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.
Emily Dreissigacker tags off to Joanne Reid in the women’s World Cup biathlon relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. Both women are on the roster for the U.S. for the next year of international biathlon. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
For the first time in years, the roster features more women than men. Following the retirements of Lowell Bailey, Russell Currier, and Tim Burke, Alex Howe (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) netted his first senior national team nomination, and joins 2018 Olympians Sean Doherty and Leif Nordgren, as well as Paul Schommer (Moose Nordic).
On the women’s team, all five members of the 2018 Olympic team have been renamed: Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, and Emily Dreissigacker (all Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Joanne Reid (Colorado Biathlon), and Maddie Phaneuf (Polar Bear Ski Club). Dunklee and Egan recently said that they were not certain yet about retirement, but appear on the roster. The newest addition to the women’s senior team is Chloe Levins, who finished all three individual races at 2018 World Junior Championships in the top seven.
The “A” team athletes will be primarily based in Lake Placid, New York, while designated “B” team athletes (Phaneuf, Schommer, and Howe) will be based at regional training centers or with clubs, according to national team selection documents.
The federation has also named a development squad of Deedra Irwin (Wisconsin Biathlon), Travis Cooper and Jake Ellingson (National Guard Biathlon), Jake Brown (Loppet Nordic Racing), and Max Durtschi. All saw international race starts last season.
In addition, an 11-member Junior Development Group has been named, many of whom we interviewed this winter – see the links below to read about their experiences at World Youth and Junior Championships.
High Performance Team – Women
Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project), A1 Team Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), A2 Team Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt.), A3 Team Joanne Reid (Boulder, Colo./Colorado Biathlon), A3 Team Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project), A3 Team Maddie Phaneuf (Old Forge, N.Y./Polar Bear Ski Club), B Team
High Performance Team – Men
Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.), A1 Team Leif Nordgren (Marine, Minn.), A3 Team Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wisc./Moose Nordic), B Team Alex Howe (Gilford, N.H./Craftsbury Green Racing Project), B Team
Development Team – Senior Women
Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, Wisc./Wisconsin Biathlon)
Development Team – Senior Men
Travis Cooper (Kenai, Alaska/National Guard Biathlon) Max Durtschi (Sun Valley, Idaho) Jake Brown (Houghton, Mich./Loppet Nordic Racing) Jakob Ellingson (Minnetonka, Minn./National Guard Biathlon)
Youth and Junior Development Group – Women
Helen Wilson (Eagle River, Alaska/Alaska Biathlon Club) – 20-for-20 interview Lexie Madigan (Truckee, Calif./Auburn Ski Club) – 20-for-20 interview Emma Stertz (Grand Rapids, Minn./Mt. Itasca Biathlon) – 20-for-20 interview Grace Gilliland (Eagle River, Alaska/Alaska Biathlon Club) – 2017 20-for-20 interview Sarah Beaulieu (Fort Fairfield, Maine/Outdoor Sports Institute) Arianna Woods (Bozeman, Mont./Bridger Biathlon Club)
Youth and Junior Development Group – Men
Vasek Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn./Mt. Itasca Biathlon) – 2017 20-for-20 interview Garrett Beckrich (Grand Rapids, Minn./Mt. Itasca Biathlon) – 20-for-20 interview Tim Cunningham (Springfield, N.H./Saint Lawrence University) – 20-for-20 interview Eli Nielsen (Stehekin, Wash./Methow Valley) – 20-for-20 interview Marcus Gore (Vail, Colo./Casper Mountain Biathlon Club)
In the last race of their careers, Tim Burke leads Lowell Bailey up a climb in the men’s mass start on Saturday, March 31, at USBA Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. The two finished together. (Photo: Terry Wickland)
2018 USBA Junior/Senior Nationals
American biathletes officially wrapped up their race seasons at the 2018 US Biathlon Association (USBA) nationals last Thursday through Saturday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
The event kicked off with Lowell Bailey edging his teammate and longtime training partner Tim Burke by 5 seconds in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint on Thursday, March 29. Bailey started 15th out of 17 men and skied a single penalty lap after his prone shooting then cleaned standing (1+0). He crossed the finish line in 22:48 minutes, bumping Burke, who started 11th and had two standing penalties (0+2), out of first place. A third national-team member Sean Doherty completed the podium in third place, 20 seconds out of first with one standing miss (0+1).
In the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Thursday, Susan Dunklee raced to the win in 22:45, 11 seconds ahead of Clare Egan in second place. Dunklee and Egan started sixth and eighth, respectively, out of 10 women, and had two standing penalties apiece (0+2). Joanne Reid, also of the national team, placed third, 1 minute back from Dunklee with one standing miss (0+1).
Tim Burke leads Lowell Bailey in the men’s mass start on Saturday, March 31, at USBA Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: Terry Wickland)
On Friday, Bailey and Dunklee returned to the top step of the podium with victories in the men’s and women’s pursuits, after starting first in each race based on their sprint results.
Dunklee started 11 seconds ahead of Egan and won the women’s 10 k pursuit by 1:20.6 minutes with two penalties (1+0+1+0). Egan repeated in second place with three penalties (1+0+1+1), and Emily Dreissigacker improved on her fourth-place sprint result by finishing third (+3:46.9) with two misses (1+0+0+1).
Bailey started 5 seconds ahead of Burke and 20 seconds ahead of Doherty, then finished first, 1:31.7 clear of Doherty in second place. Bailey shot three penalties (1+0+1+1) and Doherty overcame six misses (3+1+1+1), while Burke finished 7.1 seconds behind Doherty for third place (+1:38.8) with nine penalties (1+1+2+5) after crossfiring on the final stage.
In Saturday’s mass starts, Bailey and Burke tied for first place in the men’s 15 k to celebrate the last race of their careers (check out this Instagram video). Bailey shot 19-for-20, with his lone miss coming in the last standing stage (0+0+0+1), while Burke had two one-minute penalties (0+1+1+0). They entered the finishing straight together and crossed the line in unison in 36:23.3. Doherty once again reached the podium in third (+36.1) after shooting three penalties (0+1+2+0).
Like Bailey, Dunklee swept nationals as well with a win in the women’s 12.5 k mass start. She finished with the fastest time of 39:51.6 despite five penalties (1+2+1+1), while Egan was runner-up for the third-straight day, 1:25.4 back with seven penalties (2+1+2+2). Dreissigacker shot clean to repeat in third place (+1:32.5).
Marcus Gore (33) of Casper Mountain Biathlon and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail leads Nick Burkhart (32) of Auburn Ski Club and Bjorn Westervelt (31) of Craftsbury in the youth men’s pursuit at 2018 USBA Nationals in Midway, Utah. Burkhart went on to edge Westervelt for the win. (Photo: Terry Wickland)
In the youth races, Bjorn Westervelt of Craftsbury and Lexie Madigan of the Auburn Ski Club (ASC) won the youth men’s and women’s sprints, respectively. On Day 2, Madigan raced to her second-straight win in the youth women’s 7.5 k pursuit while Nikolas Burkhart, also of ASC, won the youth men’s 10 k pursuit by 10 seconds over Westervelt in second place.
