Annecy, France. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    Kuzmina held on for second place, finishing 14 seconds after Dahlmeier. Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi placed third (+31.8), up from fourth place in the sprint, after shooting one penalty. Selina Gasparin of Switzerland followed in fourth (+52.8), Denise Hermann of Germany was fifth (+55.2), and Susan Dunklee of the U.S. placed sixth (+1:12.1).

    Recalibration Brings Dunklee to Flower Ceremony

    Sometimes, you have to go slow to go fast.

    Dunklee had a tough start to her season, not breaking into the top 50 and missing both pursuits in the first two weekends of racing. On Thursday she broke the pattern when she placed tenth in the sprint.

    As she explained then, she tried slowing down her shooting and going back to basics after missing so many shots in the first competitions. It was a strategy that she continued to pursue in the pursuit.

    “This year I have been doing a lot of speed shooting, like over the summer,” Dunklee explained. “But I have really gone away from that in the last two weeks. I have been trying to go back to the basics, mostly with trigger squeeze. That was all I was thinking about on the range, just trigger squeeze. And not worrying about speed at all.”

    Dunklee missed one shot in her first prone stage, dropping from 10th to 17th place. She climbed back up before again missing a shot in the first standing stage.

    When she came into the range the final time, she was in 10th place, just where she had started. And she calmly – more slowly than some races in the past – hit all the targets, leaving the range in seventh place and passing Ukraine’s Valj Semerenko to earn sixth place and a spot at the flower ceremony.

    It was a big turnaround from such a disappointing start to the season, one where she said the term “shooting struggles” would be an “understatement.”

    “After Thursday, I was just feeling relief, to be honest,” she said. “It’s so huge to get a top ten and then get a flower ceremony today.”

    Besides improving her shooting, Dunklee had the 12th-fastest ski time of the day and the sixth-fastest closing loop.

    “This was one of the first real head to head ski situations I have had since the relay in Östersund,” Dunklee said. “And it is so much easier to ski with a pack and behind people. So much more relaxed. I had some very fast people around me — I think two loops with Maren [Hammerschmidt], and a couple loops with [France’s] Anais Chevalier. I also had a lot of energy left on the last loop, which I don’t normally have for the last loop, so that was good.”

    With that performance, Dunklee qualified for Sunday’s mass start, which will give her another crack at a course that she said was unusual among the other World Cup venues.

    “Different, very narrow,” she said of the French venue, which the World Cup last visited four years ago. “You have to be smart tactically. The hills are really short and steep.”

    Career-Best for Canada’s Lunder in 18th

    Emma Lunder of Canada has been on a tear this season, with a number of top results. Today she had a career-best day, missing just one shot to move from 34th in the sprint up to 18th in the pursuit (+2:06).

    Biathlon Canada’s Emma Lunder (l) and Julia Ransom (r) after finishing 18th and 27th in the women’s 10 k pursuit on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Annecy, France. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “We were talking about it yesterday — I just feel more solid in my position on the team,“ the 2017 World Championships team member said. “I think this year, honestly, I just feel a little bit more relaxed. Instead of thinking every day, ‘Oh you have to have a good race to stay on the circuit,’ I am just saying, ‘Just go doing what you know how to do,’ and it’s turning out well.”

    Not perfectly – but well. Like Dahlmeier and Kuzmina, Lunder missed the last shot of the competition. With clean shooting she would have made the top 15.

    “I tried to get focused on the range,“ she said. “And on that last shot I did everything trying not to collapse. The second I yanked the trigger I was like, ‘Oh my God, Roddy [Ward, her coach] is gonna kill me’. But I was so happy with the race.“

    Despite skiing into the top 20, a somewhat unfamiliar position, Lunder said she didn’t feel more pressure than usual. Instead, it was a bonus – she had better competitors around her.

    “There were just faster girls to ski with,“ she said. “I got passed by quite a few on the first loop, but I just tried to relax. After [the first shooting] I seemed to pick it up skiing and was able to stay with more people, so that was really fun, too.”

    With her for much of the race was teammate Julia Ransom, who had started in bib 39. Ransom accumulated two penalties, but still moved up to 27th (+2:29.8). She used the 17th-fastest course time of the day to maintain a position despite the shooting errors.

    “There was a few shots that I knew I was like, ‘Wing the prone and wing the standing,’ ” Ransom said. “But you know, overall, I’m very happy I kept it together. I could see Emma the entire time. We skied together on the first couple laps, and I was just thinking, ‘This is the dream’.”

    “Who would have thought when I was twelve and I first met Julia that we’d be skiing together in the front half of a World Cup pursuit?” Lunder said. “It was really special.”

    “Our skis were so amazing,” Lunder continued. “I was just cruising on the downhill passing people. I felt like I could keep up with so many more people just by gliding longer than they were.”

    Canada’s third woman qualified for the pursuit, Rosanna Crawford, did not start due to illness.

    Results

  • Dunklee Proves Her Resiliency, 10th in Annecy Sprint

    Dunklee Proves Her Resiliency, 10th in Annecy Sprint

    Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) hitting every target in the prone shooting stage of the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Annecy, France, on Thursday. She ended the day in 10th place with perfect 10-for-10 shooting. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    Susan Dunklee’s start to another International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season hadn’t played out as she’d hoped, specifically in terms of results. Coming off a banner winter, with a silver at 2017 World Championships (in the women’s mass start), Dunklee 31, had so far placed 53rd, 79th and 97th, respectively, in non-relay races over the last two weeks. She had yet to race a mass start, but also had yet to qualify for a pursuit in two World Cup sprints.

    So she went back to the drawing board, back to basics and to a “moose garden”.

    “My confidence took a big hit these past couple weeks and it was a real challenge was working through that,” Dunklee wrote in an email to FasterSkier on Thursday.

    “I tried to find some non-biathlon activities like visiting a ‘moose garden’ in Sweden and seeing the ‘Krampus’ in Austria,” she explained, referring to an Advent costume tradition, “to keep my mind fresh so I wouldn’t obsess 24/7 over disappointing results.  I also tried really hard to take a moment each evening to appreciate all the positive things that happened over the course of the day. And I kept telling myself that I am resilient.”

    After missing eight targets in last week’s snowstorm sprint in Hochfilzen, Austria, she sat down to brainstorm with US Biathlon consultant Matt Emmons, a 2004 Olympic champion in rifle shooting.

    “All summer I’ve been working on some fancier shooting skills, such as wind shading,” Dunklee explained. “Basically we decided I could benefit from focusing back on the absolute basics of shooting: sight alignment, trigger squeeze and follow [through]. That’s what I’ve been doing the last few days.”

    Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) out of the start of the IBU World Cup women’s 7.5 k sprint on Thursday in Annecy, France, where Dunklee placed 10th overall for her best result of the season. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    On Thursday, she started 60th out of 93 in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint in Annecy (Le Grand Bornand), France. In warm, slushy conditions with little wind, as Dunklee described it, she fired away for perfect 10-for-10 shooting to put herself in ninth at the finish.

    Dunklee was ultimately bumped one spot down to 10th overall, 1:16.8 minutes behind the winner, by Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who started in bib 86 and ended up second — 33.9 seconds behind Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina in first.

    Kuzmina, who notched her second-straight individual World Cup win with a time of 20:59.6, and  the rest of the top-four finishers — Dahlmeier, Ukraine’s Vita Semerenko in third (+41.4) and Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi in fourth (+50.0) — all shot clean, just like Dunklee. Semerenko’s twin sister Valj, who placed seventh (+1:06.8), was the other woman in the top 10 to hit every target.

