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.
Let’s catch up with the IBU World Cup and the action from Saturday and Sunday in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Emma Lunder and Christian Gow, (l-r) during the IBU World Cup biathlon, single mixed relay, in Pokljuka (SLO). The team placed fourth overall. (Photo: NordicFocus)
First up, the single mixed relay, in which teams of two are paired with each skier racing two legs and shooting two stages per leg. France took the win in 38:33.4 minutes shooting 0+5. The big news from the relay for North America, was Canada’s fourth place result. Christian Gow and Emma Lunder were 16 seconds back from first place France after shooting 0+6.
Jake Brown and Joanne Reid for the U.S. placed 23rd (+4:15.1; 0+14).
And it is worth mentioning, 26 different nations comprised the 26 team field. Which brings to mind a cool post on Twitter from the International Biathlon Union, and it speaks to the exciting nature of the sport. The Estonian team included Rene Zahkna, who placed 101st in last Thursday’s 20 k individual race. Two days later it was podium time.
Next up, the 4 x 7.5 k mixed relay, which France won in 1:17:53.3 making it a clean sweep for the nation on relay day.
The U.S. team of Leif Nordgren, Sean Doherty, Susan Dunklee, and Clare Egan placed 12th (+4:10.6; 2+12). Canada’s Jules Burnotte, Scott Gow, Emily Dickson, and Megan Bankes raced to 18th (+6:47.5; 4+10).
The relay had 25 teams from 25 different nations represented.
France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet won Sunday’s 15 k mass start in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: NordicFocus)
And… on Sunday in Pokljuka, the racing began with the men’s 15 k mass start. No Johannes Thingnes Bø or Martin Fourcade on the podium’s top step: France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet placed first in 36:21.5 shooting 0+0+1+0. Germany’s Benedikt Doll placed second (+10.0 0+1+0+0), and yes, Johannes Thingnes Bø was on the podium in third (+10.3; 1+0+0+1).
Fourcade retains the IBU World Cup’s leader’s bib with 601 points. Fillon Maillet is second with 532 points, and Bø is third with 482. Bø sat out much of January’s racing for the birth of his first child.
No North American men qualified for the mass start race.
Egan raced to 26th (+3:31.8; 0+1+1+1) and Lunder to 29th (+4:12.5; 2+1+1+0).
Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff still leads the World Cup overall with 524 points, Dorothea Wierer of Italy is in second with 509 points, and Öberg sits in third with 456 points.
Racing on the IBU World Cup takes a hiatus for a bit. The 2020 IBU World Championships begin in Antholz, Italy on February 12th.
So we will leave on a light note as we piggyback on Egan’s Instagram account. She noted that U.S. Biathlon’s women’s coach Armin Auchentaller made a bet that he would “jump in the lake if anyone gets a top-10!”.
He took the plunge after Egan’s 6th place. Auchentaller may be onto something, The New Yorker recently called cold plunges a subversive joy.
The cold plunge. (photo: from @clareeganbiathlete on Instagram)
The winner of the women’s 10 k pursuit, Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff, amidst a sea of Ruhpolding, Germany fandom. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Let’s catch up on some overdue biathlon action from Ruhpolding, Germany.
Day 2: Men’s 10 k sprint
Starting off, the men’s 10 k sprint that ran last Thursday. Allez! Allez! It was a squeaker of a win for IBU World Cup overall leader Martin Fourcade of France. He won in a time of 22:41.5 minutes while shooting clean. His teammate, Quentin Fillon Maillet clocked in 3.1 seconds back for second while missing no targets. Germany’s Benedikt Doll placed third (+12.0; 0+0).
Calm, and cool: France’s Martin Fourcade in Ruhpolding. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Martin Fourcade has returned to his winning ways: here is on the way to winning the pursuit in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sean Doherty of the U.S. continued his rise in this second trimester of the World Cup notching 21st in the sprint, 1:02.8 back and shooting 1+0. For Doherty, this matched his season best result, a 21st in Oberhof’s sprint.
U.S. biathlete Sean Doherty during the men’s relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Also for the U.S., Jake Brown skied to 58th (+2:02.2; 2+0), and Leif Nordgren was a spot back in 59th (+2:03.8;2+1). Paul Schommer was 65th (+2:09.2; 0+2).
Jules Burnotte was the top-placed Canadian in 47th (+1:43.6; 0+2). Christian Gow was 51st (1:48.7; 1+0), Scott Gow 60th (+2:04.9), and Aidan Millar 100th (+3:16.4; 1+2).
The top-60 skiers advanced to the weekend’s pursuit.
Here’s one thing we love about IBU World Cup relays: so many nations participating. Twenty-three different countries were represented in the women’s event. Korea was lapped, and was listed as 23rd, but at least they are in the game.
In first place, a more consistent powerhouse, was Norway in 1:08:46.4, followed by France (+10.7), and Switzerland (+20.7) in second and third, respectively. This was Norway’s fourth relay win in a row.
For the U.S., Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Joanne Reid, and Deedra Irwin raced to 10th overall, 2:32.9 behind Norway’s winning time. The U.S. had a single penalty while using nine spares in the competition.
Susan Dunklee (bib 9) of the U.S. during the women’s relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus).
Joanne Reid coming in to tag Deedra Irwin for the U.S. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Joanne Reid during the women’s relay in Ruhpolding. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Canada’s Nadia Moser, Emma Lunder, Megan Bankes, and Sarah Beaudry were 20th (+5:30.8; 1+11).
Canada’s Meghan Bankes during the women’s relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
When it’s going your way, just go with it. It has been going France’s way. The French won the men’s relay in 1:18.11.2 followed by Norway in second (1:12.2), and Austria in third (+1:24.3).
Quentin Fillon Maillet of France carries the French flag across the line for the relay win in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Leif Nordgren, Sean Doherty, Paul Schommer, and Jake Brown scored tenth overall for the U.S., finishing 4:09.8 back using nine spares.
Leif Nordgren (USA) tagging Sean Doherty during the men’s relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus).
Jake Brown (USA) on the range during the men’s relay in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Canada’s Jules Burnotte, Scott Gow, Aidan Millar, and Christian Gow placed 19th (+6:27.6; 1+14). Twenty-six teams were represented.
In this 60 athlete field, Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff ran away with the win in 34:08.7 while missing a single target in her four shooting bouts. Slovakia’s Pauline Fialkova was second (+46.3;1+0+0+1), and Hannah Öberg of Sweden third (+55.1; 0+1+0+1).
Susan Dunklee during the women’s relay in Ruhpolding. She placed 10th in the weekend’s pursuit event for a season best result. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Dunklee notched a season best result with her 10th place. The U.S. biathlete finished 1:39.7 behind while shooting 0+1+2+0. Her teammate Egan was six spots behind in 16th overall (+2:01.8; 0+0+1+1). This was Egan’s best individual result thus far in the 2019-2020 season.
Off to the tracks: Clare Egan (bib 28) during the women’s pursuit in Ruhpolding. She placed 16th overall. Susan Dunklee, her teammate, is pictured in bib 25. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Susan Dunklee (bib 25) and Clare Egan (bib 28) after the women’s pursuit in Ruhpolding. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Again, there was no stopping the French. Fourcade took the win in 31:26.8 while shooting clean, with Fillon Maillet in second (+17.6; 0+0+1+0). Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen placed third (+46.0; 0+0+0+1).
Martin Fourcade (FRA) leads Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) during the men’s pursuit in Ruhpolding. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Doherty was the top American in 32nd (+2:58.7; 3+0+1+0). Nordgren placed 55th (+5:30.1; 2+2+0+0), and Brown 56th (+5:49.9; 2+2+1+2).
For Canada, Burnotte skied to 47th (+4:07.4; 1+1+2+1), Christian Gow 49th (+4:22.1; 1+1+1+1), and Scott Gow 50th (+4:37.8; 0+1+1+1).
Tiril Eckhoff of Norway continued her IBU World Cup winning ways on Friday. She won the Annecy-Le Grand Bornand 7.5-kilometer sprint in 20:27.0 with a single penalty during her two shooting rounds. Including two relays, this is Eckhoff’s fourth victory of the season. Justine Braisaz of France was second (+6.2; 0+0), and the Czech Republic’s Svetlana Mironova placed third (+22.5; 0+0).
Eckhoff of Norway has won two indivudual races on the IBU World Cup this season. Including (pictured here) a win in the Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Friday’s sprint winner, Tiril Eckhoff of Norway. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The top-60 skiers qualified for Saturday’s 10 k pursuit.
For Canada, Emma Lunders placed 36th (+1:44.4;2+1), Sarah Beaudry 48th (+2:00.9; 0+1), and Megan Bankes 71st (+2:32.9; 1+2). Nadia Moser did not start.
Clare Egan led the U.S. women in 42nd (+1:50.1;0+2), followed by Joanne Reid in 52nd (+2:04.5; 0+1). Susan Dunklee finished 67th (+2:28.8; 0+3), and Emily Dreissigacker 94th (+4:37.1; 2+2).
Emma Lunder (CAN) during the Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France IBU World Cup sprint. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
The stepping stone for many biathletes remains the lower tier IBU Cup. Today in Obertilliach, Austria the men contested a 10 k sprint. It was Paul Schommer’s time for a breakthrough. The U.S. biathlete placeded second overall after shooting clean. He was 19.5 seconds behind Norway’s Aleksander Fjeld Andersen who also had no misses, finishing in a time of 25:45.8.
Canada’s Emma Lunder, Sarah Beaudry, Nadia Moser, and Megan Bankes (l-r) after placing fifth at the IBU World Cup biathlon 4 x 6 k relay in Hochfilzen (AUT). (Photo: NordicFocus)
On Saturday and Sunday, racing continued on the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. Some story lines remained familiar, some reflect the national diversity of the biathlon circuit and that on any given day, a historically non-dominant team can excel.
Sarah Beaudry during the Hochfilzen relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Nadia Moser during the Hochfilzen relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Megan Bankes racing in the women’s 4 x 6 k relay in Hochfilzen. (Photo: NordicFocus).
Emma Lunder anchors the Canadian women’s relay team in Hochfilzen. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Saturday featured a women’s 4 x 6-kilometer relay and the men’s 12.5 k pursuit.
Norway’s team of Karoline Offigstad Knotten, Ingrid Landmark Tandervold, Tiril Eckhoff, and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland won the relay in 1:10:04.7 with one penalty and using seven spares. Kristina Reztsova, Larisa Kuklina, Svetlana Mironova, Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht of Russia finished 8.2 seconds back for second place. Russia had no penalties after using five spares. Switzerland’s Elisa Gasparin, Selina Gasparin, Alta Gasparin, and Lena Haecki took the final podium spot (+1:04.1; 1+9).