On Saturday, Burkhart won the youth men’s 10 k mass start in 35:23.8, while Helen Wilson of the Anchorage Biathlon Club topped the youth women’s 7.5 k podium with a win in 26:37.3.
The youth men’s 7.5 k sprint podium at IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, with Russia’s Mikhail Pervushin (c) continuing his undefeated streak at the championships in first, Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel (l) in second, and the Czech Republic’s Vítězslav Hornig (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
IBU Youth World Championships (Otepää, Estonia): Youth women’s and men’s sprints
Sweden’s Karin Elvira Öberg raced to her third-straight win of the week at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships in Otepää, and Pascale Paradis led Canada in 15th in the youth women’s 6-kilometer sprint on Friday.
Paradis started 36th out of 92 women and shot 18-for-20, missing one on each stage (1+1), on a day when the top-two finishers had misses as well. With the ninth-fastest overall course time, Paradis, 15, finished 1:04.3 minutes off of Öberg’s winning time of 19:46.7.
Sweden’s Karin Elvira Öberg after winning her third-straight race at 2018 IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, with a win in the youth women’s 6 k sprint on Friday. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Öberg started 65th and claimed the win with one penalty (0+1), continuing her undefeated streak at Youth Worlds after winning the 10 k individual and relay as well. She was joined on the podium by her teammate Amanda Lundström, who also raced to gold in the 3 x 6 k relay on Wednesday, and shot clean on Friday to finish 16.7 seconds back in third.
Between them, Finland’s Heidi Nikkinen placed second (+13.1), with one penalty (1+0).
In the first race of her first Youth World Championships, Paradis placed sixth to earn recognition at the post-race flower ceremony.
“After being shocked with the result I got for the individual it got me pretty excited,” Paradis recalled in an email on Friday. “But I knew that if I put too much pressure on myself I would get too nervous. But it really boosted my confidence to know that I had a chance to do well here!
“So I went into this race not expecting too much,” she continued. “This season I’ve been doing well in individuals so I was hoping for a good result but in sprints I haven’t been shooting great so I was super happy to see myself knock 8 targets down and I skied as fast as I possibly could, so overall I am super happy about my race!”
Pascale Paradis racing the first leg of Canada’s youth women’s 3 x 6 k relay team on Wednesday at IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. Her team finished 10th. (Photo: Bill Gilliland)
Paradis described the conditions as “perfect”, not too cold and with relatively calm winds.
“I was happy about my shooting just because it’s the best I’ve shot in a sprint race this year,” she wrote. “Skiing I felt really tired but my coach Andrew was on the hill cheering super loud and I dug deep and pushed myself to the max in this race and was extremely happy too see that I had skied one of my fastest races ever!”
In Sunday’s 7.5 k pursuit, the last day of the championships, she’ll start about 1 minute and 4 seconds back in 15th, just 2 or 3 seconds out of 12th place.
“I’m excited to be started really close to a few other girls right out of the gates for the pursuit,” Paradis wrote. “We don’t do many pursuits back home so this will be my second one ever and I’m super excited to see what it’s like on the international level. I really like doing pursuits even though they get me the most nervous, it’s just super fun to know where you are in the race the whole time and to just make up as many spots as you can during the course of the race.”
Two other Canadian women finished in the top 60 of the sprint to qualify for the pursuit, with Jenna Sherrington placing 46th (+2:25.3) with two penalties (1+1), and Benita Peiffer placing 51st (+2:40.4) with three misses (1+2). Shilo Rousseau missed the cutoff in 66th (+3:04.8) with four penalties (1+3).
Two American women qualified, with Emma Stertz in 52nd (+2:44.2) with two misses (1+1), and Grace Gilliland in 55th (+2:50.1) with one miss (0+1). Lexie Madigan finished 70th (+3:28.1) with four penalties (4+0) and Helen Wilson followed in 72nd (+3:28.9) with three misses (1+2).
In the youth men’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday afternoon, Russia’s Mikhail Pervushin won his third-straight race of the championships, shooting clean and finishing in 20:17.3. Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel also shot a perfect 10-for-10 to finish second (+21.9) for his first Youth Worlds medal. The Czech Republic’s Vítězslav Hornig rounded out the podium in third (+38.6) with one miss (0+1).
American Vasek Cervenka improved on his 27th place in the 12.5 k individual by finishing 24th on Friday (+1:59.2) with three penalties (1+2). He and two teammates qualified for Sunday’s 10 k pursuit, with Eli Nielsen placing 42nd (+2:51.2) with one miss (0+1), and Garrett Beckrich following in 46th (+3:01.3) with four penalties (1+3). Maxime Germain missed the top 60 in 74th (+4:33.9) with three misses (1+2).
Leo Grandbois led Canada in 33rd (+2:33.4) with three penalties (1+2). All four Canadian men qualified for the pursuit with Thomas Hulsman shooting clean for 35th (+2:35.3), Rory Gilliland finishing 52nd (+3:19.8) with one miss (0+1), and Ryan Elden placing 59th (+3:30.0) with one miss as well (1+0).
The junior women’s and men’s sprints are scheduled for Saturday, followed by the youth and junior pursuits on Sunday.
Alaska’s Helen Wilson on the shooting range. (Photo: Jim Pasek)
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) 2018 Youth and Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 16-year-old Helen Wilson, who is representing the United States at her second Youth World Championships.
On Monday, Wilson finished 74th in the 10 k individual, and she placed 18th with the U.S. youth women’s relay team in Wednesday’s 3 x 6 k.
***
“My full name is Helen Wilson but you can call me lawyer.
I was born and raised in Eagle River, Alaska, and I learned to ski at Junior Nordic.
I spent the time between World Youth/Junior trials and Worlds adjusting to reasonable temperatures, aka not Minnesota, only to arrive here in Otepää to experience those atrocious temperatures again.
The most frightening workout I did in the last training year to prepare for this was classic skiing away from a momma moose.
Helen Wilson racing in the 10 k freestyle at U.S. National Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Pat Cooper)
One thing I’m working on this season to improve my biathlon skills is learning how to shoot with numb digits.
This is my first time in Estonia and sixth time racing internationally, and so far it’s been way better than staying at home.
One difference I’ve noticed between Estonia and the United States is the people here speak Estonian.
One of the things I’m most excited about for World Youth/Junior Championships in Otepää is getting to glide on Susan Dunklee’s old boards.
One race I’m especially targeting there is the warm up. The winner of the warmup is clearly the fastest skier.
Watching the Olympics in the leadup to my own races was exhausting because they starred in the wee hours of the morning. One of my most shocking moments of the Games was when Martin Fourcade didn’t land on the podium in the sprint. I want to be like Martin Sundby because having his beard would have kept me warm at trials in Minnesota.
At Worlds, I really hope I can chat/make friends with someone from Norway and ask if they want to trade race suits.
My favorite thing at the breakfast where we are staying is the warm milk, that is half a degree away from curdling.
Before this trip, if you said “Estonia”, the first thing I’d think of would have been Africa.
Now that I’m here, I’m pretty sure something I’ll always remember will be how I sat on my friends lap in a snowbank in between the merging of two roads because I was afraid there was dog pee under the snow while a car drove by.