    Dunklee spent all of the race in the top 10, ranking eighth after the first of three loops and seventh after the second loop.

    “All the difference today for me was made on the shooting range,” Dunklee wrote. “The skiing has been fine all season. I backed off approaching the range, and I took enough time to make sure I was taking good shots.”

    Her top 10 was her best result since placing seventh in a sprint last March in Oslo, Norway. By landing in the top 60, Dunklee qualified for the Annecy pursuit on Saturday, which will be her first of the season.

    “Today helped me put to rest some doubts I was starting to have in my abilities,” she wrote. “I am very grateful to qualify for the pursuit.  It will be a good opportunity for some head to head racing which I haven’t seen much of yet this year.”

    Kuzmina in Control

    Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina racing to a nearly 34-second win in the women’s IBU World Cup sprint on Thursday in Annecy, France. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    Starting in bib 23, Kuzmina rocketed to first place with the fastest course time and fourth-fastest shooting and range times, all while hitting every target.

    “It is always a great feeling to be a winner, especially when the race was pretty good from start to finish,” Kuzmina, a two-time defending Olympic sprint champion (from 2010 and 2014), told the IBU, according to a press release. “It was really important to shoot two times zero. The snow condition was not too comfortable for me; I really want to thank my service team for the skis. That was an important part of my victory.”

    The Russian-born Slovakian (whose brother is Russian biathlete Anton Shipulin) took the lead after the first shooting, leaving the range 6.3 seconds ahead of Germany’s Denise Herrmann, who started ahead of her in bib 16 and also cleaned prone. Herrmann had a penalty lap in the standing bout to slip to sixth and 45 seconds back, while Kuzmina cleaned again to start her final loop 35 seconds clear of Vittozzi, who was in second at the time wearing bib 13.

    Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier prepares to hit all five targets in the standing stage of the IBU World Cup women’s sprint on Thursday in Annecy, France. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    A much later starter in bib 86, Dahlmeier cleaned prone to move into third, 6.7 seconds off Kuzmina’s time. Her next time in the range, Dahlmeier shot clean again to improve to second, but she was still 25.8 seconds short of Kuzmina’s time with one loop to go. Kuzmina skied the second-fastest last loop (about two seconds slower than Switzerland’s Selina Gasparin) to lock up first, while Dahlmeier ended up nearly 34 seconds back in second place.

    “This was the first podium in an individual-start race of the new season for me and that makes me very very happy,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ZDF, according to a translation. “I am excited that it worked out today, it took a while until I now got back in shape. I am not at 100 percent yet, but today was a super race and I am just happy about that, it was a lot of fun to race today.”

    Thursday marked Dahlmeier’s fourth race of the season after she missed the World Cup opener in Östersund, Sweden, due to illness. In Hochfilzen, she anchored the women’s 4 x 6 relay to the win and placed 10th in the pursuit and 16th in the sprint.

    “It’s a bit of an unusual situation for me to have such a late bib in an individual race, but as an anchor in relays I am kind of used to that, passing the time by listening to music or something like that,” she said. “When I was at the start gate I was focused again and just tried to do my on race. It has its pros and cons, I just tried to make the best of it.”

    The women’s IBU World Cup sprint podium on Thursday in Annecy, France, with Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina (c) in first, Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (l) in second, and Vita Semerenko (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    For Vita Semerenko, it was her first podium since taking bronze in the sprint at the 2014 Olympics. She missed the two seasons that followed due to a back injury, and gave birth to her son just over a year ago.

    “I will never forget my first training after giving birth,” she told the IBU. “My coach said, ‘If we don’t give it a try, we will not find out what happens next.’ I said ‘OK’, but I had a lot of anxiety about coming back to biathlon, as I understood that coming back after three years would be tough. I am also thankful to my husband who told me every day after I had my child, ‘Vita, come on, come on, let’s make a comeback!’ ”

    Herrmann was the top finisher with a penalty (0+1) on Thursday in fifth place (+50.6), while Gasparin was just behind in sixth (+53.4) with one miss as well (1+0).

    “I am noticing that I am not feeling as fresh anymore as in Östersund, it was quite the number of races for me already,” Herrmann, who won both the sprint and pursuit in Östersund, told ZDF. “And I’d say deep snow conditions like today aren’t ideal for athletes over 60 kilograms. But nevertheless it was a good race, I really tried to hit every shot, and lost quite a few seconds with my shooting time. But I am back on track compared to last weekend, and hope I can continue my successes in the pursuit race.”

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit on Saturday, Kuzmina will start 34 seconds ahead of Dahlmeier in second, and Vita Semerenko will head out another 7 seconds later in third. Dunklee will start 1:17 back and just 4 seconds behind Valj Semerenko in seventh.

    Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada) racing to 34th in the IBU World Cup women’s 7.5 k sprint on Thursday in Annecy, France. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    Three Canadians qualified for the pursuit, with Emma Lunder leading them in 34th (+2:07.4) with one standing penalty (0+1). Julia Ransom followed in 39th (+2:13.9) with one prone miss (1+0) and Rosanna Crawford snuck into the top 60 in 60th (+2:39.1) with two penalties (1+1). They will start the pursuit 2:07, 2:14 and 2:39 back, respectively.

    Also for Biathlon Canada, Megan Bankes missed the cutoff in 65th (+2:51.5) with one penalty (1+0).

    For the U.S., Clare Egan finished 81st (+3:43.7) with three misses (1+2), and Emily Dreissigacker was 88th (+4:36.0) with three penalties as well (2+1).

    The Annecy IBU World Cup men’s 10 k sprint takes place Friday, starting at 8:15 a.m. EST.

    Results | Pursuit start list

  • Lunder Rises to 27th for Career-Best Pursuit; Kuzmina Nabs First Win in 3 1/2 Years

    Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada) racing last January at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

    Emma Lunder may be a relatively recent addition to Biathlon Canada’s World Cup team, but the 26-year-old Vancouver native has raced her share of International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cups.

    On Saturday, Lunder demonstrated both experience and composure, just as she had done the day before with close to zero visibility in the sprint, in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria. Despite having started more than two dozen World Cups since the 2013/2014 season, this was only her third pursuit.

    “I went into this race knowing that both snow and wind were expected, so I anticipated conditions similar to yesterday’s sprint,” Lunder, who had previously raced to 42nd in the sprint with 9-for-10 shooting, wrote in an email. She had started second of 102 racers in the sprint and had to clear her own path through new snow while trying to stay on course.

    On Saturday, she started 42nd, 2:04 minutes behind the sprint winner, Darya Domracheva of Belarus, and within 12 seconds of 32nd.

    “With all of the racers starting fairly close together, a nice little track formed right in the middle of the ski trail so I just tried to ski in that path as much as I could during the race,” Lunder explained.

    It was snowing as expected on Saturday afternoon, but not as heavily as the day before, and the wind was variable.

    On the first prone shooting stage, Lunder missed her first shot but hit the next four. She had to ski a penalty lap and left the range in 45th, 2:35 minutes behind Domracheva, who had cleaned to remain in first place.

    “On the range today I had some windy bouts and some calm bouts, so I took the information I had from yesterday about correcting and clicked accordingly,” Lunder recalled.

    After missing her first shot, which she attributed to being slightly hesitant with her setup, Lunder went on to hit the next 19 — cleaning the next three bouts. In doing so, she rose to 37th after a clean second prone, then 32nd after the first standing, then 25th after the last stage.