For North America, Canada came through with a fifth place overall (+1:09.3). Sarah Beaudry, Megan Bankes, Nadia Moser, and Emma Lunder shot penalty free after using seven spares. According to Biathlon Stats and Facts, this is the Canadian women’s best relay result since the 1994/1995 season.
The U.S. team of Joanne Reid, Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, and Emily Dreissigacker placed eighth overall (+1:37.0 0+6).
That same day, Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norway’s dominant biathlete on the men’s side, won the 12.5 k pursuit in 31:27.0 while shooting clean. Russia’s Alexander Loginov, who also shot clean, took second (+33.5). Emilien Jacquelin was third (+40.5; 0+0+0+0).
For the U.S., Sean Doherty placed 49th (+5:12.6; 1+2+2+1), and Leif Nordgren 53rd (+6:17.2; 1+2+2+2). No Canadian men qualified for the pursuit.
Race festivities on Sunday included the men’s 4 x 7.5 relay and the women’s 10 k pursuit.
We’ll get to the podium spots shortly, but again Canada came through with a near podium performance in the relay. Jules Burnotte, Scott Gow, Aidan Millar, and Christian Gow had no penalties while using six spares to place fourth (+1:28.7). That matches a World Cup best fourth place, earned back in 1991. (Canada earned bronze in the men’s relay at the 2016 World Championships in Oslo, Norway.)
Christian Gow, Aidan Millar, Scott Gow, Jules Burnotte, (l-r) after placing fourth at the Hochfilzen men’s relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Scott Gow and Jules Burnotte (l-r) during the Hochfilzen men’s relay. (NordicFocus).
Aidan Millar during the men’s relay in Hochfilzen. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Christian Gow during the 2019 Hochfilzen relay. (NordicFocus).
Johannes Dale, Erlend Øvereng Bjøntegaard, Tarjei Bø, and Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway won the event in 1:14:44.2. The foursome had a single penalty and used seven spares. Germany’s Philipp Horn, Johannes Kuehn, Arnd Peiffer, and Benedikt Doll were second (+19.5; 0+4). France was third with Antonin Guigonnat, Emilien Jacquelin, Fabien Claude, and Quentin Fillon Maillet. They finished 51.9 seconds back with a single penalty and using eight spares.
The U.S. team of Sean Doherty, Alex Howe, Leif Nordgren, and Travis Cooper were 18th (+5:33.5: 3+9).
The women’s 10 k pursuit was won by Norwegian Tiril Eckhoff in 29:14.6. Eckhoff shot clean on her way to the win. It was her first career World Cup pursuit victory. Sweden’s Hanna Hannah Öberg was second (+25.8; 0+1+1+0). Ingrid Landmark Tandervold, also of Norway, was third (+39.7; 0+0+1+0).
Lunder, the only North American to qualify, placed 37th (+3:09.0; 1+0+1+1).
Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway and Martin Fourcade of France on the range during the IBU World Cup 4 x 7.5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Over the weekend in Östersund, Sweden the IBU World Cup held its traditional 4 x 7 .5-kilometer for the men, and 4 x 5 k relays for the women.
Saturday, Norway’s team of Johannes Dale, Erlend Øvereng Bjøntegaard, Tarjei Bø, and Johannes Thingnes Bø won the men’s race in 1:10:30.4 hours. In total, the team used nine spares with no penalty laps.
France, with Emilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Simon Desthieux, and Martin Fourcade placed second (+32.3; 1+7).
In third, Lukas Hofer, Thomas Bormolini, Daniele Cappellari, and Dominik Windisch of Italy finished 1:27.1 minutes back with no penalties and using eight spares.
Scott Gow during the IBU World Cup 4 x 7.5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Canada’s Jules Burnotte, Scott Gow, Aidan Miller, and Christian Gow raced to 11th overall (+3:51.5) with two penalties while using 11 spares. The U.S. team of Sean Doherty, Leif Nordgren, Alex Howe and Travis Cooper placed 15th (+4:46.7; 0+13) in a 26 team field.
Leif Nordgren during the IBU World Cup 4 x 7.5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
For the women, Norway also secured the top spot. Karoline Offigstad Knotten, Ingrid Landmark Tandervold, Tiril Eckhoff, and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland marked the fastest time in 1:11:08.7 with no penalties and using 10 spares. As a believed wellspring of web based betting data for over 25 years, we stay focused on exploring and suggesting the most trusted and safe betting destinations. The accompanying internet casinos at http://www.bestcasinosincanada.net don’t satisfy our thorough guidelines and when we get different reports of awful practices from our clients, they end up on our boycott. Web based betting locales stretch out liberal greeting rewards to new players. Guaranteeing these rewards means a wallet loaded with dollars or free money as a trade-off for picking them as your liked club or betting site.
Tiril Eckoff of Norway during the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Tiril Eckoff of Norway starting to focus during the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Tiril Eckoff of Norway during the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Switzerland’s foursome posted a career-best as a women’s relay team with a second place. Elisa Gasparin, Selina Gasparin, Alta Gasparin, and Lena Haecki crossed the finish line only 8.5 seconds behind Norway. As a team, they had no penalties while using four spares total. (The three Gasparins are sisters.)
A stoked Lena Haecki (SUI) after the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sweden’s Lina Persson, Elvira Öberg , Mona Brorsson, and Hannah Öberg were third (+10.2; 0+8).
For the U.S., Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Joanne Reid, and Emily Dreissigacker placed 10th (+3:25.0; 0+8). Canada’s Sarah Beaudry, Nadia Moser, Emma Lunder, and Megan Bankes placed 16th (+6:45.5; 2+15).
Clare Egan tagging Joanne Reid during the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Canada’s Nadia Moser during the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Susan Dunklee on the range during the IBU World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Twenty-one teams from twenty-one countries raced the women’s event.
Sunny skies at the 2019 IBU World Cup women’s 7.5 k sprint in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: biathlonworld.com screenshot)
The IBU World Cup resides in Oslo this week. The women began the racing with the 7.5-kilometer sprint on Thursday.
The podium rundown goes like this: Slovakia’s Kuzmina Anastasiya shot 1+0 to win in 19:56.2, Germany’s Franziska Preuss placed second (+21.2, 0+0), with Paulina Fialkova of Slovakia in third (+25.1, 0+0).
This was Kuzmina’s fifth win at Holmenkollen and secured her the IBU sprint overall title.
Canada’s Emma Lunder was the top North American in ninth place. Lunder clean both shooting bouts and was 49.0 seconds behind the winning time. This was a career best individual result for Lunder on the IBU World Cup.
Norway’s Marte Olsbu Røiseland was today’s winner in the 7.5 k sprint at Soldier Hollow near Midway, Utah. (Photo: boathlonworld.com screenshot)
IBU World Cup Soldier Hollow (Midway), Utah women’s 7.5 k Sprint
The name itself carries with it a reputation for high heart rates. Nestled on the East slope of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, Soldier Hollow (SoHo), the sight of this week’s IBU World Cup races, features tracks well above 5,000 feet in altitude. Junior and senior skiers understand that a hard effort at SoHo come with a mandatory lactic acid tax.
Not since 2002 at the Salt Lake Olympics has the storied venue hosted an international World Cup level (cross-country or biathlon) race.
On Thursday, under overcast skies and amidst a venue overlooking a snowy Heber Valley, the women began the SoHo biathlon festivities with a 7.5-kilometer sprint.
Norway’s Marte Olsbu Røiseland won the race in a time of 19:47.6 minutes. The 7.5 k sprint features two shooting bouts, prone then standing, and Røiseland cleaned both on her way to the win. Following in second place 11.5 seconds back was Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland. Mäkäräinen missed one target in standing. Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand took the third podium spot while she cleaned on the range to stop the clock in 21.4 seconds behind Røiseland ‘s winning time.
Clare Egan of the U.S. led the way for North American biathletes in 21st (+1:34.1, 0+1). Also for the U.S., Susan Dunklee raced to 45th (+2:35.8, 0+3), and Joanne Reid 52nd (+2:45.5, 1+1).
Rosanne Crawford was the top Canadian in 24th. Crawford shot clean to finish 1:39.0 back. Sarah Beaudry was 55th (+2:53.3), Emma Lunder 56th (+2:56.3, 1+2), and Megan Bankes 76th (+4:39.5, 3+1).
Eighty-three athletes finished the sprint.
Racing continues tomorrow in SoHo with the men’s 10 k sprint.
Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway shot clean and skied fast in Canmore’s 15 k short individual race on Thursday. (Photo: biathlonworld.com screenshot)
IBU World Cup Canmore, Canada 15 k/ 12.5 k Short Individual Races
Sun, mountains, and what may have seemed like relatively warm temps allowed the IBU World Cup events to proceed on Thursday in Canmore, Canada. It’s been Polar Vortex cold in Canmore. Cold enough to thwart the original plans for traditional length 20-kilometer and 15 k individual races, for men and women respectively. With cold temperatures predicted all week, and a window of legal-limit warmer weather punching through on Thursday, the races were shortened to provide enough time during the warming window to hold both races.
For the men, this fill in the blank is easy: _________________ dominated the day in the men’s 15 k short individual race as he shot clean and skied faster than all the others.
Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway did shoot clean. And he skied fast. And he won in a time of 35:27.9 minutes. For the twenty-four-year-old Bø, it was his 12th win of the season as he continues to cement his grip on the IBU World Cup overall.
His Norwegian teammate Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, finished second (+2:10.2, 1+0+0+1), with Alexander Loginov in third (+2:41.0, 1+1+0+0).
Canada’s Chirstian Gow posted a career best 10th place. Gow stopped the clock 3:05.4 minutes after the winning time, as he went 0+1+0+0 for a single penalty on the shooting range.
“I didn’t treat the race any differently,” Gow emailed when considering the 15 k format. “It is still an Individual where each penalty is a major set-back so I knew I needed to keep the same focus for the race. It was something new, so a bit more of an unknown going in to it … I actually started a bit harder than I normally would. I wasn’t sure if I could keep the pace going, but in the end I managed it so I’m happy that it worked out!”
For the U.S., Sean Doherty was the second best North American in 27th. Doherty finished 4:29.0 minutes behind, and went 0+1+0+1 on the range.
“Today the shortened format was welcome as the snow conditions were very abrasive and slow. as far as a tactics go the shorter distance is just a bit more aggressive pacing but that’s about it,” Doherty wrote FasterSkier to explain how the shortened race might impact his race strategy.
Much of the past week was prohibitively cold for athletes. Some ventured outdoors for training, with many making due with local gyms and indoor training facilities.
