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.
Coaches: Pepa Miloucheva (head coach); Michael Gibson (biathlon coach); Nick Brown (assistant coach and wax tech); Ethan Dreissigacker (assistant biathlon coach)
Current roster (skiing and biathlon): Braden Becker, Adam Martin, Akeo Maifeld-Carucci, Caitlin Patterson, Michaela Keller-Miller, Margie Freed, Annika Landis, Alex Lawson (skiing); Jake Brown (Luke’s brother), Raleigh Goessling, Hallie Grossman, Susan Dunklee, Kelsey Dickinson, Tara Geraghty-Moats, Clare Egan, Luke Brown (Jake’s brother) (biathlon)
Who’s new: Luke Brown joins the team for biathlon, coming from Crosscut; Carsen Campbell joins the team for biathlon, coming from Rocky Mountain Racers; Tara Geraghty-Moats rejoins the team for biathlon, coming from nordic combined; Annika Landis joins the team for skiing, coming from Sun Valley; Alex Lawson joins the team for skiing after graduating from Middlebury this spring
Who’s still on this team, or otherwise involved in American skiing, from when we did this in 2012: Caitlin Patterson (athlete, skiing); Susan Dunklee and Clare Egan (athletes, biathlon); Maria Stuber (head nordic coach, St. Scholastica); Patrick O’Brien (head coach, SMS Elite Team); also, former CGRP teammates Pat O’Brien and Ida Sargent got married this summer
Susan Dunklee in Pokljuka, Slovenia, February 2021. (photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)
Top results last season: Starting with biathlon: The redoubtable veteran Dunklee finished last season on a strong note with two individual eighth-place finishes in Nové Město, one in sprint and one in the pursuit. She teamed up with Sean Doherty for the country’s first single mixed relay World Cup podium since Lowell Bailey and, well, Dunklee, in 2017. Egan had a pair of top-10 finishes, 9th and 10th in Hochfilzen, and was a member of two sixth-place relay teams. Dunklee and Egan are both already qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Jake Brown was on a sixth-place mixed-relay team in Nové Město and had a season’s best of 12th in individual races, in the sprint in Pokljuka.
Moving on to nordic combined: Geraghty-Moats won the only regular-season women’s noco race that was able to be held last year, in Ramsau, to take the inaugural overall title, while garnering praise as a trailblazer for women’s sports. She was fifth at World Champs in Oberstdorf.
And finally, on the nordic trails: Patterson raced on the World Cup from Ruka through the end of January, including finishing 34th overall in the Tour de Ski. She was on a fifth-place relay team in Lahti, and had individual World Cup bests of 27th, 29th, and 30th. Martin had three World Cup starts in distance races, with a best of 44th in Davos. Lawson was 24th at World Juniors in the 10 k skate.
Tara Geraghty-Moats racing at World Champs in Oberstdorf, February 2021. (photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
Coach’s comments: Pepa Miloucheva writes, “Summer and fall training for GRP was good and mostly went as planned. This spring we officially added Alex Lawson, although she was here last year too and the only other addition was Annika Landis, who joined us after a year in Sun Valley.
“The whole team stayed and trained in Craftsbury through August. Waverly Gebhardt and Rena Schwartz trained with us as part of the summer U23 program and with our GRP biathletes here we had a really solid training group.
“Michaela had a setback early summer, broke her ankle and had to have surgery, but she kept really good fitness by spending hours on the SkiErg and was able to join the rest for the ski camp in September.
Adam Martin racing in Davos, December 2020. (photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
“Early September we went to Oberhof, Germany, for just over two weeks of training in the ski tunnel. This was our first trip since the pandemic, so I was little nervous, but everything worked out really well. The first few days the focus was on technique, transferring on-snow improvements athletes worked on during the summer. Second part was a solid speed block. Luckily there ware only a few other skiers [in the tunnel] at this time so we ware able to have really high quality intensity sessions.
“After a few weeks training at home and having incredible fall weather we packed up bags again and went to Park City for two weeks of elevation training. First part of the camp was lots of volume, some L3, a few athletes even hopped in a rollerski race at SoHo for fun. Second week we lowered the volume, had a couple mellow days, and finished the camp with a couple solid TT efforts to gain some experience racing at this elevation in preparation for Nationals.
“Back home athletes took a few easy days post-Utah. I did some testing, where a few records were broken, which was exciting to see, and now we are concentrating on race prep. Caitlin Patterson left for Europe [on Nov. 17], she will race the first WC period and in less than two weeks we all are about to hit the road for a month and a half.
Caitlin Patterson racing in Lahti, January 2021. (photo: Vianney THIBAUT/NordicFocus)
“Last year we were totally sheltered here at the center, didn’t travel at all, didn’t go to any camps, didn’t go to any races outside Craftsbury. Although we had everything we need here and the outdoor center staff was incredible, taking really good care and keeping us safe and healthy, it was mentally very hard on the athletes not to be able to race against the other regions. So this year I’m excited for this team to have a more normal race season and to see what they can do, as they worked really hard for it.”
Paul Schommer was named to the IBU Cup roster for the start of the 2019-20 season Photo: Rachelle Weymuller)
(Oct. 28, 2019) — Following the completion of the U.S. Biathlon Fall Festival and IBU Cup Trials held over the weekend in Soldier Hollow, Utah, 15 athletes have been nominated to the U.S. Biathlon teams competing at the opening events of the 2019-20 season.
“We had an impressively competitive trials this season, with several lead changes throughout the competitions,” said U.S. Biathlon Director of High Performance Lowell Bailey. “I feel really good about the teams we are sending and their ability to compete with the world’s best on the international stage.”
Six members of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team have been selected to compete at the first three International Biathlon Union World Cup events on this year’s calendar, including women’s Olympic Team members Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.), Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.) and Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt.). Named to the men’s World Cup team are 2018 Olympians Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.) and Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt.), along with Travis Cooper (Kenai, Alaska) and Alex Howe (Gilford, N.H.).
The IBU kicks off its 2019-20 World Cup season in Oestersund, Sweden, Nov. 30-Dec. 8. That will be followed by World Cups in Hochfilzen, Austria, Dec. 13-15, and Le Grand Bornand, France, Dec. 19-22.