If I had a totally free day here and didn’t have to worry about race fitness or training, I’d spend it watching people suffer going up the “wall”. Good times, good times…
The best way to follow me on social media is on snapchat @biathlete.”
The youth men’s 3 x 7.5 k relay on Wednesday, with Norway leading, at the IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bill Gilliland)
IBU Youth World Championships (Otepää, Estonia): Relays
Pascale Paradis racing the first leg of Canada’s youth women’s 3 x 6 k relay team on Wednesday at IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bill Gilliland)
Tuesday and Wednesday were relay days at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships in Otepää, highlighted by two ninth-place results by the Canadian and American biathlon teams.
On Tuesday, the Canadian junior women (Emily Dickson, Nadia Moser and Megan Bankes) placed ninth in the 3 x 6-kilometer relay, 3:31.6 minutes out of first, with two penalties and 14 spares. The U.S. youth men (Vasek Cervenka, Camren Nielsen and Garrett Beckrich) finished ninth in the 3 x 7.5 k on Wednesday, +7:19.9 with three penalties and 15 spares.
Also on Wednesday, Canada finished 10th in the youth women’s 3 x 6 k with Pascale Paradis, Shilo Rousseau and Benita Peiffer (+3:35.3 with zero penalties and 11 spares). The U.S. youth women followed in 18th with Helen Wilson, Margaret Madigan and Emma Stertz (+8:24.6 with one penalty and 12 spares).
The Canadian youth men’s relay, with Rory Gilliland, Tom Hulsman and Leo Grandbois, on Wednesday at IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bill Gilliland)
The Canadian youth men finished 16th with Rory Gilliland, Thomas Hulsman and Leo Grandbois (+9:45.5 with three penalties and 18 spares).
In the junior men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Tuesday, Canada finished 17th with Teo Sanchez, Angus Tweedie, Trevor Kiers, and Adam Runnalls (+10:48.7 with four penalties and 14 spares), and U.S. followed in 19th with Cody Johnson, Tim Cunningham, Camron Christiansen, and Jacob Pearson (+24:31.1 with eight penalties and 18 spares.
France won the junior women’s relay with Camille Bend, Myrtille Begue and Lou Jeanmonnot Laurent finishing in 1:02:52.1 hours with one spare and eight penalties. Norway placed second in that race, 17.5 seconds back, and Russia was third (+40.1).
Russia topped the junior men’s relay with Said Karimulla Khalili, Vasili Tomshin, Viacheslav Maleev, and Igor Malinovskii finishing in 1:25:21.2 with zero penalties and nine spares. Norway took silver(+57.1), and France earned bronze (+2:45.6).
Sweden won the youth women’s relay the following day with Amanda Lundström, Ella Halvarsson and Elvira Öberg in 1:03:19.8 with zero penalties and six spares. Öberg shot clean without any spares (0+0, 0+0) for her second gold medal in as many races after she won Monday’s 10 k individual.
She edged Finland’s Heidi Nikkinen in a photo finish, in which the two racers finished less than a tenth of a second apart, and Finland settled for silver after two penalties and 10 spares. Norway reached the podium in third (+37.0).
The Russian men prevailed again on Wednesday with Denis Tashtimerov, Andrei Viukhin, and Monday’s 12.5 k individual gold medalist, Mikhail Pervushin, winning the youth men’s relay in 1:04:51.1 with two penalties and eight spares. The Czech Republic claimed silver (+2:30.), and Norway continued its podium streak in third (+3:04.5).
Youth/Junior World Championships continue Thursday with the junior women’s 12.5 k and junior men’s 15 k individual races in Otepää.
The top-six finishers in the youth women’s 10 k individual at IBU Youth World Championships on Monday in Otepää, Estonia, with Sweden’s Karin Elvira Öberg (second from l) in first, Russia’s Anastasia Shevchenko (l) in second, Russia’s Anastasiia Goreeva (third from l) in third and Canada’s Pascale Paradis (far right) in sixth. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Pascale Paradis and Canadian head coach Jacqueline Akerman.)
IBU Youth World Championships (Otepää, Estonia): Youth women’s and men’s individual
On Day 1 of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships in Otepää, Canada had two women finish in the top 11 of the youth women’s 10-kilometer individual race on Monday.
Canada’s Pascale Paradis racing to sixth in the youth women’s 10 k individual on Monday, the first day of 2018 IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Ian Sherrington)
Both are brand new to the Youth World Championships scene, with 15-year-old Pascale Paradis placing sixth, 1:09.2 minutes out of first, with one penalty (1+0+0+0). Also for Canada, 17-year-old Benita Peiffer shot an impressive 19-for-20 in the youth women’s longest race of the championships, missing one in prone and cleaning her remaining targets (1+0+0+0) to finish 1:43.1 out of first.
“I came to these championships with no expectations, with it being my first international race I figured I wouldn’t do great because there’s so many other great competitors in the world,” Paradis wrote in an email to FasterSkier on Monday night. “I just lined up for the start line and pretended that I was racing any normal race because if I didn’t think that I knew the nerves would get to me.”
She started in the middle of the field in bib 45 and found the conditions to be ideal: sunny, not too cold and with minimal wind.
“Right out of the start gates I had a good feeling about the day,” she recalled. “I had a restful sleep and was really nervous and excited at the same time. Though I had no idea I would do that well, I just felt good to me and that’s what made me happy. It just made me even happier to realize that I had come top ten and I was over the moon. I didn’t see that coming and I was incredibly grateful for all of those that had helped get to this stage.
“On course I felt pretty strong, I definitely didn’t feel weak but I had no idea my skiing was within some of the faster times,” Paradis added. “On the range my goal was to focus on my own race and not getting bothered by other competitors, which I usually do, and on the range I felt confident when I came in to shoot. I achieved my goal by not getting flustered by the other girls and all the other distracting sounds.”
According to Canada’s head coach and trip leader Jacqueline Akerman, the team’s head wax technician, Andrew Chilsom, informed Paradis she was in first place after the last shooting.
“She gave a little laugh and immediately picked up her pace and passed a few more competitors in her last loop, good enough to hold for a spot in the flower ceremony,” Akerman wrote.
When Paradis crossed the finish line, she was initially in second place.
“When I finished I didn’t believe that I was one of the top competitors,” Paradis wrote. “I was so dazed and tired and there was so many people around that I just couldn’t really get it into my head. So I was just extremely happy to be up there with the other top biathletes in the world, I didn’t think my result would stay like that but I was just happy to be in that position at all. I was expecting a top 60 maybe when I came here let alone top 10.”
Peiffer started 88th out of 91 in the women’s race. After cleaning the last three shooting stages, she learned what place she was fighting for on her last loop.
“It was probably a good thing I wasn’t told how I was doing until the last lap otherwise I would have gotten too excited and blown up on my last shooting bouts,” Peiffer wrote. “When I found out that I would have a chance at 11th place while I was racing I instantly skied as fast as I could and left all my energy all out on the course. Once I crossed that finish line in 11th place I was filled with satisfaction knowing that I put it all out on the course and proved to myself that I can hit those targets!