    “In standing I ended up on lanes near the start of the range (lanes 7 and 3) so it gave me a few extra seconds to recover from the climb into the range,” she wrote. “I focused on the same cues I’d been using yesterday and tried not to think too much, and that seemed to do the trick for me.”

    Lunder crossed the finish line in 27th, 2:31.6 behind Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina who also shot 19-for-20 after an early prone miss (1+0+0+0) to take the win in 34:41.2.

    It was Lunder’s best World Cup pursuit result and second-best result of her career after placing 21st in a 15 k individual race last season in Antholz, Italy.

    “I was getting splits throughout the race telling me what position I was in, but I just tried my best not to think about it too much, and keep skiing as fast as I could and shooting as well as I could!” she wrote. “Coming into the last standing I felt a little bit shaky, but once I was on the shooting mat I just went for it as if it was any other shooting bout, and I ended up with a good result. I’m really happy with my performance today. … to crack the top-30 in the second weekend of World Cup racing is definitely motivating for me!”

    Emma Lunder (r) with fellow Biathlon Canada national-team member Rosanna Crawford after the women’s modified sprint at Biathlon Canada’s team trials in November in Canmore, Alberta. Lunder placed second in that race to secure one of the last two spots on Canada’s IBU World Cup Team, while Crawford, who had been pre-selected for the team, placed sixth in that race. (Photo: Peter Collins/petercollinsphoto.com)

    The other Canadian in the race, Rosanna Crawford, finished 39th (+3:44.3) after starting 49th and shooting 16-for-20 with one miss in each stage (1+1+1+1). Crawford had the fourth-fastest overall shooting time out of 56 women in the pursuit.

    “I feel like today was a bit more like my normal shooting speed for standing and a little slower than my normal for prone,” she wrote. “I was really taking my time in zero for prone because the snow was making it so hard to see the target. Visibility was slightly better in the race, but I still tried to take my time in the hopes of hitting all 5.”

    In placing 39th, she tied her previous season best from the 15 k individual last week in Ostersund, Sweden, and scored World Cup points for the second time this season.

    “It’s disappointing to miss one shot every time, and to get into the top 30 I would have had to hit 18 or better,” Crawford wrote. “I’m glad I got a few points today, but feeling frustrated that I can’t put a good skiing and shooting together in the same race. Skiing was pretty good for the first 3 laps, and I slowed down a bit for the last 2, but today was my best skiing so far this year.

    “Looking forward to France where I am sure some good cheese will help fuel some good races!!” she added of this week’s upcoming races in Annecy, France. “Also just so happy for Emma Lunder! She really did a great job today, in the range to hit 19 and move up to 27th is awesome!”

    The lone American in the women’s pursuit, Clare Egan finished 53rd (+5:21.6) after starting 36th and having to ski seven penalty laps (2+2+2+1).

    The women’s 10 k pursuit podium at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, with Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina (c) in first, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (l) in second, and Darya Domracheva of Belarus in third. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    In the race for first, Kuzmina, who had started second, 22 seconds behind Domracheva, maintained her position for the first half of the race despite a penalty on the first stage. After leaving the range 27 seconds behind Domracheva after the first shooting, Kuzmina was within 9 seconds of her after the second prone stage, which both women cleaned.

    The first standing stage that followed proved to be the turning point, with Domracheva missing one and Kuzmina cleaning to take the lead by nearly 13 seconds. Both cleaned the final standing, but Kuzmina skied faster to keep Domracheva at bay, racing to the win while Domracheva was passed by Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen on the final loop to end up third (+11.8). Mäkäräinen claimed second place (+10.2), up from starting 50 seconds back in sixth place, with 18-for-20 shooting (1+0+0+1) and the fastest course time of the field. (In comparison, Kuzmina skied the seventh-fastest overall course time and Domracheva’s time ranked 31st.)

    While it was Mäkäräinen’s first podium of the season, it was Kuzmina’s first win since a mass start in March 2014.

    “It is always great to be on the podium and especially in first position,” the 33-year-old Kuzmina said, according to an IBU press release. “After yesterday, I thought I had a chance, but it was not easy for me, especially on the shooting range; I could not catch my breath  … I just tried to stay positive. I took a long time on the last shooting, but finally it was good.”

    “Overall, it was not an easy race with such weather conditions,” Domracheva said. “Like Anastasia, I think I took some extra time for that last shot, but I had 19-of-20 and that is very good.”

    Sunday is a relay day with the men’s 4 x 7.5 k and women’s 4 x 6 k wrapping up racing in Hochfilzen. Canada is listed as starting Lunder, Crawford, Megan Bankes, and Julia Ransom, while the U.S., with three women on the circuit, will not be entering a women’s relay.

    Results

    Women’s relay start list

  • Saturday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign (Updated)

    Saturday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign (Updated)

    Bob Thompson (304) of NTDC Thunder Bay leading Sun Valley’s Jack Hegman (307) and Patrick Stewart-Jones (317) of the AWCA during their quarterfinal of the NorAm men’s 1.3 k classic sprint on Saturday at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, B.C. (Photo: Peggy Hung)

    NorAm/SuperTour (Sovereign Lake near Vernon, British Columbia): Classic sprints

    On the opening day of the NorAm Continental Cup series in Canada (which doubled as a U.S. SuperTour), American Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) started Saturday with a nearly three-second win in the classic-sprint qualifier at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, then went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well.

    The women’s 1.3 k classic sprint podium and top five at the first NorAm of the season on Saturday at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, B.C., with (from left to right) Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) in second, Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) in first, Hannah Halvorsen (APU/USST) in third, Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) in fourth, and Liz Guiney (CGRP) in fifth. (Photo: Peggy Hung)

    Miller was the fastest women’s qualifier by 2.87 seconds on the 1.3-kilometer course with a time of 2:59.39. Ultimately, she won the final in 2:57.53, 0.93 seconds ahead of her teammate Caitlin Patterson in second and 2.59 seconds clear of the third American on the podium, Hannah Halvorsen of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the U.S. Ski Team (USST) D-team, in third place.

    Halvorsen previously qualified third behind Kelsey Phinney, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) in second. Phinney finished fourth in the final (+2.85), while a third Craftsbury skier, Liz Guiney placed fifth (+3.53). The lone Canadian in the six-woman final, Sophie Carrier-Laforte of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) placed sixth (+4.38).

    Thompson Fends Off Five Americans

    Of the six racers in the men’s 1.3 k freestyle sprint final, five of them were American. Bob Thompson, of the Thunder Bay National Team Development Centre (NTDC), bested them all for the win in 2:29.31, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Ben Saxton, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, in second place. Cole Morgan (SVSEF), the qualifying winner who had so far dominated all of his heats, ended up third overall, 0.48 seconds behind Thompson.

    Sun Valley and APU each had two athletes reach the men’s final with Jack Hegman (SVSEF) taking fourth (+0.51), and APU’s Reese Hanneman and Tyler Kornfield placing fifth (+7.75) and sixth (+7.9), respectively.

    To start the day, Morgan posted the fastest men’s qualifying time in 2:31.00, while last weekend’s SuperTour skate sprint winner Nick Michaud, of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF), qualified in second, 0.78 seconds back. Americans took the top-three qualifying spots with Logan Hanneman (APU) in third (+1.59), while Thompson was the top Canadian qualifier in fourth (+2.34).