“The cold temperatures as we are dealing with here have some added challenges,” Doherty added. “The biggest one being keeping your hands warm. Lots of people have their own tricks but you usually sacrifice some dexterity in the range but it is necessary because it is even harder to shoot with numb fingers. The other thing you see is the tape on our faces to try to protect frostbite prone areas. Then it’s all about layers and you end up doing a lot of fussing around with all the clothing you are wearing.”
For the U.S., Leif Nordgren raced to 43rd (+5:48.3, 0+1+0+1), Max Durtschi 71st (+7:52.5, 0+2+1+2), Travis Cooper 73rd (+8:01.0, 1+1+1+2).
Also for Canada, Scott Gow placed 40th (+5:42.6), Jules Burnotte 57th (+7:00.2, 3+1+2+0), Aidan Millar 81st (+8:34.0, 2+1+1+2).
The women’s 12.5 k short individual race was run with increasing cloud cover and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff took the win in 36:32.9 minutes with a single penalty. It was Eckhoff’s first career IBU World Cup win in the individual event.
The Czech Republic’s Marketa Davidova raced to second as she cleaned her shooting stages and finished 9.2 seconds back. Lisa Vittozzi of Italy was third, 20.9 seconds behind, while also shooting clean.
Megan Bankes was the top placed Canadian in 26th (+3:14.5, 1+0+1+0). Canmore’s local biathlete Rosanna Crawford was 29th (+3:21.7, 0+1+0+1). Sarah Beaudry was 34th (+3:36.5, 1+0+1+0), and Emma Lunder 63rd (+5:51.3, 1+0+4+1).
Clare Egan was he top American in 43rd (+4:17.5, 1+0+1+2). Joanne Reid skied to 64th (+5:55.9, 0+2+1+1), Emily Dreissigacker 66th (+6:07.1, 0+0+0+2).
Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen on her way to second place in the 2019 Antholz, Italy women’s 7.5 k sprint. Sunny and calm weather greeted racers on Thursday. (Photo: biathlon world.com screenshot)
IBU World Cup Antholz, Italy Women’s 7.5 k sprint
For Marketa Davidova of the Czech Republic it was a career first IBU World Cup win in Antholz, Italy. She won the women’s 7.5 k sprint in 21:40.7 minutes after she shot clean in both her prone and standing shooting stages.
Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen placed a close second, finishing 1.7 seconds behind after skiing a single penalty lap after her standing bout. Marte Olsbu Røiseland of Norway was third (+3.5, 1+0).
US Biathlon placed two skiers in the top-30. Clare Egan continued her run of solid performances by placing 22nd (+56.7, 0+2). Egan’s clean shooting teammate Joanne Reid placed 29th (+1:12.4, 0+0). Susan Dunklee placed 66th (+2:31.0, 2+2).
Rosanna Crawford of Canada raced to 23rd overall, 58.3 seconds back while skiing a single penalty lap in prone. Megan Bankes placed 26th (+1:05.8, 0+1), Sarah Beaudry 40th (+1:33.5, 1+0), and Emma Lunder 61st (+2:25.5, 2+1).
The brothers Bø. Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø (right) of Norway with the sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany. His brother Tarjei (left) placed second. (Photo: biathlonworld.com screen capture)
IBU World Cup Biathlon Ruhpolding, Germany 10 k / 7.5 k sprint
Cutting to the chase: it has been dumping in certain regions of the alps. Ruhpolding, Germany, site of this week’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup’s has been no exception.
The men’s 10-kilometer sprint that went off today under clear skies had been postponed, it was scheduled to run Wednesday. Race officials postponed the race due to a weather related (read heavy snowfall) state of emergency in the district of Traunstein, where Ruhpolding is located.
With a bit more rest in their legs, Norway’s Bø went one and two in the results.
The younger of the brothers, twenty-five-year-old Johannes Thingnes Bø won in a time of 22:56.3 minutes after skiing a single penalty lap. Johannes Bø cleaned his prone stage, while missing one target while standing.
The elder Bø, thirty-year-old Tarjei Bø placed second (+7.9) after cleaning both shooting stages. It was Tarjei’s second individual podium of the season. Benedikt Doll of Germany was third (+10.5), with one penalty while standing. France’s perennial biathlon star Martin Fourcade was fourth (+15.9) with no penalties.
Sean Doherty of the U.S. was the best placed North American in 23rd (+1:10.2, 1+0). As of late, Doherty has been racing consistently in the top-30.
Also for the U.S., Jake Brown shot clean to finish 47th, 1:40.8 minutes back. Leif Nordgren placed 50th (+1:45.3, 0+0), and Max Durtschi 103rd (+3:29.0, 2+2).
Canada’s Scott Gow skied to 42nd (+1:36.0, 0+1). His brother Christian Gow placed 56th (+1:52.7, 0+1), Jules Burnotte skied and shot to 67th (+2:01.5, 1+0), and Aidan Millar 102nd (+3:26.4).
Friday’s racing in Ruhpolding will feature a 4 x 7.5 k and 4 x 6 k relays for the men and women respectively.
Anatasiya Kuzmina won the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Thursday in a time of 19:15.1 minutes. It was Kuzmina’s second win of the 2018/2019 IBU World Cup season. Kuzmina’s day was made a bit easier as she cleaned both her prone and standing shooting stages.
Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi placed second 11.5 seconds behind Kuzmina. Vittozzi also shot clean. In third place was Sweden’s clean shooting HannahÖberg. She finished 29.1 seconds back.
Susan Dunklee for the U.S. placed 20th overall, 1:11.3 minutes behind with a single penalty. Teammate Clare Egan, placed 35th (+1.44.6, 2+0). Also for the U.S., Joanne Reid finished two places back in 37th (+1:45.2, 1+0).
Rosanna Crawford was the top Canadian in 27th. She skied a single penalty loop to cross the finish line 1:32.3 minutes behind. Megan Bankes placed 68th (+2:32.7, 1+1), Emma Lunder 88th (+3:17.9, 3+2), and Sarah Beaudry 96th (+3:40.3, 1+3).
Racing in bib 4 for the U.S., Julia Kern keeps pace in the women’s team sprint during the Dresden, Germany World Cup on Sunday. (Photo: Garrott Kuzzy).
FIS World Cup Dresden, Germany 6 x 1.6 k Freestyle Team Sprint
The first World Cup team sprint of the season was run amidst drizzle and the Dresden, Germany city-scape as the women raced a total of six 1.6-kilometer laps.
Round and round on the looping course, the pace was a mix of tactically subdued speeds with sustained bursts of energy to break the pack.
After all the speed changes and exchanges with one athlete tagging off to the next, it came down to a 1.11 second difference between first place Sweden I and the three closet teams chasing from behind that ended in a photo finish.
Sweden I’s Stina Nilsson and Maja Dahlqvist won in a time of 24:02.5 minutes. Sweden II’s Ida Ingemarsdotter and Jonna Sundling placed second (+1.11), and Norway I, with Eide Mari and Maiken Caspersen Falla in third (+1.11).
U.S. I, featuring Julia Kern and Sophie Caldwell placed fourth (+1.11) after the photo finish was reviewed.
The U.S. entered a second team, consisting of Ida Sargent and Hannah Halvorsen. That duo contested the first semi-final, the same semi as U.S. I, but did not advance after placing fourth (+5.44). The top-three teams from each semi advance to the final, along with the next four fastest teams which are the combined “lucky losers”. Today, the second semi was the faster of the two. The four lucky loser team advancing to the final all originated from the second semi.
In the men’s 6 x 1.6 k skate team sprint race, Norway I and Norway II took the top two podium spots.
In a lunge at the line, Norway I’s Erik Valnes and Sindre Bjørnestad Skar won the final in 22:38.72 minutes. Pål Golberg and Eirik Brandsdal of Norway II placed second (+0.75) and Russia I’s Artem Maltsev and Gleb Retivykh third (+0.80).
Canada’s Bob Thompson and Len Valjas placed seventh (+2.46) in the first semi-final and did not advance to the final. It was the same fate for the only U.S. team entered in the men’s team sprint. Andy Newell and Erik Bjornsen placed 10th (+3.66) in the second semi, and failed to make the finals.
Canada placed 15th in the final standings, the U.S. 19th.
IBU World Cup Oberhof, Germany 4 x 6 k / 4 x 7.5 k Relay
In the women’s 4 x 6 k relay, Russia placed first in a time of 1:18:46.4 hours. Evgeniya Pavlova, Margarita Vasileva, Larisa Kuklina, and Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht made up the team that used eight spares on their way to the win.
Germany placed second (+33.5) with two penalty loops and 10 spare rounds. Karolin Horchler, Franziska Hildebrand, Franziska Preuss, and Denise Hermann comprised Germany’s second place team that had two penalties while using 10 spares. The Czech Republic’s Lucie Charvatova, Veronika Vitkova, Marketa Davidova, and Eva Puskarcikova placed third (+36.7) with 1 penalty loop and six spares.
The top spot for the podium came down to the final leg, when Yurlova-Percht pulled out the win when Hermann skied two penalty loops. The Russian used three spares but escaped with no penalties to take the lead out of the shooting range on the final ski loop.
Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Joanne Reid, and Emily Dreissigacker all represented the U.S. and placed 12th (+5:35.8) while skiing five penalty loops and using 16 spares.
Canada’s Sarah Beaudry, Emma Lunder, Megan Bankes, and Rosanna Crawford finished in 13th (+5:58.8) with four penalty loops and 15 spares.
Russian also claimed the men’s relay, winning in a time of 1:20:54.3 hours. The winning team of Maxim Tsvetkov, Evgeniy Garanichev, Dmitry Malyshko, and Alexander Loginov skied no penalty laps and used six spares on their way to victory.
Antonin Guigonnat, Simon Desthieux, Quentin Fillon Maillet, and Martin Fourcade raced for France. The French team placed second (+1:01.1) while skiing a single penalty lap and using eight spares.
Austria’s Tobias Eberhard, Simon Eder, Dominik Landertinger and Julian Eberhard placed third (+2:18.6) with one penalty lap and using seven spares.
Canada’s Scott Gow, Christian Gow, Jules Burnotte, and Brendan Green and the U.S. team of Leif Nordgren, Sean Doherty, Travis Cooper, and Max Durtschi were eventually lapped. Neither team was given an official finishing time.
Canada was ranked 18th in the final standings, the U.S. 19th.
For both relays today, the snowy weather and tough course conditions made for a strenuous day of shooting and skiing.