Named to the U.S. squads competing at the IBU Cup competitions in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy, Dec. 12-15, and in Obertilliach, Austria, Dec. 18-21, are Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash.), Hallie Grossman (South Burlington, Vt.) and Maddie Phaneuf (Old Forge, N.Y.) on the women’s side, and Lars Hammernes Leopold (Truckee, Calif.), Max Durtschi (Ketchum, Idaho), Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis.) and Jake Brown (St. Paul, Minn.) on the men’s side.
“It’s an exciting time for U.S. Biathlon, with several new names in the mix on our international teams. It will be fun to watch,” Bailey added.
On Thursday, a three race series to help determine international race starts for U.S. biathletes began with a sprint at Soldier Hollow (SoHo) outside Midway, Utah.
For the IBU World Cup, five U.S. athletes have pre-qualified with a top-25 result on the World Cup or World Championships last season. Pre-qualified athletes include Joanne Reid, Clare Egan, Susan Dunklee, Sean Doherty, and Leif Nordgren.
According to the USBA selection criteria, the remaining World Cup Period 1 spots and IBU Cup Period 2 and 3 spots are determined through a series of rollerski races held over the summer in Jericho, Vermont and the current series at SoHo.
Yesterday, the women raced a 7.5-kilometer sprint, the men 10 k.
Susan Dunklee (USBA/CGRP) won the women’s race in 22:31.59 minutes after missing a single shot while shooting prone. Joanne Reid (USBA) was second in 23:31.08 (1,0). Hallie Grossman (USBA/CGRP) placed fourth but was the third American in 24:14.29 (1,1).
Travis Cooper (USBA/National Guard Biathlon) scored the win in the men’s 10 k sprint with a time of 26:13.45 while shooting clean. Lars Hammernes Leopold (U.S. JNT) placed second in 26:21.58 with no misses on the range. Sean Doherty (USBA/National Guard Biathlon) was third in 26:29.50 (1,1).
Racing will continue on Saturday with 10 k/13.5 k mass start race.
Sean Doherty on his way to winning the men’s 12.5 k pursuit. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)
USBA National Championships Jericho, Vermont 12.5 k/10 k pursuit
On Saturday, Sean Doherty (USBA) won the 12.5-kilometer pursuit in 34:19.1. Doherty shot 1+2+1+2 in taking the win. He began in bib 2, 5.8 seconds behind Jake Brown (CGRP). Brown placed second in Saturday’s pursuit finishing 17.0 seconds back. Max Durtschi (USBA/Strafford) raced to third (+1:36.6, 1+1+1+1).
Susan Dunklee during the women’s 10 k pursuit at the 2019 USBA National Championships. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)
In the women’s 10 k pursuit, Susan Dunklee (USBA/CGRP), the winner of Friday’s sprint, won in 34:38.7 after shooting 0+3+1+3. Hallie Grossman (CGRP) placed second (+4:06.7, 0+05+1), with Kelsey Dickinson (CGRP) taking third. Dickinson shot 0+0+4+3 to place 4:41.0 back.
Hallie Grossman placed second in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit at the USBA National Championships. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)
Kelsey Dickinson skiing to third in the 10 k pursuit. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)
For the women, Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, and Joanne Reid all pre-qualified based on last season’s results. Emily Dreissigacker was named to the team on Monday. The women’s World Cup team has three start spots per race in Pokljuka. According to Monday’s announcement, coaches will determine which athletes get specific starts at a later date.
After the Pokljuka races, only three U.S. women will travel to Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, the host of this season’s second IBU World Cup .
The fourth biathlete will head to Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy to race the second weekend of IBU Cup on Dec. 10-16. (The IBU Cup’s first weekend of racing will take place in Idre, Sweden on Nov. 26-Dec. 2).
Leif Nordgren and Sean Doherty both pre-qualified for the men’s opening World Cup races. The men’s side has four start spots in Pokljuka. Along with Nordgren and Doherty, Paul Schommer and Travis Cooper have been named to the first World Cup team roster.
Cooper’s path to Pokljuka will include a stop at the IBU Cup races in Idre. According to U.S. Biathlon, Cooper must first race in Sweden in order to earn his qualification for the IBU World Cup. Max Durtschi will travel to Pokljuka as a reserve athlete.
IBU Cup Teams
The SoHo and Jericho rollerski trials also served as a springboard to the second series of IBU Cups in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy. Hallie Grossman, Deedra Irwin, and Kelsey Dickinson were named as U.S. athletes for those races. They will be joined by one member of the women’s IBU World Cup team racing in Pokljuka.
The men also have four start spots at the second IBU Cup. Durtschi, Alex Howe, Jake Brown, and Vasek Cervenka have been named to the team for the Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy competitions.
Below is the schedule for the first two IBU World Cup and IBU Cup races.
Schedule for the first IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Schedule for the second IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
Schedule for IBU Cup #1 in Idre, Sweden.
Schedule for IBU Cup #2 in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy.
Kelsey Dickinson (24) gets on course for the women’s 7.5-kilometer biathlon sprint for USBA SoHo trials on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Emily Dreissigacker (26) and Hallie Grossman (27) look on. (Photo US Biathlon)
On Wednesday, 12 biathletes competed in the senior women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint, with veteran Susan Dunklee once again coming out on top. Dunklee completed the course in a time of 22:23, after missing two shots, one prone and one standing.
The next closest competitor to Dunklee was Johanna Talihärm, who tied Dunklee’s shooting score and finished 55 seconds back from the winning time for second place. Talihärm is originally from Estonia and is currently a senior at Montana State University.
Rounding out the podium was Craftsbury Green Racing Project and former Bates College skier, Hallie Grossman in third. Grossman cleaned her prone stage and missed one standing shot, finishing 1:12 seconds back from Dunklee.
Emily Dreissigacker, who had placed third in yesterday’s sprint, finished in fifth (+1:49) on Wednesday after two missed prone shots and one missed standing. Clare Egan, another top three finisher in Tuesday’s race, placed sixth (+2:01) in Wednesday’s sprint with 2 missed prone shots and 3 missed standing. In fourth (+1:32) on Wednesday was Deedra Irwin of Wisconsin Biathlon.