“I think the key to my solid shooting today was staying completely focused and in my bubble while shooting,” Peiffer continued. “I found it quite challenging with the amount of people around but I just focused on what I had to do to hit those targets. I also found that not thinking about my shooting too early while skiing on the course helped. I usually get too excited about what could happen and then things go sideways! Positivity is another one! Believing that I could hit those targets is what gave me confidence going into the range.”
She described the Otepäa range approach as relatively easy, which she preferred. “I really like to calm down before I start shooting,” Peiffer explained. “The range here is also not affected by the wind much which I am very pleased with!”
Sweden’s Karin Elvira Öberg, the younger sister of Olympic 15 k individual champion Hanna Öberg, won the race with 19-for-20 shooting as well (1+0+0+0), posting the fastest time at the finish of 35:35.9 minutes. And she did so on her 19th birthday.
“I was so happy for Hanna when she won, and now I win,” Öberg told the IBU on Monday.
Russia occupied the second and third steps on the podium with Anastasia Shevchenko placing second, 35.6 seconds back, with two penalties — one of which came on the last shooting stage (1+0+0+1). Anastasiia Goreeva placed third (+53.8) with three penalties (1+2+0+0).
Four Canadian women competed in the event, with Shilo Rousseau finishing 36th (+4:06.4) with three penalties (0+1+0+2), and Jenna Sherrington following in 40th (+4:22.9) with one miss (1+0+0+0).
“It was wonderful to see the whole group of young youth women who are relatively inexperienced (on the international stage) put in solid performances today,” Akerman wrote. “All of them placing in the top forty along with great shooting results is something to be very proud of! … This is credited to the great and hard working staff and supportive team we have here, as well as thier coaches and others back home who have obviously done great prep work. We have 14 family members of athletes here cheering like crazy, cowbells and flags and heys with each hit, it sure adds to the support the athletes feel. During the flower ceremony Pascale got a much louder cheer than the first placed athlete!”
Emma Stertz led the U.S. in 60th (+6:01.9) with two penalties (0+2+0+0), Helen Wilson finished 74th (+8:00.9) with five penalties (2+2+1+0), and Margaret Madigan placed 83rd (+10:53.9) and Grace Gilliland 84th (+11:26.3) with nine penalties apiece.
Russia put three in the top six of the youth men’s 12.5 k individual on Monday at 2018 IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, with Mikhail Pervushin (32) placing first, Andrei Viukhin (70) fourth and Denis Tashtimerove (23) sixth. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
In the youth men’s 12.5 k individual, Russia’s Mikhail Pervushin claimed the win in 37:41.2 with perfect shooting except for a single miss on the last stage (0+0+0+1). Norway’s Filip Andersen took silver (+12.3) with one penalty as well (1+0+0+0), and France’s Martin Bourgeois République claimed bronze (+47.2) with two penalties (0+1+0+1).
“I was worried before the start, but I’m happy that things turned out as they did,” Pervushin told the IBU. “Today I was aiming for clean shooting, but I did not succeed, that upset me, but I had to fight for the win. I feel good on the track, I like it – overall I’m happy.”
The defending youth world champion in the event, Canada’s Leo Grandbois placed 24th (+4:15.6) on Monday after incurring five penalties (1+1+2+1). American Vasek Cervenka finished about another 10 seconds back in 27th (+4:25.5) with six penalties (0+3+2+1).
“Leo had a solid ski race today,” Ackerman wrote. “His shooting was not there today, but knowing him he will turn that around in a hurry.’
Also for Canada, Rory Gilliland finished 47th (+6:00.1) with three misses (1+0+1+1), Thomas Hulsman was 65th (+7:35.0) with four penalties (3+1+0+0), and Ryan Elden 81st (+10:47.3) with 10 penalties.
For the U.S., Garrett Beckrich placed 48th (+6:03.9) with seven misses, Camren Nieslen was 64th (+7:21.8) with four misses (0+3+1+0), and Maxime Germain 70th (+8:15.6) with seven penalties.
The junior women’s 3 x 6 relay and junior men’s 4 x 7.5 k relays will be held Tuesday and the youth relays will follow on Wednesday.
Above: Norway’s Marit Bjørgen celebrates her 16th World Championships gold after winning Monday’s 10 k classic in Lahti, Finland. Below: The women’s 10 k classic podium at 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, with Bjørgen (c) in first, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (l) in second, and Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Women’s 10 k classic
No contest. That was the takeaway of Marit Bjørgen’s performance in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Monday at 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland, after the Norwegian posted a 41-second victory in 25:24.9 minutes.
Bjørgen started 54th of 72 starters and clocked the fastest time over every intermediate timing point on the course. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla had been the previous race leader after starting 34th before Bjørgen bumped her out of the leader’s chair by 41 seconds.
Norway had two on the podium with Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in third, 55.5 seconds behind Bjørgen. Norway’s Heidi Weng missed the podium in fourth (+1:13.8), while Sweden’s Anna Haag — an early leader in bib 18 — finished fifth (+1:22.7). Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen took sixth (+1:23.7) and Krista Parmakoski was seventh (+1:31.4), while Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk tied for eighth (+1:34.5). Germany’s Stefanie Böhler rounded out the top 10 in 10th (+1:35.8).
Sadie Bjornsen led the U.S. women in 23rd (+2:21.2), Kikkan Randall placed 26th (+2:31.7), Rosie Brennan was 32nd (+2:55.4), and Ida Sargent 43rd (+3:55.2).
Katherine Stewart-Jones led the Canadians with her best result at her first World Championships in 36th (+3:09.6), Emily Nishikawa followed in 37th (+3:14.9), and Dahria Beatty 39th (+3:24.9).
IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Junior relays
(From left to right) Russia’s Nikita Lobastov, Igor Malinovskii, Nikita Porshnev, and Kirill Streltsov after winning the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Tuesday at IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia. (Photo: IBU)
[UPDATED] Russia, Norway, Germany. Or Norway, Germany, Russia. That’s how the podiums shook out for the junior men’s and women’s relays on Tuesday, the last day of the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia.
Russia won the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer event by 53.9 seconds in 1:17:27.8 hours, with Nikita Lobastov, Igor Malinovskii, Nikita Porshnev, and Kirill Streltsov. After coming through the first exchange in fifth, 44.2 seconds out of first, Malinovskii skied his team into first and they held the lead to the finish. In total, Russia used seven spares to clean and had no penalties.
Norway claimed silver with Dag Sander Bjørndalen,Johannes Dale, Aleksander Fjeld Andersen, and Sindre Pettersen. After getting tagged in 14th, Dale moved the team up to sixth and Andersen improved to second, which Pettersen held. The team combined for one penalty and 12 spares.
Germany claimed bronze (+1:39.3) despite one penalty and 16 spares, with Justus Strelow, Danilo Riethmüller, Dominic Schmuck, and David Zobel. Fourth at the first exchange, Riethmüller picked moved them into third on the second leg, which Schmuck and Zobel held.
Canada finished 12th (+6:00.5) with Zachari Bolduc, Trevor Kiers, Jules Burnotte, and Pearce Hanna combining for three penalties and 13 spare rounds. Positioned in 10th for the first two legs, the team moved into eighth on Burnotte’s third leg. Hanna had to ski three penalty laps on the final leg and slipped to 12th.