    Morgan won both his quarterfinal and the first semifinal to advance to the final, along with Thompson who placed second in that semifinal (and placed second to Hegman in the quarterfinals). Saxton won the second semifinal (after finishing second to Logan Hanneman in the quarterfinals) and Kornfield was second behind Saxton in that semifinal to automatically advance to the final. Reese Hanneman and Hegman made it to the final as lucky losers after placing third and fourth, respectively, in the first semifinal.

    Live results

    Qualifier results

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Hochfilzen, Austria): Men’s and women’s pursuits

    Men’s report

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø notched his second-straight win in Hochfilzen after Martin Fourcade of France missed three on the final shooting stage of the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Saturday. Bø, who started the race 12 seconds ahead of Fourcade in second, cleaned the final standing stage to leave the range nearly a minute ahead of Slovenia’s Jakov Fak in second. Meanwhile, Fourcade, who had been skiing in first just ahead of Bø before the last stage, dropped 1:19 minutes back to fifth.

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø (1) heading out of the start, 12 seconds ahead of the second starter, France’s Martin Fourcade (yellow bib), on Saturday in the IBU World Cup men’s 12.5 k pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    While Bø skied the win in 36:41.1 minutes and Fak, the third starter, finished 58.8 seconds later in second place, Fourcade made up two places on the final loop to place third (+1:10.0) after passing Germany’s Simon Schempp and Russia’s Maxim Tsvetkov.

    Schempp settled for fourth (+1:10.5), and Bø’s older brother, Tarjei Bø, passed Tsvetkov as well to claim fifth (+1:11.9), while Tsvetkov finished sixth (+11:12.3).

    On another snowy afternoon in Hochfilzen, Johannes Bø had three penalties, two of which came in the first stage (2+0+1+0). Fak was one of four men in the race with just one miss (0+0+1+0) — no one cleaned — while Fourcade missed five (1+0+1+3). Schempp had four penalties (3+1+0+0) but held onto his starting position in fourth, Tarjei Bø improved from 14th at the start to fifth with just two misses (1+0+1+0) and Tsvetkov raced up from 20th to sixth with a single miss (1+0+0+0).

    American Sean Doherty tied his second-best World Cup result in 17th (+2:12.8) after starting 23rd and 1:39 out of first. He had two penalties (1+0+1+0).

    Canada’s top finisher, Nathan Smith placed 31st (+3:02.2) after starting 19th and missing three shots (1+1+0+1). His teammate Brendan Green rose to 33rd (+3:15.7), up from 52nd at the start, with three penalties as well (1+0+1+1).

    Four Canadians qualified for the pursuit, with Scott Gow placing 48th (+5:08.4) with seven penalties (1+1+3+2). His younger brother Christian Gow crossed next in 49th (+5:13.7) after missing five (+5:13.7).

    The other American man in the race, Lowell Bailey placed 36th (+3:20.6), up from 53rd, with three misses (0+2+1+0).

    Kuzmina Gets First Win in Three Years

    Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina cleaning one of two standing stages in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, en route to a 10-second win. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit that followed, Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina overcame a 22-second starting deficit to win her first race in three and a half years, shooting 19-for-20 (1+0+0+0) and finishing in 34:31.2. Kuzmina (the sister of Russia’s Anton Shipulin) started second behind Friday’s sprint winner Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Domracheva had a single miss as well in Saturday’s pursuit (0+0+1+0) but slipped to second after her penalty in the first standing stage, while Kuzmina cleaned the last three stages to take the win.

    Domracheva settled for third (+11.8) and Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen rose to second (+10.2) after shooting 18-for-20 (1+0+0+1) and skiing the fastest course time to rise from her starting position in sixth.

    Italy’s Dorothea Wierer slipped one place to fourth (+51.6) after starting third and missing two (1+0+0+1), while Norway’s Marte Olsbu raced up from 13th to fifth (+58.2) with a single penalty (1+0+0+0). Ukraine’s Yuliia Dzhima improved from 20th to sixth (+1:08) with one miss as well (0+0+0+1).

    Canada’s Emma Lunder achieved her second-best career World Cup result in 27th (+2:31.6) after starting 42nd and cleaning three stages after missing one in the first prone (1+0+0+0). Her teammate Rosanna Crawford improved from 49th at the start to 39th at the finish (+3:44.3) with four penalties, one in each stage (1+1+1+1).

    The U.S. had one woman qualify for the race, Clare Egan, who finished 53rd (+5:21.6) with seven penalties (2+2+2+1).

    For the third and final day of World Cup racing in Hochfilzen, the men’s and women’s relays will be held Sunday.

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Cross Country World Cup (Davos, Switzerland): Freestyle sprints

    Women’s report

    Men’s report

    The women’s skate sprint podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Davos, Switzerland, with Kikkan Randall (r) of the U.S. Ski Team in third place, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (c) in first, and Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla (l) in second. (Photo: Reese Brown/US Ski & Snowboard)

    Kikkan Randall returned to the podium on Saturday in the first freestyle sprint of the 2017/2018 World Cup season, placing third in the women’s 1.5-kilometer skate sprint behind Sweden’s Stina Nilsson and Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla, respectively, in Davos, Switzerland.

    Americans made up half of the women’s final, with Jessie Diggins racing to fourth and Ida Sargent sixth, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg between them in fifth.

    Nilsson started the day by winning the qualifier in 2:51.71 minutes, while Østberg had the second-fastest qualifing time, 2.57 seconds back. Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich posted the third fastest qualifying time (+2.73), and for the U.S., Diggins qualified fourth (+3.37), Sargent fifth (+3.78), Randall sixth (+4.11), Sophie Caldwell ninth (+4.87), and Sadie Bjornsen in 11th (+5.38).

    Nilsson then won her quarterfinal and the first semifinal before outlunging Falla by eight-hundredths of a second for the final win in 2:47.99. Randall (who won her quarterfinal and advanced to the final as a lucky loser in third in the first semifinal) finished 2.53 seconds after Nilsson for third overall, and Diggins (who won both her quarterfinal and the second semifinal) was 4.41 seconds back in fourth. Østberg finished 5.62 seconds back in fifth, and Sargent crossed the line 14.49 seconds back in sixth.

    Caldwell placed eighth overall after winning her quarterfinal then placing fourth in the second semifinal, behind Diggins, Sargent and Germany’s Sandra Ringwald, respectively. Ringwald did not advance to the final, either, for seventh overall. Bjornsen placed 13th on the day after finishing third in her quarterfinal.

    Also for the U.S., Julia Kern (U.S. Ski Team D-team) finished in 57th in the qualifying round, 16.55 seconds out of first.

    Dahria Beatty was the top Canadian in 53rd (+15.53), followed by Katherine Stewart-Jones in 55th (+16.18) and Cendrine Browne in 64th (+18.27). 

    In the men’s 1.5 k skate sprint, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo rocketed to his sixth-straight win in as many World Cup races this season, topping the qualifier in 2:23.10 (by 1.27 seconds over France’s Lucas Chanavat and 1.73 seconds over Italy’s Federico Pellegrino in third) then winning his quarterfinal and semifinal comfortably before capping the day with a victory in the final in 2:28.07. Pellegrino placed second in the final, 1.8 seconds back, and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov tallied his third podium of the season in third place (+4.64). Finland’s Ristomatti Hakola placed fourth (+5.39), France’s Richard Jouve was fifth (+8.65) and Russia’s Gleb Retivykh was sixth in the final (+18.34).