In the men’s 10 k sprint, Leif Nordgren claimed first in a time of 26:21 after one missed prone shot and one missed standing. Finishing 12 seconds behind Nordgren was Sean Doherty in second. Doherty missed two prone and cleaned standing. Rounding out Wednesday’s top three was Jake Brown, who cleaned standing and missed one prone shot, finishing two seconds out of second place and 14 seconds back from the winner.
A junior men’s and junior women’s sprint was held, with Lexie Madigan (Sugar Bowl Academy) taking the women’s win in a time of 16:46 and Eli Neilsen (MSU/Methow Valley Ski Club) claiming the men’s in a time of 19:25.
Athletes have a rest day on Thursday before returning to the venue on Friday for a mass start.
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee competing in the women’s sprint as an international guest at the 2017 German National Biathlon Championships on Sept. 9 in Langdorf, Germany. (Photo: Niklas Breu)
Dozens of German biathletes from all parts of the country descended on the small town of Langdorf (Arber) in the Bavarian Forest mountain range last weekend for their national championships. Since guests are allowed to compete in the races (a sprint and a pursuit), a number of international biathletes — including a handful of North Americans — made use of this opportunity during a training block in Europe for a performance test against some tough competition.
The American contingent of national-team members and a few more representatives from the Craftsbury Biathlon Club of Vermont was led by 2017 IBU World Championships silver medalist Susan Dunklee and fellow national-team veteran and 2013 silver medalist Tim Burke.
“It was a great event,” Dunklee wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “The large crowd of spectators and high level of competitors made it great practice for the winter.”
Last season’s World Championships gold medalist Lowell Bailey did not travel with the rest of the men’s team, neither did World Championship participants Clare Egan and Maddie Phaneuf of the women’s team.
Joining Dunklee were national-team members Joanne Reid, Emily Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Biathlon Club/US Biathlon B-team), as well as Hallie Grossman (Craftsbury/ US Biathlon National Development Group).
On the men’s side, Burke was joined by multi-time youth/junior world champion Sean Doherty, fellow Olympian Leif Nordgren, national-team rookie Paul Schommer (A-3 team), Michael Gibson (Craftsbury), and Alex Howe (Craftsbury/US Biathlon National Development Group).
The Canadian national team did not make the long journey overseas this summer, opting to prepare at home instead, but team member Megan Tandy (who lives and trains in Germany for large parts of the year) joined Dunklee, Reid and a group of other international athletes for a short training camp and the two races.
“I train mostly alone so to have coaches and teammates for a week was awesome,” Tandy wrote in an email. “Great for some friendly competition, coaching feedback, some laughs and I learned a few things, too. I always appreciate the chance to train with other athletes!”
New Biathlete Herrmann Tops Women’s Races, Dunklee Leads Americans
Germany’s Denise Herrmann en route to a victory in the women’s pursuit at the 2017 German National Biathlon Championships on Sept. 10 in Arber, Germany. (Screenshot: BR “Blickpunkt Sport” broadcast)
Germany’s Denise Herrmann, who switched from being a cross-country sprint specialist to biathlon only a year ago, was the standout female athlete of the weekend, winning the national title in both the sprint and pursuit.
In the sprint on Saturday, Sept. 9, the German biathlon B-team member shot clean on her way to the victory in a time of 18 minutes, 2.5 seconds on the 7.5-kilometer course, ahead of national-team members Maren Hammerschmidt (+30.9 with zero penalties) and Laura Dahlmeier (+36.0 with zero penalties). Finland’s biathlon star Kaisa Mäkärainen placed fourth after shooting two penalties (+42.2, 1+1).
In a field of 44 starters, Dunklee led the North American women in 15th place (+2:29.6) with three penalties (2+1). She was the fourth-best non-German woman.
“Of course every time you toe the line you want the win but I wasn’t among the fastest there this weekend,” Dunklee explained. “My goal is to be at my best in February and my focused work at these races will help get me there. The course had a nice flow with rolling terrain which made it great for practicing uphill V2 and transitions.”
Reid placed 18th (+2:45.8) with one penalty (0+1), while Tandy finished just behind her in 19th (+2:48.7) after having to circle three penalty laps (2+1). Dreissigacker placed 31st (+3:57.4) also with three penalties (1+2), and Grossmann was 40th (+4:57.9) with five penalties (2+3), out of 44 finishers.
In the following 10 k pursuit on Sunday in rainy conditions, Herrmann was able to rack up her second title in as many days in 30:17.5 after shooting three penalties (0+1+1+1). Dahlmeier, by her own account not a big fan of rollerski races, was unable to catch her despite another flawless shooting score and she finished second, 43.4 seconds back. Third place went to Mäkäräinen, who overcame five penalties (+1:37.8, 3+1+1+0), while Nadine Horchler in fourth overall claimed the bronze medal among Germans, moving up from sixth at the start after a solid performance on the range (+1:48.5, 0+0+0+1).
“I am really happy for her, that she now has been able to execute her abilities in both races,” Dahlmeier, a seven-time world champion, said of Herrmann to German broadcaster BR. “Her shooting, her racing, keeping her nerves in check. That demonstrates she has really taken another step forward. Still, this was a summer race without big pressure, but things are clearly moving in the right direction for her.”
The newly crowned national-champion, Herrmann was invited to a TV sports talk show hosted by the network later that evening for a more wide-ranging interview about her career, transition from cross-country to biathlon and the upcoming Olympics.
Germany’s Denise Herrmann dry firing in her kitchen. (Screenshot: Bavarian TV/BR)
“I was hoping to be able to translate my training performances into a good result, but I really wouldn’t have expected two titles this weekend,” Herrmann said. “When I made the switch [to biathlon] the Olympics in PyeongChang were my big stated goal, and I knew this wouldn’t be easy, also because this team might be the most competitive in the world. I am on my way now. Of course this was only a summer competition, but I can finally execute my shooting performances from training. I know what is left to do the next two months, and am looking forward to the winter.”