The U.S. men finished 14th (+9:07.4) with Cody Johnson, Cameron Christiansen, Travis Cooper, and Peter Carroll combining for two penalties and 10 spare rounds. The team gradually moved up from 16th at the first exchange to 12th at the third and final exchange, before losing two places before the finish.
(From left to right) Norway’s Hilde Eide, Karoline Erdal and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold after winning the junior women’s 3 x 6 k relay on Tuesday at IBU Junior World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia. (Photo: IBU)
In the junior women’s 3 x 6 k relay, Norway rose to gold with Hilde Eide, Karoline Erdal and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (for Tandrevold’s third medal in the last three races, and first gold of the week) finishing in 56:18.4. The team, which had zero penalties and used eight spares, moved up from fourth at the first exchange to first on Erdal’s second leg and Tandrevold anchored them to the win.
Germany crossed the finish 16.5 seconds later for silver, with Vanessa Voigt, Sophia Schneider and Anna Weidel. In seventh after the first leg, Schneider moved them into third before Weidel anchored them to second. They had one penalty and used nine spares.
Russia rounded out the women’s podium in third (+26.1) with Kristina Reztsova, Ekaterina Moshkova and Valeriia Vasnetcova. After being tagged in ninth, Moshkova skied them up to fourth and Vasnetcova picked off one more place for bronze. They combined for one penalty and eight spares.
Canada’s junior women finished 14th (+4:17.7) with Megan Bankes, Emily Dickson and Nadia Moser combining for four penalties and nine spares. They had been as high as 11th after Bankes’s first leg.
The U.S. finished 17th (+11:30) with Siena Ellingson, Helen Wilson and Nina Armstrong accumulating five penalties and 11 spares. They had skied as high as 15th after Ellingson’s first leg.
Helen Wilson (Alaska Nordic Racing/Anchorage Biathlon Club) racing on Dec. 18, 2016 in Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Barbara McMullen)
In another 20-something-question, fill-in-the-blanks series, we checked in with the world-class U.S. and Canadian biathletes that competed at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth & Junior World Championships Feb. 22-28 in Osrblie (also known as Brezno-Osrblie), Slovakia.
Here’s 15-year-old Helen Wilson, of Alaska Nordic Racing and Anchorage Biathlon Club, who represented the U.S at her first Youth Worlds. In two individual races at the championships, she placed 62nd in the youth women’s 10 k individual and 67th in the 6 k sprint.
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“My full name is Helen Rachel Wilson, but you can call me Helen Watermelon. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska, raised in Eagle River, Alaska, and one thing you should know about my hometown is… ‘We can see Russia from here.’
I started cross-country skiing when I was 7 and started biathlon when I was 12 thanks to my dad. I currently train in Anchorage and Eagle River with Alaska Nordic Racing and Anchorage Biathlon Club.
If I’m not skiing, you might find me on the ice rink practicing my salchow and lutz.
If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘A Lost Pearle‘.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Youth/Junior World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie is traveling to new lands, meeting new people, trying new foods and skiing new trails.
This will be my first Youth/Junior World Championships, and this year, I’m competing as a youth. One race I’m especially targeting there is the sprint race.
The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was get 12 hours of sleep before each race.
One of the best race memories I have is winning the 5K free style Besh Cup #2, a Junior National qualifier.
If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be…well I’ve already met Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke, Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Annelies Cook, Andrea Burke, Sara Studabaker, Zach Hall, Holly Brooks, and Kikkan Randall….but I would love to meet them all again.
If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be a secret intelligence agent for the CIA.
I’m missing 35 days of school to be here, and my teachers are probably thinking, ‘She has dropped out of school to be a ski bum.’
Grace Gilliland (Alaska Biathlon Club/APU Junior Ski Team) on the range. (Photo: Claire Gilliland)
In another 20-something-question, fill-in-the-blanks series, we checked in with the world-class U.S. and Canadian biathletes that will be competing at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth & Junior World Championships Feb. 22-28 in Osrblie (also known as Brezno-Osrblie), Slovakia.
Here’s 16-year-old Grace Gilliland, of the Alaska Biathlon Club and Alaska Pacific University (APU) Junior Ski Team, who is representing the U.S. at her first Youth Worlds. She qualified for today’s youth women’s 7.5 k pursuit with a 46th place in Friday’s sprint, and earlier in the week, she finished 55th in the 10 k individual.
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“My full name is Grace Gilliland, but you can call me just plain Grace. I was born and raised in Eagle River, Alaska, and one thing you should know about Eagle River is that we have brown bears that try to rip open building doors.
Grace Gilliland (Alaska Biathlon Club/APU Junior Ski Team) during a high-school race at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Pat Cooper)
I started cross-country skiing right after I learned how to walk (about two years old), and started biathlon when I was 11, thanks to my oldest brother Simon. I currently train in Anchorage with Alaska Biathlon Club and Alaska Pacific University Junior Ski team.
If I’m not skiing, you might find me camping, halibut fishing, fly fishing, or set netting. Periodically I am found in the garden planting flowers if it’s warm enough outside.
If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be the ‘The Wide, Wide World‘.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Youth/Junior World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie is going with my best friend Helen Wilson.
This will be my first Youth/Junior World Championships, and this year, I’m competing as a youth. One race I’m especially targeting there are ones with very windy conditions, that are hard to shoot in. Windy races are my kinda races😏
The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was to always load your magazines with warm fingers so they feel better.
One of the best race memories I have is racing my best friend Helen Wilson at a Wednesday night club race in Alaska.
If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Susan Dunklee.
I’m missing 8263738591 days of school to be here, and my professors are probably thinking, ‘Woah there.’
Germany’s Johannes Rydzek celebrates his win in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships on Friday in Lahti, Finland. He won the individual normal hill/10 k by 14.9 seconds over his teammate Eric Frenzel. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Nordic Combined individual normal hill/10 k
Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany. That’s how the results read after the first nordic combined competition of the 2017 Nordic World Championships on Friday in Lahti, Finland, with Germany not only sweeping the podium but the top four of the men’s individual normal hill/10-kilometer Gundersen start.
Germany swept the podium in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland, with Johannes Rydzek (c) taking gold, Eric Frenzel (1) silver, and Björn Kircheisen (8) bronze in the individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Friday. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Johannes Rydzek notched his second individual gold medal in the last two championships (after winning the normal hill/10 k in 2015 in Falun, Sweden), with a 14.9-second victory over his teammate and four-time defending overall World Cup champion Eric Frenzel. Björn Kircheisen completed the all-German podium in third (+30.0), holding off teammate Fabian Rießle by 2.2 seconds for bronze.
The 25-year-old Rydzek, who’s already won eight individual World Cup competitions this season, jumped to second on Friday and started the 10 k race 14 seconds behind Frenzel, the leader after the jump.
Rydzek overtook Frenzel for the win and 33-year-old Kircheisen moved up from eighth after the jump to third at the finish. Rießle held off Japan’s Akito Watabe by 0.1 seconds in a photo finish for fourth.