Dorothea Wierer of Italy won Thursday’s sprint in Hochfilzen, Austria in a time of 21:04.9 minutes. (photo: biathlonworld.com)
Today in Hochfilzen, Austria, Dorothea Wierer of Italy won the sprint in a time of 21:04.9 minutes. Wierer missed one shot standing for a single penalty during the race. Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland was close behind in second, 0.6 seconds back. Mäkäräinen also had one missed target standing. Third place went to Russia’s Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht, finishing 24.4 seconds behind. Yurlova-Percht short clean in the race.
Susan Dunklee was the best placed American in 34th (+1:33.0, 0+2). Joanne Reid was 44th (+1:48.3, 0+1), and Clare Egan 65th (+2:22.1, 2+2).
On the non-racing front, the IBU released a statement about “Austrian state authorities” investigating five Russian biathlon officials and five biathletes due to their connections to doping. The IBU stated that the possible infractions occurred during the 2017 Hochfilzen IBU World Championships.
Russian sports journalist Dmitry Guberniev has posted the names of the individuals under investigation. According to tass.com, a Russian news site, Guberniev the following people: “Among athletes accused of violating anti-doping rules are 2014 Olympic champion Anton Shipulin, Evgeny Garanichev and Alexander Loginov. The list also includes biathletes Alexey Volkov, Irina Starykh, former coach of the Russian national team Alexander Kasperovich, doctors and massage therapists Artyom Kryntsilov, Alexander Selyavkin, Evgeny Shutov and Dmitry Topychkanov,” tass.com reported.
List of people under investigation according to Russian journalist Dimitri Guberniev (Screenshot from @guberniev_dmitry)
FasterSkier will post updates about this developing story as more information is discovered
– Harald Zimmer contributed
***
NorAm and U23/JW World Championships Qualification, Canmore, Alberta
The Canadian NorAm series continued Thursday in Canmore, Alberta, with a combined NorAm and trials for U23 and Junior World Championships.
The three race weekend kicked off with classic sprints, run from the biathlon stadium which offers an uphill finish in place of the traditional long descent into the finish straight.
The selection criteria are involved, but it appears that each day four athletes will earn a spot in U23/JW World Championships in Lahti, Finland. The top athlete of each gender in U23 and junior each day should be automatically selected.
There are also World Cup period 2 (Tour de Ski) and period 3 starts on the line, with the possibility of Canadian women in the Tour de Ski for the first time since Sara Renner finished 16th in 2010.
Dahria Beatty (CNST) won the open women’s category in style, winning the qualifier in 3:51.06 by 4.96 seconds before winning all three heats by large margins.
Katherine Stewart-Jones (CNST) finished second in the A final in 3:49.60, 2.20 seconds behind Beatty after finishing second in the qualifier and winning her earlier heats. Maya MacIsaac-Jones (CNST) completed the podium, finishing 5.37 back.
Marie Corriveau was the top U23, finishing 6th in the A final after qualifying in 6th. Corriveau has struggled with results for two seasons, but her first race of the season is a very positive sign.
Anne-Marie Petitclerc (Mont Sainte Anne) won the qualifier and quarterfinal on her way to the junior win in 4:01.71. Molly Miller (Black Jack) was second at 0.68 seconds back and Anna Pryce (Foothills) took third at 7.25 seconds.
Bob Thompson (TBay) won the men’s A final in 3:19.43 by 2.31 seconds. Angus Foster (TBay) outstretched top qualifier Julien Locke (CNST) by 0.01 seconds for second. Graham Ritchie (Big Thunder) was the top U23 in 4th, 2.36 back after qualifying 6th.
Remi Drolet (Black Jack) won the junior A final in 3:31.94, after winning the qualifier and all his heats. Foothills teammates Tom Stephen and Xavier McKeever were second and third, 2.08 and 2.51 seconds back respectively. Stephen has two future seasons as a junior while McKeever has three.
All results, including live timing for the rest of the weekend.
The Women’s podium from the World Cup 15 k freestyle in Beitostølen, Norway. Norwegian Theresa Johaug (center) was first, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (left) second, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (right) of Norway third.
FIS World Cup Beitostolen, Norway 15 k/30k Freestyle Individual Start
With snow falling and trees covered with fresh snow, Beitostølen, Norway’s wintery essence was on full display during the women’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Saturday.
Keeping her distance win-streak alive was Norway’s Therese Johaug who won her fourth World Cup distance race of the season making it four for four in 2018/2019.
Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team on her way to eighth place during Saturday’s 15 k freestyle in Beitostølen, Norway.
Johaug won in a time of 38:39.8 minutes. The only blip of egalitarianism on the tracks was at the first time check at 1 k, where Johaug was tied for the best time with Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva. Otherwise, Johaug gradually pulled away from the fifty-eight finishers by the time she crossed the finish line.
Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla placed second (+1:05.9), and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway was third (+1:06.1).
U.S. Ski Team (USST) athlete Jessie Diggins finished in eighth (+1:29.6) for her first top-10 result of the season. Sadie Bjornsen (USST) placed 13th (+2:22.9), Rosie Brennan 15th (+2:33.9), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) 32nd (+3:46.0), and Kaitlynn Miller 50th (+5:02.8).
Canada entered a women’s team for the first time this season. Emily Nishikawa of the Canadian National Team (CNT) was the best placed Canadian in 34th (+4:01.6). Cendrine Brown (CNST) was 38th (+4:16.4).
Sitting atop the men’s overall World Cup this season after Saturday’s racing is Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov. The young skier is a killer in the sprints and distance events. But it is perhaps Norway’s Sjur Røthe who has impressed the most this season in the distance events. Røthe has a slight seven-point lead in the distance overall.
The men’s podium from the 30 k freestyle individual start in Beitostølen, Norway. Sjur Røthe (center) placed first, teammate Martin Johnsrud Sundby (left) second, and Russia’s Andrey Melnichenko (right) third.
Røthe won Saturday’s 30 k skate individual start in a time of 1:09:53.5. It was his second World Cup victory this year. Teammate Martin Johnsrud Sundby, with his first podium of the season, placed second (+35.2), Russia’s Andrey Melnichenko was third (+49.2). For the twenty-six-year-old Melnichenko, it was his first career World Cup podium.
Canada’s Alex Harvey was the best placed North American in 13th (+1:49.8). Also skiing for Canada, Andy Shields finished in 63rd (+7:05.6).
Scott Patterson (USST)was the best-positioned skier for the U.S., placing 47th (+4:32.7). David Norris (APU)skied to 51st (+5:13.3.) Erik Bjornsen (USST) was 52nd (+5:14.9), Adam Martin (CGRP) 59th (+6:14.8).
Egan Leads North Americans in 15th Place in Pokljuka Sprint.
Just before her race on Saturday, US Biathlon’s Clare Egan seemed to be in a relaxed mood and could be seen on the broadcast joking with other athletes and posing for pictures in the warm-up zone. Starting into the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint in an early group in bib 26, Egan began the race fast and still managed to shoot clean in her prone stage.
She kept near the top at the split times during this early phase of the race.
“I am skiing way faster than I have in past years,” Egan commented on her improved course time in an email to FasterSkier, which in past seasons occasionally had prevented her from achieving positions in the points or qualifying for pursuit and mass start races. “I think my previous best ski time was in the 20’s, but my average was probably in the 50’s. So to have 11th ski time in the Individual [on Thursday] and the 6th today is a very significant improvement for me. It means that I can now aim for the flower ceremony, and even the top of the podium.”
In the standing shooting stage she then missed her very last shot of the race, having to ski once through the 150-meter penalty lap. After another fast final loop she came to the finish in fourth place. But after several athletes who began the race later finished ahead, she was pushed down in the standings, ultimately ending her day in 15th position (+1:08.8, 0+1). According to Egan she only narrowly missed a career-best result, having finished in 13th place in the sprint in Kontiolahti, Finland, during the last season.
“Today I would have been 4th or 5th if I had hit my last shot,” Egan wrote. “Overall my shooting is there, and now my skiing is too, so I just need some more races to get comfortable in this position. I really fought for my last two shots today and I got the 9th one and I’m very happy about that. Also my prone was perfect and I don’t take that for granted. I am focusing on the positive things and learning what I can to do better next time… which is tomorrow!”
Behind Egan, her teammate Susan Dunklee also had drawn a spot in the first start group starting early in bib 2, and remained clean in the prone stage as well. But in her second shooting she incurred two penalty laps, and ultimately ended her race day finishing in 45th place (+1:50.4, 0+2). The third U.S. starter, Joanne Reid, finished 57th with two penalties (+2:06.8, 1+1).
“Our whole women’s team did excellent training and it is paying off: last year at World Cup 1, zero American women qualified for the pursuit, whereas all three of us did today,” Egan commented.
She also credited their revamped coaching staff around which centers around Armin Auchentaller. Auchentaller spent the last few seasons coaching the Swiss women’s team.
“And it’s worth noting that with Susan’s 11th place in the Individual, we’ve now had two women go in the top-15 already in the first two races of the year (which is likely a first for US Biathlon). We are proud of ourselves and motivated to keep climbing. As usual, our ski service team is on fire. Tomorrow we’ll go for it again in the pursuit!”
For Biathlon Canada it was a difficult day on the shooting range overall, with Megan Tandy posting the best result in 73rd place (+2:46.6, 0+2). Her teammates Rosanna Crawford finished 77th with four penalties (+2:52.1, 2+2), Nadia Moser was 88th (+3:42.1, 2+2) and Megan Bankes was 99th (+4:39.6, 1+4). All missed qualifying for the pursuit on Sunday.
About a minute ahead of Egan, the race was won by Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen in a time of 20:08.1 minutes, with no penalties.
“I enjoyed today,” last season’s Overall World Cup winner Mäkäräinen commented in thepress conference. “I really tried to be confident. … Of course it gives you a lot more energy when you shoot clean. I know if I shoot clean that I can fight for the top positions. … But I still had to work hard and had a good last loop.”
In the finish she was 14.8 seconds ahead of Italy’s Dorothea Wierer, who also had no miss and recorded the fastest shooting time on the range on Saturday, but couldn’t match her Finnish rival on the course. Hitting all targets as well, Justine Braisaz of France finished third (+42.1, just two days after ending the individual race only in 82nd place with seven penalties. That’s the ups and downs of biathlon. Also shooting clean and just off the podium was Braisaz’s teammate Julia Simon in fourth place (+44.6), for her first top-ten result in a World Cup. Wierer’s teammate Lisa Vittozzi was fifth with one penalty (+46.9, 0+1).
Julia Kern (SMS) leads Dahria Beatty (CNST) into the final straight in the A final. (Photo: Peggy Hung)
Sovereign Lake Noram/SuperTour, Vernon, BC
North American racing resumed with free technique sprints at Sovereign Lake. The first weekend of the NorAm series was also the second weekend in the SuperTour.