The program showed her training diligently on the shooting range, even doing “dry fire” practices at every opportunity while steaming coffee in her home kitchen. So far, Herrmann has pre-qualified for Germany’s IBU Cup team, but she started a few World Cups last season, including the Olympic test events in PyeongChang, South Korea, where she was part of the winning relay team.
“Being able to race in that relay made me incredibly happy,” Herrmann explained, remembering that day from last March. “Shooting in the first lane there, I had a few other distracting thoughts in my head. But that is the mental challenge and the allure of biathlon, and I would like to create more experiences like that.”
Clean Pursuit for Tandy on Her Birthday
Megan Tandy rollerskiing in Germany in August 2016. (Courtesy photo)
Dunklee again led the North Americans in 12th place in the pursuit (+3:42.1, fourth-best international) moving up three places from the sprint, with three penalties (0+1+0+2).
Seven seconds behind her, Tandy of Canada finished 14th (+3:49.1), just 0.1 seconds behind Germany’s Marie Heinrich (+3:49.0 with two penalties), after moving up from her starting position of 19th thanks to four clean shooting stages. She did so on her 29th birthday.
“The sprint was quite disappointing,” Tandy wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “Not the result I was aiming for… During the pursuit I really pulled the shooting together: for me it was a perfect day on the range with solid shooting times and 20/20 – it doesn’t get much better than that! To top it off, Sunday was my [29th] birthday so I was pretty pleased.”
Tandy was also happy with her performance considering she lives about an hour away from the nearest biathlon range. She estimated she had accumulated several thousand fewer shots in practice than most of her competitors this year.
“I had two 20/20 races on the World Cup circuit during the 2015-16 season, but I think this is the first time since then… so it has definitely been awhile!” she wrote. “The plus side is that I really value my time on the shooting range and I am approaching shooting training with such an intense focus that I am sure this summer has been some of my highest quality shooting training ever.”
“My race form is not where it needs to be yet, but I am feeling stronger than I was at this time last year and I believe I am making good progress,” Tandy wrote of her skiing. “The potential for a great season is there, but I still have a lot of work to do before the snow flies!”
Reid finished the pursuit in 21st place (+6:10.3) with three penalties (0+2+1+0), Dreissigacker moved up one spot to 30th (+7:34.6) with three penalties (1+0+2+0), and Grossman repeated in 40th (+12:21.9) with nine penalties (2+2+3+2).
The men’s 10 k sprint title went to Germany’s Benedikt Doll in a time of 24:33.3 despite two penalties (1+1) for his first national title. In a bit of a surprising outcome, Doll won the sprint at the 2017 World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, last season. On Saturday he prevailed over teammates Matthias Dorfer (+17.6, 0+1) and Simon Schempp (+24.2, 2+1), respectively. Switzerland’s Mario Dolder was the top non-German in fourth overall (+29.0, 1+0).
Leif Nordgren placed 15th with a single standing miss to lead the North American men in the sprint, finishing 1:21.3 back from Doll. Nordgren was the third-best international guest behind Dolder and his Swiss teammate Benjamin Weger, who was ninth overall.
“It was a fun weekend at the German summer championships in Langdorf, the race shape is not there yet though!” Nordgren wrote on Instagram.
Just two seconds behind him, Burke placed 18th (+1:23.4, fifth-best international) with three penalties (2+1). Doherty was 27th (+2:14.3) with four penalties (2+2), Schommer finished 34th (+2:54.0) with five penalties (4+1), and Gibson placed 48th (+4:32.5) with five penalties (3+2) in the field of 54 finishers.
Howe did not start, but posted on social media about supporting his wife Emily Dreissigacker:
In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Sunday, Germany’s Schempp improved from third at the start to claim the championship in commanding fashion in a time of 30:41.1 with a single penalty (0+1+0+0). His fellow senior national team member Erik Lesser moved up from seventh to claim the silver medal (+1:14.5 with two penalties), while Doll swapped positions on the podium with Schempp, coming in third place (+1:22.0 with four penalties). Sprint silver medalist Dorfer fell back to fifth place (+1:43.2 with four penalties).
“Totally satisfied with my performance the first weekend of the nationals,” Schempp posted on Instagram.
Tim Burke (USBA) racing to third in the men’s mass start at US Biathlon Rollerski Championships on Aug. 13 in Jericho, Vt. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
For the U.S., Burke moved up from 18th to seventh place with three penalties (0+0+2+1). He finished 2:16.9 minutes after Schempp and battled with local juniors David Zobel and Lucas Fratzscher to the line. Zobel placed sixth (+2:16.1 with one penalty) and Fratzscher eighth (+2:17.2, moving up from 23rd with clean shooting). Burke was the top non-German in the pursuit.
“These races were a good opportunity for me to see where I am at after the spring/summer training season,” Burke wrote in an email. “The races over here definitely have more of a ‘winter feel’ with bigger crowds and larger start fields. Overall, I was satisfied with my results. I felt like I did well in the areas that I have been focusing on this summer, and I now have clear areas of focus heading into the winter.”
Nordgren finished 18th (+3:33.5) slipping three positions and incurring two penalties on the shooting range (1+0+0+1). Schommer came in 29th (+5:06.1) improving by five places despite five penalties (3+1+1+0). Doherty was 30th (+5:22.0) after starting 27th, also with five penalties (1+3+1+0). Gibson finished 42nd (+8:17.8) improving by six places while registering six penalties (1+1+2+2), and Howe was unable to start after missing the sprint.
The German athletes will continue their national championship races with mass start and relay events in Ruhpolding next weekend. Meanwhile, the US athletes planned to use the week for testing and on-snow training in a ski tunnel at the World Cup venue in Oberhof, Germany, before returning to the U.S., according to Dunklee and Burke.
“Hopefully there will be a few more weeks of sunny fall training [in Germany] before it is time to hit the snow, before heading home to Canada for National team trials in early November,” Tandy wrote of her next plans.
The Hohenzollern Ski Stadium venue at the Arber will host another IBU Cup in January, when some of the German and North American athletes competing last weekend might return there.