“Incredible. An incredibly beautiful day,” Rydzek told German broadcaster ZDF after. “Thanks to everyone who supported me so much throughout the last years so that this became possible now. Thanks also to my teammates, who I think all did a cool job today. All three guys and the whole surrounding team. And as for the race, I felt strong, I knew the slow-and-difficult course suits me well. And that I was able to conduct the race from in front … incredible. Just craziness.”
“I noticed that Johannes was just strong on the course today,” Frenzel, 28, told ZDF. “Actually we already noticed that at the World Cup in January here, that he is really moving well here. I, for my part, gave everything I had, and can only congratulate him for the strong competition he made today. He won deservedly. And I am also satisfied with my race.”
American Bryan Fletcher leading Japan’s Yoshito Watabe early in the men’s 10 k Gundersen start in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. Fletcher went on to place 14th and Yoshito Watabe 44th. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Bryan Fletcher led the Americans in 14th (+47.4) after crashing out of contention in the final 200 meters of the race. He had been in contention for a medal, skiing in a pack with Kircheisen, Rießle and Watabe, among others, all fighting for bronze. Fletcher fell on the final corner to ultimately miss the podium by 17.4 seconds. He jumped to 16th and started the ski race 56 seconds out of first.
“I knew it was going to be a hard cross-country race because it was so tight and pack racing is always so difficult,” Fletcher said, according to a U.S. Ski Team press release. “You’re not only fighting for position, but anything can happen. That’s exactly what happened to me today. I did really well in the pack and when I thought I had it locked up, I let my guard down and slipped out on a corner.”
His younger brother Taylor Fletcher posted the third-fastest cross-country time to race from 47th after the jump to 21st at the finish (+1:38.4). Adam Loomis placed 33rd (+2:23.6) after jumping to 39th, and Ben Berend finished 41st (+3:10.8) after posting the 22nd-best jump out of 55.
Canada’s Nathaniel Mah, of the Altius Nordic Ski Club in Calgary, jumped to 41st but did not finish the 10 k race.
The next nordic-combined event at Lahti Worlds, the 4 x 5 k team event, will be contested Sunday.
American Bryan Fletcher (16) after finishing 14th in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Friday, the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. He had been in the hunt for a medal but crashed on the final corner coming into the stadium. Behind him, Austria’s David Pommer finished 16th. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
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IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Youth men’s and women’s sprints
Italy had two on the podium of the youth women’s 6 k sprint on Friday at IBU Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, with Irene Lardschneider (c) in first, Samuela Comola (r) in third, and Austria’s Anna Gandler (l) taking second place. (Photo: IBU)
[UPDATED] Italy’s Irene Lardschneider dominated the youth women’s 6-kilometer sprint competition on Friday at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, finishing 1:06.5 minutes faster than anyone else in 19:48.3 with 9-for-10 shooting. Lardschneider started 17th and led from start to finish despite one miss in her standing stage (0+1). She posted the fastest course time of 92 finishers for gold — her first medal in her first Youth World Championships. She previously raced at last year’s Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer, Norway, where she earned a bronze medal with the mixed relay and placed 14th in the pursuit.
Also in the 2016 YOG pursuit, American Chloe Levins placed fourth for her best international finish. Racing at her third Youth Worlds on Friday, Levins finished 11th in the sprint to lead the North Americans. Like Lardschneider, Levins cleaned prone and missed one in standing (0+1) to finish 1:39.7 back from the win. For Levins, it was her second top 15 in as many races at these championships, after placing 14th in the youth women’s 10 k individual on Wednesday.
Sharing the podium with Lardschneider, Austria’s Anna Gandler placed second (+1:06.5) with one penalty (0+1), and Italy had two on the podium with Samuela Comola in third (+1:18.1). Comola was one of two women to clean the two-stage race; the other being Finland’s Maija Keränen in 13th (+1:40.9).
Shilo Rousseau led Canada in 45th (+4:08.0) with three penalties (0+3). Frédérique Pérusse finished 73rd (+5:48.2) with four misses (1+3), Anna Sellers was 82nd (+6:47.2) with six penalties (4+2), and Elise Sauve was 86th (+7:41.7) with six misses (3+3) as well.
For the U.S., Grace Gilliland placed 55th (+4:35.2) with four misses (1+3), Amanda Kautzer was 59th (+4:42.7) with six penalties (3+3) and Helen Wilson 67th (+5:10.0) with four misses (2+2).
The youth men’s 7.5 k sprint at 2017 IBU Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, with France’s Emilien Claude (c) in first, Ukraine’s Serhiy Telen (l) in second, and Norway’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken (r) in third. (Photo: IBU)
In the youth men’s 7.5 k sprint, France’s Emilien Claude put down the fastest course time to over two penalties for the win, besting Ukraine’s Serhiy Telen who started ahead of him, by 25.2 seconds.
Claude missed one shot in each stage (1+1) and finished in 20:18.3, bumping Telen to second where he would remain after shooting one penalty (0+1). Norway’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken reached the podium in third (+44.6) despite two misses (1+1) and for the second-straight race, Italy’s Cedric Christille narrowly missed a medal in fourth (+52.0) after two standing penalties (0+2).
Coming off a gold medal in the youth men’s 12.5 k individual, Canada’s Leo Grandbois finished 14th (+1:52.9) on Friday to lead the North Americans. He had to ski three penalty loops (1+2) and posted the 10th-fastest course time of 99 finishers.
Also for Canada, Adam Runnalls placed 32nd (+2:46.8) despite five misses (3+2), Robert Kreitz was 84th (+5:37.2) with five penalties (1+4) as well, and Thomas Hulsman 87th (+5:58.6) with six misses (3+3).
For the U.S., Vasek Cervenka finished 49th (+3:37.1) with six penalties (4+2), Alex Kilby was 69th (+4:47.4) with three misses (1+2), Jacob Pearson 76th (+5:07.1) with five penalties (2+3), and Camren Nielsen 82nd (+5:18.8) with five misses as well (3+2).
Youth/Junior World Championships continue Saturday with the junior men’s and women’s sprints.
The youth men’s 12.5 k individual podium after the first race of 2017 IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, with Canada’s Léo Grandbois in first (c), Russia’s Said Karimulla Khalili (l) in second, and Germany’s Danilo Riethmüller (r) in third. (Photo: IBU Junior Cup/Twitter)
IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Youth individual races
In his first race of his first International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships, Canada’s 17-year-old Léo Grandbois became a world champion.
Grandbois started ninth and raced to first in the youth men’s 12.5-kilometer individual on Wednesday, finishing in 32:56.6 minutes, a time that stood up as nearly a minute and 15 seconds faster than anyone else.
Out of 98 finishers, Grandbois was the only racer to hit all 20 targets in the four-stage race at the biathlon venue at Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia. He had never cleaned a race before, and he did it in the longest-format race on the youth circuit.
He shared the podium with Russian silver medalist Said Karimulla Khalili, who finished 1:14.9 back with three penalties (1+0+1+1), and Germany’s Danilo Riethmüller in third (+1:21.5) with three penalties as well (2+1+0+0).
For Grandbois, who was born in Germany and raised in Quebec, his previous best international (non-relay) result was 22nd in the sprint at 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. There, he also placed 25th in the pursuit and 16th with the mixed relay.