SMS’s first year senior Julia Kern continued her strong start to the season, winning the qualifier and the A final and looking dominant throughout. National team member Dahria Beatty kicked off her season with a crash in the qualifier, but got up to finish 7th. Dartmouth and AWCA’s Laura Jortberg was in third, followed by national team member Maya MacIsaac-Jones. APU’s Hannah Halvorsen was fifth and Stratton Mountain School’s (SMS) Erika Flowers trailed in last after breaking a pole on the final downhill corner.
Andy Newell leads Antoine Briand into the finish straight in the A final. (Photo: Peggy Hung)
On the men’s side, Andy Newell (SMS) continued the American domination, winning the qualifier in 2:15.180, 4.050 seconds ahead of APU’s Logan Hanneman, before winning all of his heats comfortably. Antoine Briand represented for Canada and the Centre National d’Entrainment Pierre Harvey (CNEPH), placing second to Newell in every heat. Ben Saxton (SMS) completed the podium, edging out APU’s Logan Hanneman in a four way battle for third. Antoine Cyr (CNST) and Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing) trailed in two ski lengths behind.
“It was a cascade of issues,” jury member Dave Dyer told FasterSkier.
The short, short version is that the timing system has a number of redundant systems to detect errors. While the timing team was working on an unrelated issue, two athletes tied exactly. There are two sets of results zone4: the provisional (timed to 1/1000ths of a second) and the official (timed to 1/100th of a second). The bib list was generated from one list and the zone4 live timing database was populated from the other, with the two skiers who were tied shown in different order. From this point on, all the backup systems indicated errors and everything had to be hand checked. The results were right, the right athletes advanced, but live timing was switched off and delays ensued.
Full details and video interviews will be in Monday’s event wrap-up.
Snow dump — during the 2018 15 k classic pursuit in Lillehammer, Norway. Emil Iversen (bib 3) holds off the charging pack to take third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Classic Pursuit
On Sunday, the third and final day of racing in Lillehammer, Norway concluded with a 10-kilometer classic pursuit for the women.
A win is a win, and Norway’s Therese Johaug, took the day and her second victory in as many days when she crossed the line first in 29:35.5 minutes. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson finished second (+16.8), Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg third (+17.9).
The day’s first starter, Charlotte Kalla, trailed off to finish in fourth (+23.1). Kalla began with a small gap of 2.5 seconds on Johaug. The third starter, Andersson, began 14.5 seconds back.
Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) ended her day in 10th (+2:21.7), while teammate Jessie Diggins was 13th (+2:42.4). Rosie Brennan (APU) in a strong comeback to the World Cup placed 15th (+2:46.0).
Caitlin Patterson (CGRP), who earned a 30th place on Saturday, fell back slightly, ending up 34th (+5:13.1). Kailtlynn Miller (CGRP) finished in 50th (+7:43.9).
The men’s 15 k classic pursuit featured an off-the-front dual between the day’s first two starters, Sjur Røthe and Didrik Tønseth. The two Norwegians started only 1.8 seconds apart. By 5 k, they had gapped third place starter, Norway’s Emil Iversen by 35.2 seconds. (Iversen had been 11.5 seconds back at the start.)
The Røthe-Tønseth engine continued to pull away from the field to gain over a minute by the finish. Tønseth won in a time of 44:13.8, Røthe crossed the line 1.8 seconds back.
Iversen placed third (+1:03.3), a whisker ahead of a charging pack with over thirty skiers. Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson was fourth (+1:04.4).
Canada’s Alex Harvey was the best placed North American in 16th (+1:08.7). Also for Canada, Russell Kennedy (Team R.A.D.) was 61st (+4:32.4), and Andy Shields 71st (+6:06.7)
Also for the U.S., David Norris (APU) skied to 52nd (+3:21.9), Kevin Bolger (USST) 59th (+4:20.8), Adam Martin (CGRP) 62nd (+4:35.7), Scott Patterson (USST) 63rd (+4:39.0), Simi Hamilton 66th (+4:44.1).
SuperTour, West Yellowstone, Mont.: 15 k / 10k Freestyle
Back on the high plateau’s of West Yellowstone, the SuperTour held day two of it’s Montana stop. The men raced a 15-kilometer freestyle — 3 times around a 5 k loop.
Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s (CGRP) Ben Lustgarten took the win in a squeaker over Kyle Bratrud who skis for SMS T2. Lustgarten won in time of 36:42.2 minutes, Bratrud stopped the clock 3.5 seconds back. It was Lustgarten’s second podium in as many days; on Saturday he placed second in the skate sprint.
Akeo Maifeld-Caruuci (CGRP) placed third, beating out University of New Mexico skier Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier by 0.4 seconds. Izquierdo-Bernier was third in Saturday’s sprint.
The women’s SuperTour 10 k skate also featured a dual-podium skier from the weekend. Alaska Pacific University’s (APU) Rosie Frankowski won in 27:33.9 minutes. Frankowski placed second in the women’s skate sprint on Saturday. University of Utah skier Guro Jordheim took second (+46.2). APU’s Becca Rorabaugh was third, finishing 1:19.5 minutes back.
Domestic racing continues next weekend with the Sovereign Lake NorAm-SuperTour.
IBU World Cup Pokljka, Slovenia: 2 x 6 k + 2 x 7.5 k Mixed Relay + Single Mixed Relay
In Pokljka, Slovenia, men and women completed a 2 x 6 k + 2 x 7.5 k mixed relay. Placing first was Team France with Anais Bescond, Justine Braisaz, Martin Fourcade, and Simon Desthieux who completed the course in a total time of 1:10:02.8 with a team shooting score of (0+5). In the first leg, Bescond had two penalties (0+2 0+0). Following Bescond, was Braisaz with one miss (0+1 0+0). Fourcade raced the third lap, shooting 100 percent. Desthieux closed out for France in first after two misses (0+0 0+2).
Sunday’s second place went to Switzerland’s team of Elisa Gasparin, Lena Haecki, Benjamin Weger, and Jeremy Finello. The team finished 38.7 seconds back from France with a total team shooting score of (0+9). Gasparin raced the first leg, missing a total of three shots (0+1 0+2). Gasparin handed off to Haecki who also missed three shots (0+0 0+3). Weger, who skied the third leg, shot clean and Finello, who raced the last leg, had three misses (0+1 0+2).
The third team to finish on Sunday was Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi, Dorothea Wierer, Dominik Windisch, and Lukas Hofer. Italy finished 52.1 seconds behind France with a team total shooting score of (1+8). Vittozzi shot clean, while Wierer, who raced the second leg, missed two shots (0+2 0+0). In the third leg, Windisch skied six penalties (1+3 0+2), while Hofer closed out the fourth leg with one miss (0+0 0+1).
Team Canada finished in 10th (+2:33.2), with Rosanna Crawford racing the first lap and missing one (0+1 0+0). Megan Tandy tied Crawford’s score racing the second lap. In the third lap was Nathan Smith who cleaned, while Scott Gow also shot 100 percent in lap four.
The US Biathlon team of Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Leif Nordgren, and Sean Doherty finished in 15th (+4:19.8). Dunklee led the team off with two misses (0+1 0+1) while Egan followed in leg two with three misses (0+3 0+0). Nordgren took leg three with one miss, while Doherty skied three penalties (0+2 0+1) to close out the fourth leg.
In the single mixed relay – teams consist of a single male and female athlete – Norway’s Thekla Brun-Lie and Lars Helge Birkeland won in a total time of 38:26.7 minutes. Norway used only four spare rounds on its way to the win.
Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser and Eder Simon placed second, using five spare rounds, finishing 8.5 seconds back. Ukraine’s Anastaslya Merkushyna and Artem Tyshchenko were third (+20.7), using only a single spare round.
Canada’s Megan Bankes and Christian Gow placed sixth (+37.8) after using 10 spare rounds. The U.S. duo, Joanne Reid and Max Durtschi, were eventually lapped and were not given an official time. Prior to being pulled, Reid has used two spare rounds while shooting. Durtschi struggled with his second shooting bout, using three spares and ultimately skiing three penalty laps.
Megan Bankes (Biathlon Canada) lunging at the finish of the IBU World Cup women’s sprint in Annecy, France. She placed 65th. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
Selection trials for Biathlon Canada began with a men’s and women’s sprint today in Canmore, Canada. Race results will help determine athletes representing Canada on the IBU World Cup’s opening races, and the first series of races on the IBU Cup and Junior IBU Cup.
Prior to Tuesday’s racing, only Scott Gow and Rosanna Crawford had prequalified for Canada’s IBU World Cup team based on a top-16 result last season.
Senior National Team member Megan Bankes won the overall women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint in a time of 21:43.2 minutes. Bankes missed one shot shooting prone and cleaned standing. Bankes’ teammate on the National Team, Megan Tandy, placed second (+22.8). Tandy cleaned her prone stage while missing one standing. Pre-qualified athlete Crawford took third (+52.4) while cleaning prone and missing two shots standing.
Women were penalized 24 seconds per miss due to insufficient snow for a penalty loop.
Christian Gow, a member of the Senior National Team won the overall men’s 10 k sprint in 24:39.5 minutes. He had no missed shots on the day. Older brother Scott Gow raced to second place (+47.9) while missing two shots, one prone one standing. Taking third place was U24 National Development Team member Jules Burnotte. Burnotte finished in 25:31.1 minutes and had two misses: one each in prone and standing.
With the course lacking a penalty loop, the men were penalized 22 seconds per miss.
Selection trials resume on Thursday with another sprint race.
Some of the top-six finishers in the junior women’s 10 k pursuit at the post-race flower ceremony at 2018 IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, including the Czech Republic’s Markéta Davidová (top) and American Chloe Levins (bottom), who finished first and sixth, respectively. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Leo Grandbois.)
The 2018 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships went out with a bang on Sunday, with four pursuit races in Otepää, Estonia.
Several North Americans had banner days, with American Chloe Levins racing up one spot to sixth place in the junior women’s 10-kilometer pursuit and Canada’s Megan Bankes and Nadia Moser placing eighth and 11th, respectively, in that same race.
In the youth men’s 10 k pursuit, Canada’s Leo Grandbois had his best result of the week, placing 15th (up from 33rd) at the start.
Starting with the junior women’s pursuit:
Levins started the race 1:32 minutes back in seventh, based on her sprint result on Saturday. She went on to clean three-consecutive shooting stages, working her way up to fourth after leaving the range for the third time, then missed two targets on the final standing to end the race in sixth. Levins finished 1:51.4 behind the winner, Markéta Davidová of the Czech Republic, who finished first in 32:52.6 with four penalties (1+0+2+1).