Emil Iversen celebrates his win in the 30 k classic mass start in Falun, Sweden, on Sunday. Norwegian teammate Martin Johnsrud Sundby finished second and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson third.
FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Falun, Sweden): 15 / 30 k classic mass start
In the women’s 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday, Norway swept the podium with Marit Bjørgen taking the win in a time of 41:28.8 in Falun, Sweden. Crossing just half a second behind her was her teammate, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in second place. Rounding out the podium was Heidi Weng in third (+8.1).
American Jessie Diggins was the first to cross the line for the U.S. in 10th (+1:37.5). Three other U.S. women finished in the top 30, with Sadie Bjornsen finishing 21st (+2:43.6), Rosie Brennan 24th (+2:57.0), and Liz Stephen in 29th (+3:24.5).
Just outside of scoring World Cup points was American Caitlin Patterson in 32nd (+3:47.6) and Ida Sargent in 34th (+4:02.8). Canada’s Cendrine Browne finished 46th (+5:41.4) and American Liz Guiney 49th (+6:22.6).
After losing the skate sprint yesterday in a photo finish to Italy’s Federico Pellegrino, Emil Iversen ascended to the top step of the podium in the men’s 30 k classic mass start on Sunday in Falun.
The Norwegian was often near the front, but hadn’t tried to lead a breakaway like his teammates Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Sjur Røthe did earlier in the race. In the final two kilometers, Sundby – the overall World Cup leader – put in a sprint to try to drop the field. But Iversen caught up, drafting his veteran teammate into the stadium. In the final up-and-over before the finish line, Iversen made a pass and then accelerated down the finishing stretch to beat Sundby by 1.14 seconds.
“I got motivation from yesterday’s last 20 meters,” Iversen told FIS in a finish-line interview. “So today I fought all the way, and I was really stronger. It is amazing for me to be second yesterday and first today. I’m really proud of that.”
Calle Halfvarsson, who had been falling off the back of the lead pack just a few kilometers earlier, managed to get back to the front and claim third place for Sweden (+1.72 seconds) in a photo finish with Røthe (+1.76 seconds). Niklas Dyrhaug was next (+2.52 seconds) to give the Norwegian men’s team four in the top five.
In his return to the World Cup stage, Norway’s Petter Northug finished 31st (+3:10.6).
Alex Harvey was the lone Canadian on the start line. After skiing near the front of the field for the early part of the race he was dropped by the lead pack in the final kilometers, finishing 15th (+1:17.5).
Erik Bjornsen and Noah Hoffman took 35th and 37th places for the United States, finishing +3:30.8 and +3:59.8, respectively. SuperTour leader Matthew Gelso — familiar with the Falun course after competing in 2015 World Championships — finished 44th (+5:23.6), and Andy Newell placed 53rd (+7:45.3).
IBU Open European Championships (Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland): Single mixed & mixed relay
Russia’s Alexander Loginov (center) is greeted at the finish by his teammates Irina Starykh, Svetlana Sleptsova and Alexey Volkov after anchoring his team to the gold medal in the mixed relay at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)
[UPDATED] The Russian victory in the final 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5-kilometer mixed relay event of the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland, was only briefly in doubt, when Alexander Loginov skiing the anchor leg required all spares in his prone shooting stage. But with his final shot he managed to also hit that target to avoid the penalty lap, leaving the range with a lead of more than 30 seconds.
Loginov then did not need any spares in the last standing stage, and could take his time on the final loop. Unlike Russia’s Evgeniy Garanichev earlier in the day during the single mixed relay, he also managed to pick up a flag for the final meters of the race, crossing the line in a time of 1:12:26.0 hours.
The Russian team with Irina Starykh, Svetlana Sleptsova, Alexey Volkov and Loginov led from the first exchange and required only six spares with zero penalties.
With this medal, the 28-year-old Volkov became the most successful athlete in history at European Championships, according to an IBU press release, surpassing the retired Polish biathlete Tomasz Sikora. Russia was the most successful team of the 2017 Open European Championships with six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals.
Behind them, a number of teams vied for the positions on the podium. Sweden initially looked like a strong contender exchanging in second place after the women, but fell back with three penalty laps to only finish 10th.
Still six seconds back after the final shooting, Norway’s Fredrik Gjesbakk caught up to and outsprinted Ukraine’s Ruslan Tkalenko in the finishing stretch to claim the silver medal (+36.4) with the bronze left for Ukraine (+37.1).
“I thought that I made sufficient gap to win silver,” Tkalenko told the IBU. “But in the end, on the final downhill before the finish, I was very surprised when the Norwegian guy passed me, I truly did not expect that.”
The Norwegian team with Karoline Erdal, Marion Rønning Huber, Erlend Bjøntegaard, and Gjesbakk needed nine spares and had no penalties.
Ukraine with Anastasiya Merkushina, Yulia Dhzyma, Oleksander Zhyrnyi (who originally started for Russia before making the switch in 2014) and Tkalenko required six spares, and Dhzyma had to ski a penalty lap only temporarily setting the team back.
Bulgaria finished fourth (+1:16.4), with its anchor Vladimir Iliev narrowly beating Czech Republic’s Lukas Kristejn (+1:17.4) in the finishing stretch. Both teams needed 11 spares and had no penalties.
Jakob Ellingson skiing the anchor leg for the U.S. mixed relay at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. The U.S. team finished 14th. (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)
Starting at the back of the field in bib 20, US Biathlon’s Emily Dreissigacker got her team off to a strong start with a clean prone shooting and one spare round in standing, exchanging in 10th, a minute behind the leaders. Hallie Grossman needed one spare in each of her stages, tagging off to the men in 14th position and now 2:39 behind. Max Durtschi also had one miss each in prone and standing, coming into the last exchange still in 14th position, but another minute back. Jakob Ellingson required all three of his spares in his prone shooting stage narrowly avoiding the penalty lap, and one more in his final shooting stage. As the team from Finland was racing over a minute behind the Americans, he was able to keep the 14th position into the finish (+4:47.4), with a team total of nine spares and no penalties overall.