    Americans Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton both qualified for the heats in 10th and 12th, respectively. Hamilton went on to place ninth overall after finishing second in his quarterfinal (behind France’s Renaud Jay) and fifth in the second semifinal (which Hakola won). Newell’s day ended in the quarterfinals, where he placed fifth, 2.44 seconds behind Klæbo, who won that heat. Overall, Newell was 21st.

    Canada’s Alex Harvey qualified for the heats in 21st and went on to place 23rd overall after finishing fifth in his quarterfinal, 1.14 seconds behind Retivykh in first.

    Also for Canada, Julien Locke missed qualifying in the top 30 by 1.07 seconds in 36th (+7.84). Russell Kennedy placed 48th (+9.39), Knute Johnsgaard was 52nd (+10.35), Jess Cockney 54th (+10.83), Devon Kershaw 63rd (+11.78).

    For the U.S., Erik Bjornsen finished 58th (+11.12) and Paddy Caldwell 108th (+24.04) in the qualifier.

    Results:

    Women’s final | Women’s qualifier

    Men’s final | Men’s qualifier

  • Domracheva Conquers Hochfilzen Blizzard; JT Bø on a Roll; Smith 19th; Doherty 22nd

    Domracheva Conquers Hochfilzen Blizzard; JT Bø on a Roll; Smith 19th; Doherty 22nd

    Darya Domracheva of Belarus after winning her first race in more than a year and a half, the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, on Friday. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Biathlon Canada’s Nathan Smith and Emma Lunder.

    Calm wind and a light drizzle for the men’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup sprint on Friday afternoon in Hochfilzen, Austria, turned into a full-blown blizzard for the women’s sprint that followed. One multiple-time Olympic and world champion weathered the elements best, as Darya Domracheva of Belarus won the latter with clean shooting. She was one of four women in the top 20 that cleared all 10 targets amid the white-out conditions with a strong wind ripping sideways across the range.

    “I am grateful that I was able to handle these challenging weather conditions today,” said the 31-year-old Domracheva, who had her first child just over a year ago, according to an IBU press release. “It has been a long time since I was on top of the podium, since March 2015, so it is nice to be here.”

    Domracheva is the defending Olympic champion in three disciplines: the individual, pursuit and mass start. On Friday, she won the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint for her first win over a year and a half, after taking the 2015/2016 season off to have a child and returning to the World Cup this past January. At 2017 IBU World Championships, she raced to silver in the pursuit.

    During the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    But on Friday, in the second sprint of the World Cup season, she was back to her winning ways in the most challenging of conditions. After the men’s race, wet snow began to fall more steadily. Temperatures dropped, making for drier snow that intensified in the minutes leading up to the race.

    “The conditions were completely different in the race from the zeroing, so you had to adapt today,” said Domracheva, who started 71st of 102 women and bested Anastasia Kuzmina’s time by 22.1 seconds for the win in 22:40.2 minutes. Kuzmina, of Slovakia, who started just ahead of her in bib 69, placed second with a single penalty (1+0), bumping Italy’s Dorothea Wierer (bib 48), who also missed one prone target (1+0), to third (+30.6).

    “It was really strange; I could see nothing on the tracks and I had to take off my glasses,” Wierer said, according to the IBU. “In these conditions, the race was decided on the shooting range; with one mistake, that was pretty good. … I think the conditions were the same for everyone; it was snowing for the whole race.”

    “We were all hoping that the forecasted storm wouldn’t materialize, but just as predicted, the flakes started getting heavy about 20 minutes before the start,” US Biathlon’s Clare Egan explained in a post-race email to FasterSkier. “That’s when one of our wax techs says he thought about locking the wax cabin and fleeing the scene. Lucky for us he did not, and I think our skis were the best in the field today. I don’t know how they can make such fast skis for such slow conditions but somehow they manage!”

    Egan led three American women in 35th, 1:56.1 minutes behind Domracheva, with a total of two penalties: one in prone and another in standing (1+1).

    “While I was warming up the wind was extremely strong and then it seemed less intense during my race so I think the earlier starters had worse wind,” Egan recalled. “I took a couple clicks in prone [i.e., adjusted my sight for the wind] but that’s very standard. I actually did a completely normal shooting routine today in both prone and standing, which is a good thing. The trick in biathlon is to replicate your normal shooting routine even when you are in a high-stress race scenario.”

    Egan started 68th, just ahead of Kuzmina. Her overall shooting time ranked 29th in the field, while her course time was 42nd. In comparison, Domracheva had the 43rd-ranked shooting time but was fifth-fastest out on course. Kuzmina was sixth fastest on course and had the second-fastest range time (including setup and actual shooting time).

    “I did not do anything special today, but because I had special skis I managed a decent course time,” Egan wrote. “This year I am making a point to accept however my body feels on a given day and just focus on technique. When I do that, I know that even if I don’t feel great I can still have a great race.”

    In the second World Cup stop of the season, 35th is a season best for Egan and her best result since placing 34th in a sprint last March. Last week in Östersund, Sweden, she placed 75th in the sprint and 79th in the 15 k individual.

    “To borrow an expression I just learned from a British biathlete, I’m super duper chuffed with my race,” she wrote. “Last week’s racing was a real blow to my confidence so I’m very proud of the work I did to turn things around. It took a lot of mental gymnastics and help from our sports psychologist. Today’s race wasn’t exceptional but it was a solid biathlon performance and I’m very content with that. I will be completely happy when all of my teammates have races they can feel good about too. We are very much in this together.”

    Egan will be the lone American woman racing in Saturday’s pursuit in Hochfilzen; both Emily Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee finished outside the qualifying top 60. Dreissigacker placed 89th (+3:49.1) with three penalties (1+2) and Dunklee was 97th (+4:52.9) with eight penalties (3+5).

    Two Canadian women landed in the top 60 to make the 10 k pursuit, with Emma Lunder in 42nd (+2:03.5) with a single miss (1+0)  and Rosanna Crawford in 49th (+2:19.6) with two penalties (1+1). Megan Bankes just missed the cutoff in 65th (+2:55.3) with three standing penalties (0+3), and Julia Ransom finished 100th (+5:20.6) with seven misses (3+4).

    “I was really happy with my shooting in the race,” Lunder wrote in an email. “I made sure to focus on my cues after making a 5-click correction for the wind, and took a bit of extra time setting up. It was snowing quite heavily, so I did my best to make every shot a good one, but unfortunately I did have one get away from me. When I came into standing it was a lot calmer, but still snowing a lot, so I was pleased with shooting clean! I’ve been working a lot this year on getting my confidence back in the shooting range, and I’ve seen improvements in both my prone and standing.”

    She started second, with only one racer clearing the tracks ahead of her.

    “I followed the tracks of Bib 1 for the first loop, just trying not to ski off the trail!” Lunder reflected. “It was really deep snow for that first loop but all things considered our wax team gave me some pretty quick skis for the race. I felt okay skiing today but I still need to find that next gear when I’m racing, so I’m excited to have a lot of girls around me to chase in the pursuit.”

    Smith 19th, Doherty 22nd

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø after winning his third race of the season (including a mixed relay and 20 k individual race last week Ostersund, Sweden) in Friday’s 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    In the men’s 10 k sprint that opened the Hochfilzen weekend, Canada’s Nathan Smith raced to 19th — his best non-relay World Cup result since March 2016 — and American Sean Doherty placed 22nd for his best result since finishing 18th in a World Cup pursuit last March. Both Smith and Doherty shot clean, along with 12 others out of 108 competitors.