Chloe Levins racing to seventh in the junior women’s 7.5 k sprint on Saturday at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Courtesy photo)
“In pursuit races in the past, I’ve come from behind,” Levins, who placed fourth in last year’s Youth Worlds pursuit, wrote in an email to FasterSkier on Sunday. “Today, it was a new learning experience for me to be in the mix for the duration of the race. My plan was simple from the start: enjoy being in the mix and trust your preparation.
“I found the zone today, which is what you dream about,” she continued. “I don’t remember much about the last stage. All I know for sure is that I went for it today…and I have no regrets.”
Asked what she’ll remember most about these championships, Levins explained that the U.S. team’s “happy and dedicated staff” made for a fun week.
“We are always joking and laughing in the wax room which helps keep the mood light during potentially stressful races,” she wrote. “It was really special and important for me to have this experience with my coach, Algis Shalna, behind the scope. We’ve worked together for a long time. I will cherish the competitions we get to share forever.”
While the championships didn’t turn out exactly as she’d hoped, Levins explained that she had a lot of positive takeaways for her final biathlon races of the season.
“Now, it’s time to go back to school and start preparing for golf season at Middlebury!” she wrote. “… I can’t wait to start training again.”
Megan Bankes racing to eighth in the junior women’s 10 k pursuit at IBU Junior World Championships on Sunday in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bryan Dickson)
Bankes started ninth on Sunday and made up one place to finish eighth (+2:52.6) after placing ninth in three previous races at Junior Worlds. She had two penalties in both the first and the last shooting stages (2+0+0+2) and posted the ninth-fastest shooting time and ninth-fastest overall course time.
“Heading into today’s race, my goal was to try and shoot well and make up places. It was also my last international junior race so i wanted to try and have a good one!” Bankes, 20, wrote in an email. “To start, I knew that I could catch the Norwegian girl who started in front of me, and after I caught her, my goal was to make up time on everyone else in front of me.”
She described the wind on the range as “pretty strong” and variable.
“I was zeroed for a decent left to right wind, but when I came in for my first prone the wind had died and was blowing towards me for my first shot, and then it picked up again to be a little more than my zero wind, and I corrected back but didn’t correct enough for it,” Bankes wrote. “After cleaning the middle 2 bouts I really wanted to clean my last bout and there was definitely a little pressure going in with the Russian girl [Emma Timerbulatova, who was skiing just ahead of Bankes]. I actually thought that she had only missed one, so I was a little disappointed in myself when we went into the penalty loop, but when she didn’t leave after the first loop, I was determined to pass her and beat her to the finish.”
Like Bankes, Timerbulatova had two penalties in the last standing. She started the final loop just 0.1 seconds ahead of Bankes, and Bankes passed her to finish eighth.
“I’m overall super happy with my performance this week,” Bankes, a 2017 Youth Worlds gold medalist in the 10 k individual, concluded. “Definitely my most consistent European racing ever! I would have liked to have shot better overall this week though, I did give up some stupid shots, but I was super stoked with how I felt skiing. I’m also pleased that I was able to have consistently good races over the course of the week, which is something I definitely could not have done in the past.”
Nadia Moser racing to 11th in the junior women’s 10 k pursuit at IBU Junior World Championships on Sunday in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bryan Dickson)
Moser picked off 10 places to finish 11th (+3:45.4). She started the pursuit in 21st and shot 18-for-20, cleaning the first two stages (0+0+1+1) and contending for the top 10 before finishing about 12 seconds out of 10th place. It was her second-best result of the week after placing eighth in the junior women’s 12.5 k individual.
“A top 10 finish was definitely the big goal for the pursuit, but I knew that was only possible if I shot really well and skiied well,” Moser wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, I missed my goal by one place.
“There were some pretty large time gaps in the starters today so it was a challenge to pick up places for me,” she continued. “For the most part I just tried to catch up with the people in front of me, or keep up with the people who passed me. I knew my best chance to move up was in the shooting range. … I was focused and trusting in my skills on the range today, and that is how I was able to hit most of my targets.”
She knew she was in 10th for her third shooting when she was shooting in lane 10.
“I was really happy that I had moved up as many places as I did, although slightly dissapointed that I was not able to reach the top ten,” Moser added. “I am satisfied with today’s pursuit. Moving up 10 positions is better than I’ve ever done before. Some things could have gone slightly better this week, but overall I am content with what I was able to achieve.”
Emily Dickson scored her first non-relay top 30 of the week in 26th (+5:31.6), up from 36th at the start, after missing just two targets (1+0+0+1). She had previously placed 36th in both the sprint and individual races, and ninth with Bankes and Moser in the 3 x 6 k relay.
After starting 26 seconds ahead of Davidová, Poland’s Kamila Żuk finished second in the pursuit, 28.1 seconds behind Davidová, after incurring six penalties (1+2+3+0). France’s Myrtille Begue placed third (+53.8) for the second-straight day after shooting 17-for-20 (0+1+1+1).
Onto the junior men’s 12.5 pursuit:
A day after placing third in the sprint, Norway’s Sverre Dahlen Aspenes shot clean in Sunday’s four-stage pursuit to take the win in 34:16.7. He finished 1:21.1 minutes ahead of France’s Martin Perrillat Bottonet, who placed second with one penalty (0+0+1+0). Norway’s Johannes Dale scored his first non-relay podium in third place (+1:46.4) with four misses (0+0+2+2).
Canada’s Adam Runnalls tallied his third individual top 30 of the week, placing 29th (+6:04.7) with six penalties (2+1+1+2). He had started the pursuit in 26th, based on his sprint result, and had previously finished 29th in the junior men’s 15 k individual.
His teammate Trevor Kiers started the pursuit in 16th and slipped to 34th (+6:44.4) with 10 penalties. Canada’s third man in the race, Teo Sanchez finished 57th (+10:32.5) with five misses (1+0+1+3) after starting 54th.
Cody Johnson was the lone U.S. skier in the junior men’s pursuit, racing to 48th (+7:40.0), after starting 37th, with five misses (2+0+2+1).
In the youth men’s 10 k pursuit:
Leo Grandbois racing to 15th in the youth men’s 10 k pursuit on Sunday at IBU Youth World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Terri Dickson)
Grandbois, a gold medalist at last year’s Youth Worlds in the 12.5 k individual, had his best race of the 2018 championships in 15th. After starting 33rd, he cleaned the first two stages to put himself in 16th halfway through the race, then missed two on each of the final two shooting bouts (0+0+2+2). But he didn’t lose much ground, leaving the range in 17th after the last shooting and passing two competitors to end up 15th (+3:37.2). Grandbois had previously raced to 24th in the 12.5 k individual this week and 16th with Canada’s youth men’s 3 x 7.5 k relay team.
“For the first bouts the wind was calm but for the second prone the wind picked up,” Grandbois explained in an email. “So I had to do some corrections that worked perfectly. I am really happy about it. First standing I came way too hard in the range and I could not manage to be precise. The last shooting was going well but the pressure to go faster made me miss again.
“I think that with a better standing shooting I could have done a top 10, but I was starting pretty far away so I am satisfied with my 15th,” he wrote.
“What I take back from those championships is that my ski speed is good but I will have to work hard next summer to keep it that way and to get it even better, for sure,” Grandbois added. “It wasn’t a good week for me in the range. I will have to work on my shooting speed and constancy. Those two things are my biggest weakness.”
Leading the U.S. men was Vasek Cervenka in 24th (+4:20.8). Cervenka had started the race in 24th and held his position despite six penalties (0+3+1+2) with the 19th-fastest course time. It was his third individual top 30 of the week after placing 27th in the 12.5 k (as well as ninth with his relay team).
Canada’s Rory Gilliland moved up 11 places to finish 41st (+6:12.2) with two penalties (0+0+1+1). His teammates Thomas Hulsman and Ryan Elden followed in 45th (+6:45.9) and 49th (+6:56.8) after starting 35th and 59th, respectively. Hulsman had six penalties while Elden had five (1+0+2+2).
For the U.S., Garrett Beckrich and Eli Nielsen finished 46th (+6:48.7) and 47th (+6:54.7), respectively. Beckrich had started 46th and incurred five penalties (1+1+1+2) while Nielsen slipped five places after starting 42nd and missing six targets.
After winning gold in the relay, Russia’s Andrei Viukhin notched his first individual podium and gold medal at his first Youth Worlds, winning the pursuit in 29:31.2. He had started seventh and missed four targets (1+1+1+1) yet led his teammates in a Russian podium sweep.
Viukhin handed his teammate Mikhail Pervushin his first loss of the week, as Pervushin settled for second, 16.8 seconds back, with four penalties as well (1+0+2+1). Aleksei Ogorelkov, who had not raced in Russia’s 3 x 7.5 k relay, finished third (+1:12.1) with two late penalties (0+0+0+2) for his first Youth Worlds podium.
Last but not least, the youth women’s 7.5 k pursuit:
Canada had three women finish in the top 40 of this race, with Benita Peiffer leading them in 30th (+4:28.2). She had started 51st and skied the 21st-fastest course time to pick off 21 places. Peiffer shot 17-for-20 (1+0+1+1).
Her teammate, Pascale Paradis slipped from 15th to 35th (+5:05.8) with eight penalties, while Jenna Sherrington improved from 46th to 39th (+5:28.1) with four misses (2+0+2+0).
For the U.S., Emma Stertz finished 48th (+5:58.0), up from 52nd at the start, with four penalties (1+0+2+1), and Grace Gilliland placed 57th (+7:21.0), after starting 55th, with four misses as well (1+1+1+1).
Russia’s Anastasiia Goreeva won her first individual gold at Youth Worlds, racing up from fourth at the start to cross the finish line first in 24:24.0 with three penalties (0+0+1+2). Germany’s Franziska Pfnür placed second for her first Youth Worlds podium, 17.5 seconds behind Goreeva, with just one penalty (0+1+0+0). In her second Youth Worlds, Switzerland’s Amy Baserga achieved her first podium as well, placing third (+29.0) with two penalties (0+0+1+1).
American Chloe Levins racing to seventh in the junior women’s 7.5 k sprint on Saturday at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Terri Dickson)
“There’s almost nothing I love more than being in the hunt during a pursuit,” American Chloe Levins wrote in an email to FasterSkier on Saturday. “I’m prepared. I’m hungry.”
Two days after placing sixth in the junior women’s 12.5-kilometer individual on Thursday, Levins, 19, raced to seventh place in Saturday’s 7.5 k sprint, which will put her in seventh (and within 10 seconds of fourth place) for the start of Sunday’s 10 k pursuit at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia.