For Biathlon Canada, Erin Yungblut starting in bib 19 shot clean in her prone stage and required two spares in her standing shooting, tagging off in 18th position and more than two minutes back from first. Leilani Tam von Burg stayed clean in her prone shooting stage and needed one spare in standing, moving up two positions to exchange in 16th place, yet more than four minutes behind the leaders. After the exchange to the men, both Matthew Neumann and anchor Carsen Campbell managed to shoot clean in all of their stages, but lost additional time on the course to finish 16th (+6:39.9) ahead of four lapped teams.
Canada had the best shooting result of all 20 teams starting the relay, with just three spares and no penalty.
Russia’s Daria Virolaynen (l) and Evgeniy Garanichev after winning Sunday’s single mixed relay at the 2017 Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)
Earlier on Sunday, pretty much the only thing that went wrong for Russia’s Daria Virolaynen and Evgeniy Garanichev in the single mixed relay happened on the last meters of the finishing stretch, with Garanichev gesturing for a Russian flag he wanted to cross the line with. But the handoff was too short and the flag dropped past his outstretched hand to the snow. He glanced back, weighing if his lead was big enough to ski back, but decided it was not worth the risk, instead skiing into the arms of his partner waiting for him behind the line in a time of 37:10.2 minutes.
Russia needed seven spare rounds and incurred zero penalties. Garanichev secured the victory in the final shooting, when he only needed one spare – albeit fumbling a few seconds to insert it – while his direct opponents standing next to him required more time to hit their targets.
“Probably, I took some risk at the last standing,” Garanichev said, according to an IBU press release. “I wanted to shoot fast and clean, but missed with the last shot. But in general, I felt very comfortable; came and worked at the range in my rhythm.”
6.3 seconds behind, Norway with the team of Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen placed second, with seven spares and zero penalties.
“These are very short loops,” Christiansen commented on the fairly new, single mixed relay format. “You feel the pressure from the crowd and to shoot fast every time.”
The 20-year-old Tandrevold previously earned three bronze medals, including one in the single mixed relay, also with Christiansen, at last year’s Open European Championships in Tyumen, Russia.
To big cheers from their home crowd fans who had come out to the Duszniki Arena in beautiful but cold weather, the Polish husband-and-wife team of Krystyna Guzik and Grzegorz Guzik placed third with just five spares and zero penalties (+13.9), not quite able to keep up with Christiansen on the final loop after leaving the range together within a second.
“It is so nice to win a medal here in Poland,” Krystyna Guzik said. “We were both very disappointed with all of our mistakes in the other competitions. So today, we were relaxed and laughing before the competition, hoping not to have those mistakes again. We did not … and now have a medal.”
It was the first medal for Poland at these championships.
Ukraine with Iryna Varvynets and Andriy Dotsenko finished fourth, also with five spares and zero penalties (+20.9).
Biathlon Canada’s Aidan Millar skiing the final loop of the single mixed relay at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. With teammate Sarah Beaudry, Canada finished 13th (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)
For Biathlon Canada, Sarah Beaudry and Aidan Millar required seven spares during their race and had no penalty, just like the winning Russians and Norwegians, but could not quite keep up with the best teams on the course in the fast-paced race format with short loops somewhat comparable to a team sprint in cross-country.
Beaudry cleaned her first shooting stage and then needed one spare to hit all targets in standing. At the first exchange Canada was 10th, 35.8 seconds behind the then leading team from Poland.
Millar missed one shot in his first prone stage, leaving the range again in ninth position. Then he needed two spares in his standing shooting on the way to exchanging back to Beaudry in 11th (+56.4).
On her second leg, Beaudry had one miss in prone and required two spares in standing, falling back a bit to exchange in 13th (+2:12.0).
On his final leg, Millar was able to shoot clean in both stages, reducing the time gap to the top but not able to make up another position, and finished in 13th place (+1:56.1).
US Biathlon is only represented with two women at the Open European Championships in Poland, and decided to forgo a start in the single mixed relay, instead entering a team in the mixed relay later on Sunday.
Katerina Smutna (left) and Tord Asle Gjerdalen (right) of Team Santander won the 2017 Marcialonga. (Photo: Visma Ski Classics)
Tord Asle Gjerdalen won the Marcialonga, a Worldloppet and Swix Ski Classics marathon for the third time – in a row. This year was on a shortened course, “just” 57 rather than the traditional 70 kilometers.
The Team Santander athlete finished in two hours, eight minutes, and 36 seconds, edging Johan Kjølstad (Team United Bakeries) and Morten Eide Pedersen (Team BN Bank) in a sprint finish by 2.6 and 2.9 seconds, respectively.
Tyler Kornfield and David Norris of Alaska Pacific University finished 43rd (+5:03.8) and 66th (+10:43.1). Canadian Paralympian Brian McKeever finished 57th (+9:13.5) and guide Graham Nishikawa 81st (+12:56.5), followed by Ian Murray in 85th (+13:37.5) and Erik Carleton in 111th (+17:50.2).
In the women’s competition, Katerina Smutna, also of Team Santander, won her third straight Ski Classics competition. She crossed the line in two hours, 22 minutes, and 46.4 seconds. Britta Norgren of Team Lager 157 was second by just 0.8 seconds, and Sara Lindborg (Team Serneke) third, +4:22.2. University of Utah alum Maria Graefnings was tenth, +10:35.8.
US Biathlon’s Paul Schommer shooting prone in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. He was the top North American on Friday in 58th. (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)
IBU Open European Championships (Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland): Men’s & women’s sprints
On Friday in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint, two Bulgarian athletes were able to break the Russian dominance at the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland.
The men’s 10 k sprint podium on Friday, with Bulgaria’s Vladimir Iliev (c) in first, Russia’s Alexander Loginov (l) in second, and Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev (r) in third at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)
Bulgaria’s 29-year-old Vladimir Iliev, who has competed on the IBU World Cup since 2007 and posted a career-best fifth (which he achieved earlier this season), claimed the win in a time of 24:26.9 minutes despite one penalty in the standing stage (0+1), giving a kiss to his fast skis in the finish. Russia’s Alexander Loginov, who won the men’s 20 k individual race on Wednesday after returning this season from a two-year doping suspension, placed second (+4.9) with clean shooting. Behind them, Iliev’s teammate Krasimir Anev took third (+16.7), also shooting clean, to push Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs off the podium by just 0.6 seconds (+17.3). Rastorgujevs started early in bib 4 and skied the fastest course time of the day, but incurred two penalties in his standing stage (0+2), which ultimately set him back too far for a podium.