    “Conditions for our race were quite good,” Doherty explained in an email. “Calm winds and overcast. Unfortunately a storm blew in for the women’s race so they had a much tougher course and range today.”

    The top-four men all shot a perfect 10-for-10, with Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø in bib 36 setting a faster time around the course than France’s Martin Fourcade (bib 38), who also shot clean. Bø took the win in 24:18.4 and was 12.1 seconds clear of Fourcade, who ended up second. Slovenia’s Jakov Fak notched his second-straight podium (coming off a second place in Östersund’s pursuit) in third (+35.4).

    “It is always better to be first rather than second,” said Bø, who also won the 20 k individual last week in Ostersund, according to an IBU press release. “I was lucky to shoot clean today. That is what I needed to get the win … My plan was like: go until you die, attack all the way. If you want to win, you cannot save the power…I was quite tired in the last loop, but I managed to hold on.”

    Bø’s overall course time was the fastest of the field, 15.3 seconds faster than Fourcade.

    “I cannot comment on any fight because Johannes had too big of an advantage after the standing shooting,” Fourcade told the IBU, referring to his 20-second deficit to Bø after the second shooting stage. “I am just happy that I was able to catch some seconds in the end. We had about the same ski speed as last week, but today he shot clean and I had not chance to win.”

    “I shot clean and ran as fast as I could; that is all you can do,” said Fak, who started 33rd. “I never worried much after that  … You can never be sure about the results until everyone has finished.”

    Smith started 12th and finished 1:31.9 off Bø’s winning time, posting the fifth-fastest overall shooting time while hitting every target. Smith’s course time ranked 54th overall.

    “I was carefull to take it easier for the last 15 sec before the range,” Smith, 31, wrote in an email when asked about his clean shooting. “It’s an awkward entry with a short steep bump.”

    “I’m looking to continue the solid shooting while upping my ski speed a bit, back to around what my shape had been like in November,” he stated. “I’m happy with today’s race. Top 20 is a good accomplishment and a solid step in my comeback. For the pursuit I’m aiming to improve a little and grab a top 16.”

    Doherty started in bib 79 and ended up tying Slovenia’s Klemen Bauer for 22nd, 1:39.2 back. (Bauer had a single penalty in prone.)

    “As long as I stay disciplined the targets will fall,” the 22-year-old Doherty wrote of his clean shooting. “Overall I am happy with my race today. I am excited to take the momentum into the pursuit tomorrow.”

    Saturday will be his first pursuit of the season after placing 82nd in the Östersund sprint. He also placed 38th in the 20 k individual there.

    “The start to the season in Ostersund was tough,” Doherty noted. “That course there is one of the hardest on the whole circuit and we had exceptionally poor snow conditions for the individual, so that was a brutal race. Here in Austria I was looking to make a step froward towards the level of racing I know I am capable of and take care of the final Olympic criteria.

    “To be honest my skiing is pretty poor right now, and that’s fine,” he added.

    Doherty’s overall shooting time was 29th fastest while his course time ranked 57th.

    “The important part of the season is still a ways away and that is when I will be on form,” he wrote. “In general I think I am off to a good start this season but there are still many races to go. So I just want to keep working and using each race as an opportunity to keep improving.”

    All four Canadian men qualified for Saturday’s 12.5 k pursuit, with Scott Gow finishing 43rd (+2:25.1) with three penalties (2+1), Brendan Green 51st (+2:30.3) with one standing miss (0+1), and Christian Gow 54th with clean shooting.

    For the U.S., Lowell Bailey is also in after placing 53rd (+2:32.4) with two penalties (2+0). Tim Burke finished outside the necessary top 60 in 73rd (+3:00.7) with three misses (1+2), Leif Nordgren was 98th (+3:40.2) with three standing penalties (0+3), and Paul Schommer 103rd (+3:54.6) with three misses as well (1+2).

    The men race at 6:15 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Saturday, followed by the women at 8:45 a.m. EST.

    Results: Women | Men

    Pursuit start lists: Women | Men

  • Newell Thrives in NZ, Wins Winter Games Opener at Snow Farm

    Newell Thrives in NZ, Wins Winter Games Opener at Snow Farm

    Andy Newell (l) and Russia's Alexey Petukhov go head-to-head in the men's A-final on Thursday in the Winter Games NZ freestyle sprint in Wanaka, New Zealand. Newell won the race, Petukhov was second and Canada's Devon Kershaw placed third. (Photo: Noah Hoffman)
    Andy Newell (l) and Russia’s Alexey Petukhov go head-to-head in the men’s A-final on Thursday in the Winter Games NZ freestyle sprint in Wanaka, New Zealand. Newell won the race, Petukhov was second and Canada’s Devon Kershaw placed third. (Photo: Noah Hoffman)

    The U.S. Ski Team men’s squad touched down in New Zealand on Tuesday afternoon. Imagine racing in the land down under, a 16-hour time difference from Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton’s base in Vermont and 18 hours from Colorado, where Noah Hoffman primarily trains, two days later.

    Newell and Hoffman did just that (Hamilton ran into major baggage woes on his way over), and Newell came out on top of a relatively stacked, if not small, field on the opening day of Winter Games NZ.

    The Winter Games NZ men's 1.6 k sprint podium, with winner Andy Newell (c), runner-up Alexey Petukhov (l), and Devon Kershaw in third. (Photo: Snow Farm/https://www.facebook.com/SnowFarm)
    The Winter Games NZ men’s 1.6 k sprint podium, with winner Andy Newell (c), runner-up Alexey Petukhov (l), and Devon Kershaw in third. (Photo: Snow Farm/Facebook)

    The ninth-ranked competitor, Newell not only crushed the qualifier of the 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, but he went on to win his quarterfinal, semifinal and eventually the final over Russia’s Alexey Petukhov and Canadian Devon Kershaw. Top seed Nikita Kruikov of Russia ended up fifth after teammate Anton Gafarov in fourth.

    After spending most of his summer with the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team, Newell clocked a time of 2:52.96 over what he considered a fast course, which was “fairly hard packed,” he wrote in an email. “The course was really fun with a super fast rolling downhill and lots of turns. … Neither of the two climbs on course were too steep.”

    Petukhov was the second-fastest qualifier nearly four seconds later in 2:56.54 and Kershaw qualified third in 3:00.10. Their positions ultimately held steady, with Petukhov placing second and Kershaw third in the final.

    “I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to racing,” Newell explained of his first time on snow in a couple months. “The travel is tough to get down here but adjusting to the time change is actually pretty easy. A lot easier than Europe. So racing two days off the place isn’t that big of a deal.”

    Still, he didn’t feel exactly the same as he would on a World Cup morning.

    “I wasn’t too eager to race in the morning having only had one day on snow but as a warmed up I started feeling pretty good,” Newell wrote. “The sun came out so I had plenty of energy in Qualification. Obviously all the Russian guys here are fast sprinters so I didn’t have any goal for the race other than to make the final.

    “It’s August so we just use these races as training opportunities and use them to gauge how our bodies are responding to the summer training and also identify things that we need to work on technically,” he added. “Especially with sprinting it’s helpful to jump in races like this so you can stay sharp when it comes to heat tactics and race-like accelerations.”

    Newell specifically tried to work on fast accelerations, over the tops of hills and during the final stretches of each heat.