On Saturday, Levins, a Middlebury College sophomore, started the 7.5 k sprint in 20th out of 70 women. She missed one of her prone targets, having to ski a penalty lap, and cleaned standing to cross the finish line in second place, just 1.5 seconds behind Russia’s Emma Timerbulatova in first. While both were ultimately bumped to sixth and seventh, respectively, by the time all 70 racers had finished, Levins’s course time still held up as the eighth fastest. Her shooting was among the best, too, with only five women cleaning the two-stage race.
“There’s been a consistent stream of wind on this range all week long,” Levins explained in the email. “It didn’t fail to show up today either. Ski conditions were perfect. The snow was cold but fast, and it got faster throughout the day.”
When asked about the course, she recalled a term her coach Algis Shalna used to describe it: “workhorse”.
“That’s exactly what it is,” she wrote. “It’s a traditional course with long hills and few transitions. I don’t really have a course profile preference, but working over the top of these hills pushes me past my limits every time.”
Levins described being able to handle the “steady and relatively calm” wind conditions without many technical adjustments. After hitting all five targets in her standing stage, all she could do was smile as she returned to the course, she wrote.
“It was a very rhythmic shooting that gave me some momentum leading into the last loop,” Levins recalled. “Our staff and even some of the youth athletes were everywhere on course today, which really helped me gain time on a Russian athlete who left the range 15sec ahead of me at the split.
“I had the biggest support system in the entire field today,” she added. “I hope they had as much fun during the competition as I did.”
At the finish, Levins tried to process any time she lost on the course and the time gap between her and first place at the time.
“My brain immediately went to analyzing the race in search of 1.5 lost seconds,” Levins wrote. “Since the temperatures have been so cold this week, they made all the races 20 second intervals. It was unfortunate that I had to maneuver my way around two groups of at least four competitors along the track on my last loop.”
In the end, she ended up seventh, 1:31.7 minutes behind Poland’s Kamila Żuk, who won in 22:32.5 with one standing penalty (0+1). Żuk also won Thursday’s 12.5 k individual.
On Sunday, Levins will start the pursuit 1:32 behind Żuk and just 10 seconds behind Russia’s Valeriia Vasnetcova in fourth place. Markéta Davidová of the Czech Republic will head out of the gate second, 26 seconds behind Żuk, and France’s Myrtille Begue will start third, 52 seconds back. While Davidová made up for two penalties in Saturday’s sprint with the second-fastest course time (behind Żuk in first), Begue shot clean and skied the fifth-fastest course time.
Canada’s Megan Bankes racing to ninth in the junior women’s 7.5 k sprint on Saturday at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Terri Dickson)
Canada’s Megan Bankes placed ninth for her third-straight race of the championships, after finishing ninth in the junior women’s 3 x 6 k relay and ninth in the 12.5 k individual. On Saturday, she had two penalties, one in each stage (1+1), and finished 1:49.5 minutes out of first with the (you guessed it) ninth-fastest course time.
Bankes will start the pursuit 1:50 back and just 4 seconds behind Norway’s Marit Ishol Skogan in eighth.
Her teammate Nadia Moser finished 21st (+2:46.2), also with two penalties (0+2), Emily Dickson finished 36th (+3:50.5) with two penalties (1+1), and Canada’s fourth woman Zoë Pekos narrowly missed the pursuit cutoff in 66th (+6:22.4) with four misses (3+1).
In the junior men’s 10 k sprint that followed, Canada’s Trevor Kiers achieved his best result at his second Junior Worlds in 16th (+1:34.9) with two penalties (2+0). Kiers, 20, previously broke through in 10th and 11th this season in IBU Junior Cup sprints. Last year at Junior World Championships, his best non-relay result was 39th in the pursuit.
So far in Otepää, Kiers had finished 77th in the 15 k individual and 17th with his team in the 4 x 7.5 k relay.
“I found it really hard mentally after the relay and individual,” Kiers wrote in an email. “But after a ton of self-reflection, I realised that I put too much pressure on myself to shoot well and perform. I simply didn’t trust myself. After the individual, I had one training session to regain my confidence, and I was able to do just that. I took 60 very focused shots, and only missed 1 prone and 3 standing over the whole session, and the last 30 were clean! I came into today’s race feeling very confident in my shooting, and knew that I could perform, and not allow that pressure to reach me. To go out and have a fun time, and my instincts would kick in, and the shooting would fall into place.”
On the range, Kiers’s shooting and range times ranked 13th and 14th overall, respectively. As he entered his first prone shooting stage, he recalled that he consciously freed his mind of any expectations.
“After I shot off my first, the casing got stuck in my chamber and I feel it through off my relaxed sort of focus, but I know that my last two shots were just me being silly,” Kiers wrote. “I knew that the next bout would be good, I had convinced myself that standing would be a breeze, just let my body do what it knows how to do.”
His next time in the range, he cleaned his standing bout.
Canada’s Trevor Kiers racing in the junior men’s 15 k individual at 2018 IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. He placed 77th in that race and went on to finish 16th in the junior men’s 10 k sprint on Saturday. (Photo: Bryan Dickson)
“Not only did I clean it, but quickly too!” Kiers wrote. “I was one of the fastest shooters of the day, and can reflect back knowing that I didn’t rush, just that it felt good. Heading out on skis, I knew that I still had a shot at a good result, when I went up one of the first long climbs, out wax tech was yelling at me that I was definitely still in it, that I was still skiing on par, and that I could pull this back together! Having that near the beginning of the loop definitely set me up well mentally for the second loop, to keep the grind on, and that I wouldn’t give up any seconds.”
Based on his shooting, he was confident he could be in the top 20. As the 16th starter, Kiers crossed the finish line in sixth, but some 72 men were still on course. Ultimately, he finished 16th, 1:34.9 behind Russia’s Vasilii Tomshin, who shot clean to win in 25:01.8.
“When I heard that I got 16th I was super happy!” Kiers wrote. “From the previous races I’ve done this year, I knew that cleaning a race could land me in the top 10, and once I finished with 2 misses, I reckoned that it would probably be a top 25, maybe a top 20, but I apparently skied faster than I thought possible! … Today, I held my own on skis, and proved that I deserve to be up here with the big guns!”
Looking back on his progression in the sport, he described it as “insane”.
“… Before two years ago (May of 2016) I had never had a biathlon coach, and did all my training on my own in my backyard range that I built,” he explained. “But I was able to prove myself at the 2016 nationals that February and landed a spot on [Biathlon Alberta Training Center]. BATC has changed a lot about how I had gone about things before, and I think that last year was the time to get used to a full time training lifestyle, and this was the year to start performing, and showing what it has done for me.”
Kiers will start Sunday’s 12.5 k pursuit in 16th, 1:35 behind Tomshin and seven seconds behind Germany’s Tim Grotian in 15th. France’s Martin Perrillat Bottonet (who had one penalty in the sprint) will start second, 21 seconds back, and Norway’s Sverre Dahlen Aspenes (who missed two) will head out third, eight seconds later.
“I am super excited to see what I can do tomorrow, but to be truthful, I don’t have any expectations as far as results go,” Kiers wrote. “My expectations are to simply go out there, have some fun, dance to a few songs during warm-up, and see where that takes me. I am really looking forward to leaving everything I’ve got out on the track, being the last race of the championships, no holding back, have no regrets after I finish.”
Canada had two in the top 30 with Adam Runnalls in 26th (+2:08.3) with three penalties (1+2). Teo Sanchez also qualified for the pursuit by tying for 53rd (+3:19.2) with one penalty (1+0), while Angus Tweedie placed 69th (+4:41.3) with three misses (+4:41.3).
Cody Johnson shot clean to lead the Americans in 37th (+2:31.1). Tim Cunningham finished 71st (+5:13.5) with seven misses, Jacob Pearson was 79th (+6:24.2) with two penalties (1+1) and Cam Christiansen in 86th (+7:52.5) with three penalties (1+2).
The men’s 1.6 k freestyle sprint podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Lahti, Finland, with Italy’s Federico Pellegrino (c) in first, Russia’s Gleb Retivykh (l) in second and Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
FIS Cross Country World Cup (Lahti, Finland): Men’s & women’s freestyle sprints
The defending world championships from the 2017 freestyle sprint prevailed again in Lahti on Saturday, with Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla winning the women’s 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint final and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino coming out on top in the men’s 1.6 k final at last year’s World Championships venue.
Falla’s rise to the final started with her qualifying in 12th, 7.96 seconds off the fastest qualifying time set by Sweden’s Hanna Falk in 2:54.72. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva qualified second (+0.63) and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski third (+3.62), just ahead of Germany’s Victoria Carl in fourth (+3.88) and American Sadie Bjornsen in fourth (+3.88). Four American women qualified for the heats, with Sophie Caldwell in 17th, Ida Sargent in 21st and Rosie Brennan in 29th.
The women’s 1.4 k freestyle sprint podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Lahti, Finland, with Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla (c) in first, and Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (l) and Hanna Falk (r) in second and third, respectively. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
Falla went on to place second in the first quarterfinal, 0.71 seconds behind Sweden’s Stina Nilsson in first. According to the race jury’s ruling, Carl obstructed Pärmäkoski coming out of the last downhill before they entered the finishing straight and both crashed out of contention, with Pärmäkoski finishing fifth in the heat (+12.11) and Carl sixth (+49.5). Carl was relegated to last (30th place) for the obstruction.
Falla then won the first semifinal by just 0.04 seconds over Nilsson in second. The two other Swedes in that heat, Falk and Ida Ingemarsdotter, advanced to the final as well as lucky losers with fast-enough times.
In the final, Falla found herself at the front of the pack early then held her position to the finish, crossing the line in 2:54.83 and beating Nilsson by 0.36 seconds. Sweden had two on the podium with Falk in third (+0.78), Germany’s Sandra Ringwald placed fourth (+0.88), Ingemarsdotter was fifth (+1.83), and Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaff placed sixth (+3.02).
Caldwell was the lone American woman to make it past the quarterfinals, as she placed second in her quarterfinal, 0.25 seconds behind Ringwald in first, then fourth in the second semifinal, 1.46 seconds behind Ringwald, who also won that heat. Overall, Caldwell finished the day in eighth.
Bjornsen placed 17th overall after finishing fourth in her quarterfinal, 2.84 seconds behind Falk in first. Sargent had been second in her quarterfinal until the final tight lefthand corner into the finishing straight, where she slipped to sixth and ultimately finished sixth, 1.07 seconds behind Sweden’s Anna Dyvik in first. Overall, Sargent finished the day in 27th, and Brennan placed 29th overall after finishing sixth in her quarterfinal, 4.91 seconds behind Ingemarsdotter in first.