“It was a long way to this medal and this win,” Iliev said his first career victory, according to an IBU press release. “I was ready for a high result for many years, but many things have happened, so I’m really happy to get a victory today.”
“I did not expect anything in this race, because yesterday I had health problems so even my coach advised me not to start,” Anev said after winning his second medal of the championships, following up on a second place in the individual. “So [I] went into competition without any expectations.”
In beautiful weather conditions with little wind and the sun shining on the new arena in Duszniki-Zdrój throughout the race, US Biathlon’s Paul Schommer was the best of 11 North American starters, finishing 58th (+2:14.9) with three penalties (1+2). Schommer was less than a second faster than his U.S. teammate Alex Howe, who finished 59th (+2:15.3), after skiing two penalty laps (1+1). The third American Jakob Ellingson placed 64th (+2:24.6) with one penalty (0+1), Russell Currier was 75th (+2:41.4) with four penalties (2+2), Max Durtschi was 88th (+3:16.1) with three penalties (1+2), and Michael Gibson was 103rd (+4:30.4) with two penalties (1+1).
Matthew Hudec led the Canadians on Friday in 80th (+2:54.7) with one penalty (1+0). Also for Canada, Aidan Millar finished 86th (+3:13.9) with three penalties (1+2), Carsen Campbell 89th (+3:18.3) with three penalties (2+1), Pearce Hanna 92nd (+3:24.7) with two penalties (1+1), and Matthew Neumann 94th (+3:31.8) with four penalties (1+3).
In the large field of 125 starters, Schommer and Howe qualified for Saturday’s pursuit race by placing in the top 60.
The women’s 7.5 k sprint podium on Friday, with Ukraine’s Juliya Dzhyma (c) in first, Russia’s Svetlana Sleptsova (l) in second and Russia’s Irina Starykh (r) in third at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)
[UPDATED] In the women’s 7.5 k sprint that followed, Ukraine’s Juliya Dzhyma managed to win in convincing fashion in a time of 21:02.3 minutes, shooting clean and skiing the second-ranked course time. It was the first individual career victory for the 26 year old in either a junior or senior championships, after she won a gold medal with Ukraine’s relay team at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
“When I saw that everyone was cleaning, I knew that to get in to top three, I have to do the same,” Dzhyma commented on her race, according to an IBU press release. “But honestly, I have no idea how I hit all the targets today; for the whole season, it was my first competition where I had zero.”
“I was just trying to do my best and to make the gap bigger because tomorrow is the pursuit!” she added, regarding her last loop when she increased her lead by another ten seconds.
Also shooting clean but 27 seconds off the win was Russia’s 30-year-old Svetlana Sleptsova, who, earlier in her career, won five World Cups and gold medals in the women’s relay at the 2009 World Championship and 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Starting behind Sleptsova, her Russian teammate Irina Starykh, the winner of the women’s individual race on Wednesday, and like Loginov, also coming back from a two-year suspension for EPO use, claimed third (+37.8) with one penalty in her standing stage (0+1). Starykh bumped Germany’s Karolin Horchler, who had led the race early on after starting in bib 2 to fourth (+42.2, with no penalties). Horchler won her first World Cup a week ago in Antholz, Italy.
“Before the competition I already felt that it would be very hard for me to shoot today,” Starykh told the IBU. “And in the end it came out that way, it was tough for me to shoot at the prone and at the standing. But just one penalty is a pretty good result, based on how I feel.”
Horchler’s teammate Denise Herrmann, who made the switch from cross-country skiing to biathlon this season, followed in fifth (+47.7) with the fastest course time of the day, but missed two targets in her standing stage including her very last shot (0+2) to miss the podium.
American Hallie Grossman during her standing stage in the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. She finished 70th with three penalties as the second-best North American. (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)
In stable weather conditions, though not as sunny as during the men’s sprint earlier on Friday, US Biathlon’s Emily Dreissigacker was the top North American woman in 69th (+3:31.1), with three penalties (2+1). Just one position behind her, American Hallie Grossman also missed three (2+1) on her way to a 70th (+3:34.4). For the 23-year-old Grossman it is her first season overseas racing in the IBU Cup.
Canada’s Erin Yungblut finished 81st (+5:50.0) with four penalties (1+3). Her teammate Leilani Tam von Burg did not finish after incurring two penalties in her prone shooting stage, and the third Canadian, Sarah Beaudry did not start.
None of the North American woman qualified for Saturday’s pursuit.
Russia’s Alexander Loginov racing to the win in the men’s 20 k individual on Wednesday, the first race of 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)
IBU Open European Championships (Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland): 15/20 k individual
The Open European Championships, a five-day International Biathlon Union (IBU) sanctioned event, opened Wednesday with the men’s 20-kilometer and women’s 15 k individual races in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland.
Russia took first and second in the women’s race, with 29-year-old Irina Starykh — coming off a two-year ban for EPO use — winning by more than a minute over her teammate Svetlana Sleptsova. Starykh hit all 20 targets en route to the victory 44:24.7 minutes, which was 1:03.8 faster than Sleptsova, who had one penalty (0+1+0+0) in second. Ukraine’s Anastasiya Merkushyna placed third (+1:05.0) with one penalty as well (0+1+0+0).
American Emily Dreissigacker shooting clean during her first prone stage of the women’s 15 k individual on Wednesday at 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. She finished 41st.
Emily Dreissigacker led the two U.S. women in the race in 41st (+7:47.6) with four penalties (0+1+1+2). Hallie Grossman finished 52nd (+9:06.1) with four misses as well (1+1+2+0).
Canada’s Leilani Tam von Burg finished 58th (+9:54.2) with two penalties (0+0+1+1), and Erin Yungblut was 60th (+10:13.4) with three misses (0+2+0+1).