    “I think it worked out well and I was happy with the result,” he wrote. “I was stoked with how the body felt pushing hard. We spend all summer long running, biking, rollerskiing, just training a ton and its good to remind yourself of why you’re putting in all the hard work. It’s good to remind yourself that you’re a ski racer and this is what you’re trying to get faster at.”

    Primarily a distance skier, Hoffman finished ninth ahead of a Russian and six Korean skiers.

    The Winter Games NZ women's 1.6 k skate sprint podium, with winner Justyna Kowalczyk (c), runner-up Dasha Gaiazova (l), and Anastazia Kuzmina in third. (Photo: Snow Farm/https://www.facebook.com/SnowFarm)
    The Winter Games NZ women’s 1.6 k skate sprint podium, with winner Justyna Kowalczyk (c), runner-up Dasha Gaiazova (l), and Anastasia Kuzmina in third. (Photo: Snow Farm/Facebook)

    In the women’s skate sprint, Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk was the fastest qualifier in 3:27.25, more than 5 seconds ahead of Olympic gold medalist biathlete Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia. Canadian Perianne Jones qualified third in 3:36.42.

    Kowalczyk went on to win her semifinal and top Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova in the final for the overall victory, telling race organizers, “It was a good race on a very good track. I am very happy and racing here at Snow Farm and the Winter Games is very important for me for Sochi,” she said.

    Gaiazova was second, but could not be reached for comment, and Kuzmina placed third. Jones finished fourth in the A-final, topping Japan’s Michiko Kashiwabara and Chisa Obayashi, who were first and second, respectively, in the B-final. New Zealand’s lone entrant and first Olympic biathlete, Sarah Murphy, ended up seventh of eight women. Murphy is trying to qualify for her second-straight Olympics after “a lot of back luck last year,” including illness and a broken rifle, she told the Otago Daily Times.

    “These Winter Games are really very important for me and my bid for the Olympics,” she said.

    Although Thursday marked the start of the Games, it was essentially the only day of true-blue racing for the Americans at the Snow Farm. “We are hopefully going to do a distance time trial with the Canadians later in the camp but that will be the only other racing,” Newell explained.

    Results: men | women

  • U.S. Women Strong in Last Sprint of World Cup Period 2; Berger Picks Up Third Consecutive Win

    U.S. Women Strong in Last Sprint of World Cup Period 2; Berger Picks Up Third Consecutive Win

    Laura Spector (USA) leads Jenny Jonsson (SWE). Photo: nordicfocus.com courtesy of USBA.

    While there’s a full schedule of World Cup racing scheduled in Antholz, Italy this weekend, Friday’s sprint might very well have been the last individual race the U.S. women had a chance to contest in Europe before World Championships.

    With a relay on Saturday and a mass start, capped at thirty athletes, on Sunday, and then the entire World Cup circuit picking up and heading to the U.S. for a few weeks in February, the sprint in some ways represented the end of two months of European racing.

    And the U.S. delivered. Laura Spector again led the team, finishing 23rd and snagging the last bib in the mass start. Haley Johnson finished a season-best 37th, and Sara Studebaker tied for 56th.

    The results once again seemed to prove that the women, long overshadowed by the men’s team, deserve some attention themselves.

    Spector shot clean and her time split after the second shooting stage had her in 13th place. However, she slowed on the final loop, ending up 23rd – 0.3 seconds behind overall World Cup leader Kaisa Makarainen of Finland. Antholz’s 5,000 feet of elevation meant that some favorites didn’t perform up to expectations.

    But Spector adjusted accordingly.

    “I imagine most everyone felt tired by the end of this one,” she said in an e-mail. “Racing at altitude in the dry air is definitely a different feeling and requires that you expect to feel a little lung burn going into the race. I tried to slow down my tempo on this course because there is more gradual climbing, but because of fast conditions it was important to get all the glide you could on the flatter sections.

    “I really didn’t think too much about shooting before the race or set any kind of expectations for myself,” she continued. “I’ve been dryfiring [shooting without bullets from short range, usually inside] a little more than in the past few weeks and I think it has helped to make the shooting more efficient and natural for me.

    “I am definitely starting to feel tired as we approach the end of a three week block of racing.”

    Studebaker agreed: the two have been in Europe since mid-November, and “being tired comes with the territory.”

    “The sprint was an okay race for me,” Studebaker told FasterSkier. “I felt okay skiing, but it’s tough here because of the altitude. Prone was great, but I had some trouble in standing. I ejected a round and had to hand load, and I think just came in too hard.  The range approach here is difficult and I don’t think I was quite ready to shoot when I came in for standing which made me a little shaky.”

    Johnson missed one target in each shooting stage, errors which kept her out of the top twenty, given that her ski time was actually faster than Spector’s. However, compared to last weekend’s pursuit, where she missed seven shots, it was a huge improvement.

    When asked what had changed about her shooting, Johnson said “nothing.”

    “I have remained focused on the same elements of my shooting,” she said in an e-mail. “Improving hitting percentage isn’t necessarily about changing your shooting process; it’s sometimes more about just trusting it more and going for it.”

    Like Spector, Johnson said that she had adjusted her strategy due to the altitude and the uphill approach to the range.

    “I really like racing in Antholz… the altitude, uphill range approach and wind are good reminders to stay focused in the range. It’s a fast course- it’s only a matter of minutes before you quickly return to the range, so adjustments and adaptations need to be made quickly. Because of the higher altitude you need to account for heavier breathing by taking a few extra breathes in your shooting process. I take three breathes before settling on the first target instead of two, for example.

    “I am feeling pretty good on skis and am really looking forward to the upcoming US World Cups,” she concluded.

    Speaking of good on skis: Tora Berger of Norway picked up her third win in a row, crushing the field by almost 30 seconds in a 20-minute race. Berger shot clean, but so did plenty of other women.

    Berger said that the key to her success in Antholz was living at a lower elevation.

    “I have good races here, so I like the place,” she told IBU News. “I generally do not have any problems with the altitude, as long as I stay down low and race up here. When I lived up high, I did not have good races here.”

    Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia finished second with one penalty. Kuzmina, who is originally from Russia, was actually the less-successful member of her family this weekend: brother Anton Shipulin, racing for Russia, won the men’s sprint on Thursday.

    Along with Berger’s win and her brother Lars Berger’s third-place finish in the men’s sprint, it made it a good weekend to be siblings on the World Cup circuit.

    Tora Berger seemed thrilled for her brother, and the two seem close.

    “I am happy that my brother was on the podium again, because some years he does not do so well,” she told IBU News.

    Kuzmina, meanwhile, was more detached.

    “I did not watch his race,” she said of Shipulin’s victory. “I only turned on the television, when the results were final. . . I am very happy for him, but I focused on my race today. . . He set the bar very high for me today with his victory.”

    Full results

    Haley Johnson (USA) racing to 37th place in Antholz. Photo: nordicfocus.com courtesy of USBA.

  • Hoppet on Tap Down Under

    Skiers from 23 nations are gathering at Falls Creek in south eastern Australia for this weekend’s Kangaroo Hoppet, the opening event of the 2010 / 2011 Worldloppet season. After a slow start to the ski season in July, good snowfalls over the last two weeks have ensured excellent snow conditions for the event.