In a email to FasterSkier late last week, he explained that he had been targeting the sprint.
“I want to thank first my coaches at home, my parents who always supported me and all the team who did a great job for the race, the skis, thank you,” he told the IBU Junior Cup media.
Also on Wednesday, American Vasek Cervenka, who trains with the Nove Mesto biathlon team, raced to 16th (+4:19.5) with five penalties (0+2+2+1). Also for the U.S., Jacob Pearson finished 49th (+7:45.3) with four misses (0+2+0+2), Alex Kilby 75th (+9:51.1) with five penalties (1+0+1+3), and Camren Nielsen 91st (+14:36.9) with 11 misses (3+4+2+2).
Canada’s Adam Runnalls finished 41st (+7:04.8) with eight penalties (1+2+4+1) and Thomas Hulsman was 57th (+8:19.0) with five misses (2+0+2+1).
[UPDATED] In the youth women’s 10 k individual that followed, American Chloe Levins recorded her best non-relay result at her third Youth Worlds, placing 14th with three penalties (1+1+1+0). She finished 3:05.6 minutes behind the winner, France’s Lou Jeanmonnot-Laurent, who shot 19-for-20 (0+1+0+0) and finished with the fastest time of 34:00.9.
Russia’s Kristina Egorova placed second, 52.4 seconds off the win, with identical shooting (0+1+0+0), and Sweden’s Elvira Karin Öberg notched bronze (+1:16.1) with two penalties (0+0+1+1).
Also for the U.S., Grace Gilliland finished 46th (+6:28.9) with four penalties (1+1+1+1), Amanda Kautzer was 53rd (+7:14.3) with eight misses (2+1+4+1), and Helen Wilson was 62nd (+9:00.5) with six penalties (1+2+2+1).
Canada’s Shilo Luca Rousseau finished 54th (+7:29.9) with five misses (2+0+1+2), Frédérique Pérusse was 77th (+11:54.6) with nine penalties (1+4+1+3), and Elise Sauve 78th (+12:07.1) with seven misses (2+2+2+1).
The youth men’s sprint podium on Dec. 28 in Jericho was (l to r) Jake Pearson, Vasek Cervenka and Eli Nielsen. Cervenka topped every race at Youth and Junior Biathlon Trials. (Photo: USBA)
The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) held three days of youth and junior biathlon trials racing in Jericho, Vermont, January 28-30. At the end of the series, USBA named this year’s team to Youth and Junior World Championships.
The competitions are slated for February. But the location is pending. The Championships were scheduled to be held in Ostrov, Russia, but the event was stripped from Russia due to allegations of state-sponsored doping and manipulation of anti-doping samples at other competitions previously held in the country.
Vasek Cervenka of Mount Itasca was the most successful athlete of the week. Cervenka, a youth competitor (under 19), nevertheless topped all men — including the junior racers (under 21). Cameron Christiansen of Nisswa NW finished 20 seconds back, besting the junior men’s field.
Cervenka then extended his lead in the next day’s pursuit. Cody Johnson of the Outdoor Sports Institute passed Christiansen to finish 31.1 seconds behind Johnson and take the junior win.
On day three it was back to sprint racing with Cervenka taking another vicotry, this time a 10.9-second win over Travis Cooper of National Guard Biathlon.
In the opening women’s sprint, Amanda Kautzer of Loppet Nordic Racing took the win. Like Cervenka, Kautzer is a youth but also topped the junior field. Hannah Streinz of the Outdoor Sports Institute placed second (+42.2) and the top junior.
But in the pursuit fellow youth Chloe Levins of Mountain Top Nordic raced to the front with only two penalties, besting Lexie Madigan of the Auburn Ski Club – who also had just two penalties – by 1:35.4. Nina Armstrong of Harvard College, the top junior, finished +4:54.2 with 11 penalties.
Then in the last day’s sprint, Madigan topped Levins by 15.5 seconds, with Armstrong again the top junior, +1:24.9.
USBA also named the athletes for the IBU Junior Cup (January 26-29 in Pokljuka, Slovenia) and the IBU Junior European Championships (February 1-5 in Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic). The women’s team will be Ellingson, Levins, and Kautzer, and Cervenka, Christiansen, Cooper, and Johnson will comprise the men’s team.
Youth and Junior World Championships team nominations
Youth Women
Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt./Mountain Top Nordic Ski Club)
Amanda Kautzer (Plymouth, Minn./Loppet Nordic Racing/Michigan)
Lexie Madigan* (Truckee, Calif./Auburn Ski Club)
Grace Gilliland (Eagle River, Alaska/Alaska Biathlon)
Helen Wilson** (Eagle River, Alaska/Anchorage Biathlon Club)
*Lexie Madigan is below the age described in the IBU Rules and is awaiting confirmation for her participation.
**Helen Wilson is named as First Alternate to the team in the event that any member is not able to participate.
Youth Men
Vasek Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn./Mt. Itasca)
Jake Pearson (Casper, Wyo./Casper Mountain Biathlon Club)
Alex Kilby (Anchorage, Alaska/Alaska Winter Stars)
Eli Nielsen (Stehekin, Wash./Methow Valley Biathlon)
Junior Women
Siena Ellingson (Minnetonka, Minn./Loppet Nordic Racing)
Hannah Streinz (Hersey, Maine/Outdoor Sports Institute)
Nina Armstrong (Lake Placid, N.Y./Harvard College)
Junior Men
Cameron Christiansen (Pequot Lake, Minn./NNW)
Travis Cooper (Kenai, Alaska/National Guard Biathlon)
Cody Johnson (Fort Kent, Maine/Outdoor Sports Institute)
Peter Carroll (Truckee, Calif./Auburn Ski Club Biathlon Team)
Gus Schumacher of Alaska Winter Stars (c) with APU skiers Canyon Tobin (r) and Luke Jager (l) on the podium for the men’s U18 15 k skate at the Besh Cup race on Sunday, Dec. 18, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Gavin Kentch)
Note: FasterSkier is accepting submissions for regional race reports. If you would like to see a particular race circuit covered and have the writer with the will to do it, please have them email info@fasterskier.com. Be sure to include link to results, and preferably a few original race photos with proper credits.
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Becca Rorabaugh, Jessica Yeaton, and Reese Hanneman each claimed a pair of podium finishes on the weekend, while Alaska Pacific University (APU) senior skiers took 11 out of 12 total podium spots in the season’s first two Junior National qualifying races at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. But the single most noteworthy result may have come from U18 skier Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars), who was third overall in the distance skate.
The Besh Cup series, named for former Alaskan skier and ski coach Tom Besh, is Alaska’s six-race selection series to determine the athletes who will race for Team Alaska at U.S. Junior National Championships. There are three race weekends throughout the state, one each in December, January, and February. The December races are traditionally held in the Anchorage area and attract a stacked field, including APU skiers tuning up for nationals and locals who ski collegiately but are home for Christmas.
(The December races are International Ski Federation (FIS) certified. The men’s winner in the distance skate earned a respectable 41.22 FIS points for the victory, which is not quite comparable to a SuperTour race but is getting pretty close.)