Russia took first in the men’s 20 k as well, with 24-year-old Alexander Loginov — who also recently served a two-year ban for testing positive for EPO — winning by 11.4 seconds in 44:54.9. He had one penalty in his first prone stage (1+0+0+0) but cleaned the next three stages. Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anew cleaned (0+0+0+0) for second (+11.4), and Russia had two on the podium with Alexey Slepov in third (+53.6), with clean shooting as well.
Russia swept fourth through six, putting five in the top six.
Russell Currier led the American men in 51st (+5:42.5) with five penalties (2+2+0+1). Paul Schommer placed 57th (+6:02.5) with five misses as well (2+0+1+2), Max Durtschi was 62nd (+6:44.2) with two misses (1+0+1+0), Alex Howe 79th (+8:46) with three misses (0+1+0+2), Jakob Ellingson 87th (+10:11.3) with seven misses (2+4+1+0), and Michael Gibson 94th (+11:58.3) with six penalties (1+1+1+3).
Carsen Campbell was the top Canadian in 64th (+6:58.2) with two misses (0+1+1+0). Matthew Neumann finished 68th (+7:26.0) with three misses (0+1+0+2), Aidan Miller was 72nd (+8:07.9) with two miles (0+1+0+1), Matthew Hudec 98th (+12:29.5) with seven misses (1+1+2+3), and Pearce Hanna 101st (+14:07.1) with seven misses (2+2+2+1).
Racing continues Friday with the men’s 10 k and women’s 7.5 k sprints.
The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) has announced its World Cup and IBU Cup rosters for the second period of racing.
World Cup
The women’s World Cup team will remain the same, with Susan Dunklee leading the way. Dunklee earned her first podium of the season on Friday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. After several top finishes she is ranked 11th overall on the World Cup. She is joined by Clare Egan, who had a top finish of 30th this season in the pursuit in Östersund, Sweden. In addition Joanne Reid, who finished 29th in the individual in Östersund, will stay on tour.
The men’s World Cup team is led by Lowell Bailey, who notched a top-ten in the Nove Mesto pursuit. As a result of Bailey’s consistency, he is currently ranked ninth in the overall rankings. He is joined by Tim Burke, who finished 16th in the Östersund individual, and Russell Currier, whose best mark of the season is 54th in the same race. Those three formed the World Cup squad for the first period of racing. Finally, 2014 Olympian Sean Doherty will join them after recovering from a bout of mono that kept him off the international circuit in December. And Leif Nordgren is qualified for the campaign but is still nursing a broken toe.
IBU Cup
In addition to the World Cup team, USBA also named a roster for the second-tier IBU Cup based on trials held at Mount Itasca, Minnesota, on December 15-19.
Women: Maddie Phaneuf (Old Forge, N.Y.) Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project) Hallie Grossman (Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Vermont) Siena Ellingson (Minnetonka, Minn.)
Men:
Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./U.S. Biathlon X-Team) Alex Howe (Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Vermont) Jake Ellingson (Mt. Itasca Biathlon, Minn.) Max Durtschi (Ketchum, Idaho/U.S. Biathlon X-Team)
In the opening sprint at Mount Itasca, Schommer won a 1.5-second victory over Howe, with Durtschi just one more second back. Both Schommer and Howe had two penalties and Durtschi just one. Then in the women’s sprint, Phaneuf had a single penalty to collect a 37.3-second win over Dreissigacker, who had missed two shots. Siena Ellingson was third, +43.8 with one penalty.
In the mass start at Mount Itasca, Schommer won again over Howe, this time by 29.8 seconds. Doherty, there for the races but pre-qualified for the World Cup campaign, finished third, +30.8. Perhaps most noteworthy, Phaneuf was the only competitor, male or female, to clean all four shooting stages, and as a result picked up a huge win over Dreissigacker, crossing the line two minutes and 56 seconds ahead of her closest rival. That’s in part because Dreissigacker had six penalties. N ext across the line was third-place Grossman (+3:13.7) with seven missed shots.
Then in the final sprint competition Jakob Ellingson had just a single penalty for some of the best shooting of the day. As a result he got the men’s win by 35.9 seconds over Schommer, who missed four shots. Howe was third (+39.4), thanks to three penalties. Phaneuf completed her clean sweep of the women’s races by picking up a 25.9-second win over Dreissigacker, with two penalties to Dressigacker’s three. Grossman was again on the podium in third despite seven penalties (+2:14.2).
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![Russia’s Alexander Loginov (center) is greeted at the finish by his teammates Irina Starykh, Svetlana Sleptsova and Alexey Volkov after anchoring his team to the gold medal in the mixed relay at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-2-3.png")
![Jakob Ellingson skiing the anchor leg for the U.S. mixed relay at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. The U.S. team finished 14th. (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image2-2-1.jpg")
![Russia’s Daria Virolaynen (l) and Evgeniy Garanichev after winning Sunday's single mixed relay at the 2017 Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/jpg-6.jpeg")
![Biathlon Canada’s Aidan Millar skiing the final loop of the single mixed relay at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. With teammate Sarah Beaudry, Canada finished 13th (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image2-3.jpg")
![US Biathlon’s Paul Schommer shooting prone in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. He was the top North American on Friday in 58th. (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-1.jpg")
![The men's 10 k sprint podium on Friday, with Bulgaria’s Vladimir Iliev (c) in first, Russia’s Alexander Loginov (l) in second, and Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev (r) in third at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image2-6.png")
![The women’s 7.5 k sprint podium on Friday, with Ukraine’s Juliya Dzhyma (c) in first, Russia’s Svetlana Sleptsova (l) in second and Russia’s Irina Starykh (r) in third at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-6.png")
![American Hallie Grossman during her standing stage in the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. She finished 70th with three penalties as the second-best North American. (Photo: IBU/Eurovisionsports.tv screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image3-1.jpg")
![Russia's Alexander Loginov racing to the win in the men's 20 k individual on Wednesday, the first race of 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/jpg-1-1.jpeg")
![American Emily Dreissigacker shooting clean during her first prone stage of the women's 15 k individual on Wednesday at 2017 IBU Open European Championships in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland. She finished 41st.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Emily-Dreissigacker-individual.jpg")
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