    Australian Ben Sim is favourite for the podium and hoping to make this his fifth Hoppet win after taking the National 10 k and 15 k championships at Falls Creek last weekend. The biggest obstacles in his way looks like being two fellow Vancouver winter Olympians – Garrott Kuzzy from the U.S., who placed second in last weekend’s 15 k only several days after arriving in the country, and Valerio Leccardi from Switzerland. Other skiers with podium chances include Swiss Frederic Grandjean and Australians Callum Watson, Alex Almoukov and Chris Darlington.

    In the women’s field, Slovakian Anastasia Kuzmina, a gold and silver medalist in biathlon at Vancouver, and Swiss Lena Pichard lead the international list, up against a local field lead by current Australian 5 k and 10 k champion Aimee Watson and last year’s Hoppet runner-up Esther Bottomley. Other skiers who could be in contention for a podium place include Swedish ski orienteer Johanna Edin and American Sarah Konrad.

    Source: FIS/Allan Marsland

  • Despite Mistake, Neuner Holds On for Gold

    Despite Mistake, Neuner Holds On for Gold

    Magdalena Neuner (GER) races to Olympic gold!

    Magdalena Neuner (GER) left the door open in the women’s 10k pursuit. But Anastasia Kuzmina (SVK) couldn’t shut it.

    When a penalty by Neuner in the final shooting stage left Kuzmina trailing by just six seconds, the Slovakian had a chance to reel in the leader over the final two k loop. But Neuner put the hammer down, steadily pulling away to win her second medal in three days. After hitting all 20 shots, Marie Laure Brunet (FRA) was third, moving up from sixth.

    Leading Kuzmina by 25 seconds coming into last shooting stage, Neuner could have essentially ended the race by shooting clean. She hit her first four targets, but the pressure got to her on the last one.

    Anastasia Kuzmina (SVK) on her way to the silver medal.

    Kuzmina skied into the range in time to see Neuner’s miss, and she took advantage, hitting all five of her shots in rapid succession. The two left the range almost together, and it looked like the stage was set for a head-to-head battle. But Neuner never gave it a chance, pulling away from Kuzmina immediately to win by a comfortable margin.

    It was a duel between those two from the beginning, as Kuzmina began with a negligible two-second advantage over the Slovakian. Competitors set out on course today with a handicaps based on how far back they were in Saturday’s sprint.

    In the first of four shooting stages, the two women matched each other round for round, skiing into the range together and hitting all five targets in synch.

    They were still glued to one another after the second lap, and for the first three shots, nothing changed. But then Kuzmina missed, forcing her to ski a penalty loop that put her 25 seconds behind. She couldn’t take advantage of a mistake by Neuner in the third stage, either—both ended up missing one more shot.

    In dramatic final round, Neuner said that she came into the range relaxed despite past struggles in the past with her shooting. She remained so as she hit her first four shots, but then let the pressure get to her for the last one. She said afterwards that she let herself start thinking about gold.

    “The last shot, I was a little bit nervous,” she said. “It was a mistake.”

    Magdalena Neuner (GER) and Anastasia Kuzmina (SVK) scramble out of the range together.

    But it didn’t matter, because Kuzmina was done—in the post-race press conference, she said she knew that her legs were too tired to do anything in the final lap, even as she trailed by just a few seconds.

    With her gold medal in the 7.5 k sprint on Saturday, she said that she felt even more pressure to repeat the performance—not less because she’d already won a medal. She wasn’t complaining about silver, though, pumping her arms as she crossed the finish.

    After struggling with illness earlier in the season, Meghan Tandy (CAN) had a strong performance today as the top North American finisher in 36th. She had a very strong final sprint to take second out of her pack of five, aided by what looked like a strong pair of skis.

    “It’s just great to feel that I’m approaching…that best-performance-of-the-season-feeling again,” she said.

    Sara Studebaker was the only American in the race, and she dropped just one spot to go from 45th to 46th place. She shot well, but said that she felt a little bit flat for the skis.

  • Broken Bones Can’t Stop Slovakian Biathlete

    Broken Bones Can’t Stop Slovakian Biathlete

    The crowd at the women's 7.5k sprint at the 2010 Olympic Games. sal
    The crowd at the women's 7.5k sprint at the 2010 Olympic Games.

    Breaking two bones in your hand a month before the Olympic Games doesn’t sound like good preparation. But it sure didn’t hurt Anastasia Kuzmina.

    Shaking off an early miss, as well as the injury she suffered in early January, the Russian-turned-Slovakian won her country’s first Olympic medal in biathlon—and its first-ever gold in the Winter Games—on Saturday in the women’s 7.5k sprint.

    The announcers characterized Kuzmina’s win as a surprise, but her win comes after a silver medal in last year’s World Championships, affirming her ability to compete at the highest level after giving birth to her first child in 2007.

    An early starter—bib 19 of 88—she faced a long wait after finishing to see if she’d won. But instead of standing around in the steady drizzle that fell all afternoon, Kuzmina said that she went inside to change, preferring to minimize the suspense. When she emerged, she found that she was the winner by a second and a half over Germany’s Magdalena Neuner. Marie Dorin (FRA) took the bronze.

    Germany's Magdalena Neuner, en route to second place
    Germany's Magdalena Neuner, en route to second place

    Ivor Lehotan, the Vice President for Information of the International Biathlon Union—and a Slovakian—said that Kuzmina moved to the country two years ago to be with her husband and coach, Daniel Kuzmin.

    While Slovakia had been knocking on the door with a number of fourth- and fifth-place finishes at various championships, Lehotan said that it took someone with Kuzmina’s combination of Slovakian calm, and Russian strength and passion—an ideal mix for biathlon—to take the program to the next level.

    She missed her first shot of the day, in the prone stage, but then went on to hit the next four in that round, and all five in the standing. Kuzmina and Neuner, with one penalty each, were the only athletes in the top-nine who were able to overcome even a single miss—everyone else shot clean.

    With the rain, and with temperatures above freezing, race officials applied fertilizer to the course to firm it up—making “a huge difference from yesterday,” according to American Laura Spector, who finished 77th.

    “It was really nice actually—it wasn’t deep or slushy or anything,” she said. “It was actually quite fast.”

    Saturday’s race was the first-ever Olympic experience for the whole American team, with the exception of Lanny Barnes, and none of the women were able to crack the top half of the field. Sara Studebaker was the closest, in 45th—just one spot away. Barnes was another place behind Spector, in 78th, while Haley Johnson was 80th.

    Spector, Studebaker, and Barnes each had only one miss—a poised performance from the first two, given that they had never competed on such a big stage.

    “I was really nervous this morning,” Spector said. “I just had to tell myself I know how to prepare for a race…and I think that really helped calm me down.

    German fans in the stands
    German fans in the stands

    The stands were packed with boisterous fans in the stands near the range, with hundreds standing shoulder to shoulder on a small hill that sat just off to one side. Different countries had their own fan sections, each decked out in national colors and waving flags. But very few fans ventured beyond

    the stadium, making for some quiet race trails and an odd contrast, Spector said.

    The American team raced in some sharp new spandex—American flag-themed, with stars and stripes on the shoulders. Studebaker said that they were an improvement on the old, solid blue suits.

    Haley Johnson sporting the new American uniform
    Haley Johnson sporting the new American uniform

    “You can actually tell who we are, which is great,” she said. “The dark blue suits—they tend to get blended in with everybody else.”

    The Canadians women had an off day, led by Megan Tandy, who shot clean to finish in 46th. Zina Kocher, who regularly had been in the top-20 this season, missed three shots and finished 65th, while Rosanna Crawford and Megan Imrie were 72nd and 76th, respectively.