APU swept the podium with Jessica Yeaton (c), Becca Rorabaugh (r), and Rosie Frankowski (l) in the women’s 10 k skate at the Besh Cup race on Sunday, Dec. 18, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Lauri Bassett)
The podium for Saturday’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint would not have been out of place at a SuperTour or national championship: Rorabaugh (APU), Yeaton (APU and Australian National Team), and Lauren Fritz (APU) in the women’s race. Likewise for the men: Reese Hanneman, Logan Hanneman, and Tyler Kornfield (all APU), all of whom have won a SuperTour or National Championship sprint. Reese Hanneman controlled the day, winning the qualifier by 6.23 seconds over younger brother Logan, several hours before winning the final in the mid-afternoon twilight.
The parade of APU blue continued on Sunday, as the women raced a 10 k freestyle mass start around two laps of a 5 k course while the men raced three laps for a 15 k skate mass start. Yeaton (26:29.9) and Rorabaugh (+0.3) traded places this time, with Yeaton nosing out Rorabaugh in a sprint to the line. Rosie Frankowski (APU), who led for much of the race in an attempt to keep the pace honest on the rolling hills, was third, 4.8 seconds back.
On the men’s side, Scott Patterson (APU) destroyed the field, skiing away from the 78-skier pack at the gun to cross the finish line unchallenged in 33:49.5. Reese Hanneman was second, 1:37.5 back. Schumacher was 0.3 seconds behind him. (Logan Hanneman, in fourth, came within 9 ½ seconds of making it a second fraternal podium.)
Behind the senior skiers dominating the podium, a number of age-group skiers put up impressive results in their quest to be named to Team Alaska.
In Saturday’s 1.1 k classic sprint, girls winners were Kaya Ratzlaff, Annie Gonzales and Kendall Kramer in the U16 division, and Quincy Donley, Marit Flora and Hjelle Personius in U14. For the boys, it was Zanden McMullen, George Cvancara and Eli Hermanson for U16, and Rudy Schumacher, Rowan Morse and Aaron Maves for U14.
On Sunday, both genders and age groups raced a 5 k skate (one lap of the course). Top U16 girls were Helen Wilson, Kramer and Ratzlaff. Top U14 girls were Donley (first overall in the combined U16/U14 race), Personius, and Alison Ulrich.
On the boys side, McMullen, Hermanson and George Cvancara paced the U16 division. Rudy Schumacher (Gus’s younger brother), Konrad Renner and Rowan Morse were tops among U14 boys.
At the front of the field, meanwhile, the U18 and senior racers were using the Besh Cup weekend as a springboard to bigger things. “I felt good today and am hoping to build on that heading into U.S. Nationals in Utah next month,” Sunday’s 10 k skate champion Yeaton wrote in an email to FasterSkier.
“It’s always fun coming home to race the Besh Cups,” Yeaton added. “Rosie made today’s race tough from the start by pushing the pace, and it was awesome having a sprint battle with Becca at the finish.”
Patterson, who won the men’s 15 k skate by over 90 seconds, is similarly looking toward the future. As the race began, he recalled in an in-person interview, “It was cold in the start, so I figured I’d go out real fast, and basically sprinted the first lap, and was able to pull away with that.” But “going into Nationals,” he continued, “I tried to push it the next two laps, and built a pretty good lead.”
Patterson must be comfortable with his own thoughts by now; he has made a habit of time-trialing the approximately 24-mile Crow Pass Crossing backcountry marathon completely on his own, running by himself for most of a three-hour race. “I do pretty well, honestly,” Patterson told the Alaska Dispatch News after winning last summer’s race by more than four minutes for his fourth victory in five years. “I can handle it.”
On Sunday, he was asked what he thinks about when he’s time-trialing a ski race. “A lot of it, once I’m out there on my own, it’s about building fitness, getting ready for more important races,” he explained to FasterSkier. “So it’s really still trying to make those surges, trying to push all the way in. I mean, I gave it a sprint finish, all on my own.”
APU swept the podium with Scott Patterson (c), Reese Hanneman (r) and Logan Hanneman (l) in the U18+ men’s 15 k skate at the Besh Cup on Sunday, Dec. 18, in Anchorage. (Photo: Gavin Kentch)
Patterson clarified that he won the sprint.
Patterson tends to win 15 k races, or at least to do very well in them: In his last eight domestic 15 k races, dating back to West Yellowstone in November 2015, he has eight podium finishes, including five wins. But he is quick with an answer when asked about the last 15 k skate he did not win: “This spring,” Patterson instantly replied. “At Craftsbury Spring Series. I lost to Noah Hoffman by point six seconds. I was quite disappointed with that one.”
He hopes to avoid future disappointment with his goals for next month’s U.S. Nationals: “Win. Two races. 15 k and 30 k.”
If Patterson, in first, is part of the present of American men’s distance skiing, then Gus Schumacher, in third, may portend the future. Schumacher, 16, who was first profiled in FasterSkier as a 13-year-old racing at Spring Series in Anchorage in 2013, was 0.3 seconds behind Reese Hanneman in the race for second, but well ahead of the chase pack of seven racers that finished within the next twenty seconds.
The race was “really fun,” Schumacher said in an in-person interview. “Lots of familiar skiers out on the course. Not too hectic at the start, good starting spot. It was fun to be able to relax and ski with some really technically good skiers.”
Schumacher confirmed that Patterson had simply skied away from the field off the start with relative ease.
“The last time I saw Scott was probably 0.2 k in,” Schumacher said. “He was gone.”
A large chase pack formed behind Patterson, including the Hanneman brothers. “And then Reese and Logan crashed on one of the icy corners on Rollercoaster, and fell back to the second pack.” The reconstituted chase pack “cruised for pretty much most of two laps,” Schumacher recalled, “and then it started to break up with some attacks.” Reese Hanneman put a move on the field with about 4 k to go on the final lap, “and really started to spread things out.”
While Schumacher has narrowly won both of the first two races on the competitive Anchorage high school circuit, like Patterson he shared more national- and international-level goals for the rest of the season: “I want to make Junior Worlds in SoHo [at U.S. Nationals], and then be able to race hard and competitively at SoHo again in February. And then keep my fitness up, and try to have some good results at Distance Nationals” in Fairbanks.
Besh Cup racing continues with skate sprint and classic interval start races at Soldotna’s Tsalteshi Trails in January.
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![Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars, c), Canyon Tobin (APU, r), and Luke Jager (APU, l) on the podium for the men's U18 15 k skate at the Besh Cup race in Anchorage, Alaska, December 18, 2016. (photo: Gavin Kentch)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/mens-U18-skate-GK-e1482223198897.jpg")
![Jessica Yeaton (APU, c), Becca Rorabaugh (APU, r), and Rosie Frankowski (APU, l) on the podium for the women's 10 k skate at the Besh Cup race in Anchorage, Alaska, December 18, 2016. (photo: Lauri Bassett)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/womens-skate-e1482223146216.jpg")
![Scott Patterson (APU, c), Reese Hanneman (APU, r), and Logan Hanneman (APU, l) on the podium for the men's U18+ 15 k skate at the Besh Cup race in Anchorage, Alaska, December 18, 2016. (photo: Gavin Kentch)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/mens-skate-GK-e1482223082681.jpg")