Two American men advanced to the heats as well, with Kevin Bolger of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) qualifying in 16th in his World Cup debut, 6.38 seconds behind Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who topped the qualifier in 2:59.06. Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team qualified 29th, 8.29 seconds back.
Meanwhile, Pellegrino qualified for the heats in third (+1.9) behind France’s Baptiste Gros in second (+1.23).
There, Pellegrino won the first quarterfinal by 0.19 seconds over Klæbo, with the Norwegian visibly backing off before the finish — comfortable enough to automatically advance to the semifinals in second place. But Klæbo showed Pellegrino what he’s made of in the first semifinal and beat the Italian by nine-hundredths of a second.
Bolger also raced in that first semifinal after placing fourth in his quarterfinal, 0.73 seconds behind Russia’s Gleb Retivykh in first. Bolger’s time was good enough for one of two lucky loser spots in the semifinals, where he went on to finish sixth, 1.86 seconds after Klæbo. Overall Bolger finished the day in 11th.
Erik Bjornsen placed 20th on the day after finishing fourth in the first quarterfinal (with Pellegrino and Klæbo), 1.56 seconds out of first.
In the final, Klæbo set the tone, slowing the pace to almost a stop at one point, while he and Pellegrino stood side by side at the top of the course. On the way down, they accelerated, but Norway’s Sindre Bjørnestad Skar was the one who truly attacked. It might’ve been a bit too early, as Pellegrino caught him by the top of the final climb and took the lead on the following downhill into the stadium. Pellegrino held off his challengers, including Retivykh who came on strong out of the downhill, to take the win in 3:16.73, 0.77 seconds ahead of Retivykh in second and 0.9 seconds ahead of Klæbo in third. Skar settled for fourth (+1.3), Finland’s Ristomatti Hakola placed fifth (+1.44) and France’s Lucas Chanavat finished sixth (+7.55).
In the qualifier, Canada’s Dahria Beatty finished 34th, +13.39 and just 0.9 seconds from making the quarterfinals. She was the only Canadian woman competing.
American Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) was also close to making the cut. In her first European World Cup, she placed 36th in the qualifier, +13.74. Caitlin Patterson and Kaitlynn Miller, both of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, placed 56th (+20.12) and 61st (+21.70).
Mathilde Petitjean of Togo, a primarily Quebec-based skier, finished in 59th (+20.80).
In the men’s qualifier, Logan Hanneman (APU) placed 49th (+11.45). Paddy Caldwell (U.S. Ski Team/SMS T2) finished 59th (+13.55), and APU’s Reese Hanneman and David Norris placed 61st (+14.33) and 67th (+19.27).
Julien Locke led Canada in 42nd place (+9.78), and Andy Shields finished 60th (+14.29).
American Chloe Levins racing to seventh in the junior women’s 7.5 k sprint on Saturday at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Terri Dickson)
Poland’s Kamila Zuk won her second race in a row, taking gold in the junior women’s 7.5 k sprint after also winning the individual at World Junior Championships. Zuk had one penalty to two by second-place Marketa Davidova of the Czech Republic, who finished 26.0 seconds back. Bronze went to Myrtille Begue of France, who shot clean to finish 52 seconds back.
The sole U.S. starter, Chloe Levins followed up her sixth-place finish in the individual with seventh place in the sprint. Levins had a single penalty and finished +1:31.7.
For Canada, Megan Bankes was close behind Levins in ninth, with two penalties and +1:49.5. Teammate Nadia Moser was 21st, also with two penalties, +2:46.2. Emily Dickson finished 36th, +3:50.5 with two penalties, and Zoe Pekos just missed the pursuit cutoff in 66th (+6:22.4) with four missed shots.
In the junior men’s 10 k sprint, Vasilii Tomshin of Russia took the gold with perfect shooting. France’s Martin Perillat Bottonet was second, less than a penalty-loop’s worth of time back at 20.5 seconds – and he did have one penalty. Norway’s Sverre Dahlen Aspenes took bronze (+29.4) with two missed shots.
Trevor Kiers led Canada in 16th, a breakthrough result; his previous World Juniors best was 39th in the pursuit last season. Kiers missed two shots, both in prone, and finished 1:34.9 behind the time set by Tomshin.
Adam Runnalls placed 26th for Canada (+2:08.3) with three missed shots. Teo Sanchez also qualified for the pursuit by placing 53rd (+3:19.2) with one penalty, and Angus Tweedie was left on the outside looking in with 69th place (+4:41.3) with three missed shots.
Cody Johnson led the Americans in 37th, with clean shooting, 2:31.1 back from Tomshin’s time. Tim Cunningham was the next finisher in 71st (+5:13.5) with seven missed shots, followed by Jacob Pearson in 79th (+6:24.2) with two penalties and Cam Christiansen in 86th (+7:52.5) with three penalties.
The top-six finishers at the junior women’s 12.5 k individual flower ceremony on Thursday at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, with Poland’s Kamila Żuk (second from l) in first, Ukraines’s Anna Kryvonos (l) in second place, Russia’s Irina Kazakevich (third from l) in third, and American Chloe Levins (r) in sixth. (Photo: Erik Lewish)
IBU Junior World Championships (Otepää, Estonia): Junior women’s and men’s individual
Three North Americans in the top 10, top nine even. That’s what happened in a single race at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Junior World Championships on Thursday in Otepää, with American Chloe Levins placing sixth, and Canada’s Nadia Moser and Megan Bankes claiming eighth and ninth, respectively, in junior women’s 12.5-kilometer individual.
According to the three racers, it was another beautiful day in Otepää with steady, sometimes even gusting, wind.
Levins was the earliest starter of the three, starting in the middle of the field in bib 37 (out of 70). Bankes headed out of the gate 45th and Moser started near last in 67th.
Canada’s Nadia Moser racing to eighth in the junior women’s 12.5 k individual at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bryan Dickson)
Despite the late start, Moser, 20 years old and in her second Junior Worlds, explained in an email that she wasn’t nervous. With temperatures rising to a high of -10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) on Thursday morning, she almost preferred it.
“There were also 20 second start intervals which are shorter than the usual 30, so all of the competitors were out of the gate in a shorter amount of time than normal,” Moser wrote.
In neither Thursday’s women’s race nor the men’s 15 k individual that followed, nobody shot clean. In fact, only one woman shot 19-for-20: Slovakia’s Veronika Machyniakova, who ended up 11th. The top-two finishers in the women’s 12.5 k, Poland’s Kamila Żuk (who placed first in 41:36.1 minutes) and Ukraine’s Anna Kryvonos (who finished 3:04.7 minutes back in second place), both had two penalties. Russia’s Irina Kazakevich placed third (+3:20.0) with three misses — which added three minutes of penalties to her time.
“I found the wind in the range today to be fairly variable,” Bankes, the defending Junior Worlds champion in the event, wrote in an email. “It was gusting and then dying quiet significantly and also in the middle of shooting bouts which made things a little tricky.”
At last year’s Junior Worlds in Osrblie, Slovakia, Bankes shot a perfect 20-for-20 for the first time in her career and won gold in the junior women’s 12.5 k individual.
Thursday brought new challenges, and Bankes explained she was happy to clean her first prone. She went on to miss two in the next standing stage, then one in each of the following two stages (0+2+1+1) to finish the race with four penalties, which ultimately put her in ninth overall (+4:59.1).
Canada’s Megan Bankes racing to ninth in the junior women’s 12.5 k individual at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bryan Dickson)
“I’m not totally sure what happened in my first standing (when I missed 2) but when I came into my 2nd standing the wind was gusting quite a bit, and I was really happy with how I waited for my first 4 shots, but I was a little annoyed to have missed that last one,” she recalled. “Overall I think my shooting today was pretty good, but I could have been better.”
While Bankes figured the wind was giving most others trouble as well, she didn’t think that she’d make it into the top 10 with four misses.
“I don’t like getting splits until the last lap, so I heard Andrew [Chisholm] our wax tech tell me I was fighting for 10th when I passed him, so I really tried to give everything that last lap,” Bankes, 20, wrote. “I was super stoked to see I crossed the line in 7th, and knew I wouldn’t be bumped down too much because I started 3rd seed.
“Coming off of gold last year, I definitely had high expectations for myself,” she explained. “But I tried to use that as more positive belief in myself to know I can be in the top women, and know that I can shoot well, instead of just focusing on the result number. My main goal going into these championships was to have races that I’m happy with, and to ski and shoot to the best of my abilities.”
At the end of the day, Bankes wrote that she was “really happy” with her result.
“I felt like I really held myself together on skis, and kept my technique under control, while also pushing myself to the limit throughout the race,” she wrote. “I’m super stoked to see that the youth women are totally crushing it, and to be right behind Nadia today was also super exciting (also to see Chloe Levins in 6th was fantastic – 3 North Americans in the top 10!)”
From left to right: Megan Bankes, Nadia Moser and Emily Dickson after the junior women’s 12.5 k individual at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bill Gilliland)
One place ahead of her, Moser scored her first non-relay top 20 at Junior Worlds, leading Canada in eighth (+4:18.9) with three penalties (1+0+1+1). Two days earlier, Moser, Bankes and their teammate Emily Dickson placed ninth in the junior women’s 3 x 6 k relay.
“I knew I could get a top 10 finish if I could pull my shooting together,” Moser wrote after Thursday’s individual race. “After my third shooting I had missed 2 targets total and I thought then that my top 10 chances were over. On may last loop I had 3 misses and was not even thinking about top 10 anymore. I realized that I must be doing better than I initially thought when everyone who was cheering me sounded really excited. I definitely got lucky today because no one cleaned their shooting. I was extremely happy to have finished in the top 10, especially since I was sure that I had no chance after missing 3 targets.”
She was pleased to see all of her training over the last year validated on Thursday.
“I tried really hard to improve over the summer and fall because I really wanted good results this season,” Moser wrote. “I think that the best thing I did today was to stay calm, and take my time in the range. I shot really slowly but that paid off in the end.”
Chloe Levins (third from r) with the U.S. team staff (from l to r) wax tech Travis Voyer, coach Algis Shalna, assistant coach Danika Frisbie, wax tech Max Bergmann, wax tech Mattias Halquist, and head coach Erik Lewish, after Levins placed sixth in the junior women’s 12.5 k individual at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Erik Lewish)
The lone American junior woman at this year’s IBU Youth/Junior Worlds, Levins, 19, finished sixth (+3:37.4) with three penalties (0+1+0+2). At last year’s Youth Worlds, Levins notched fourth place in the 7.5 k pursuit.
“There’s a big difference between youth and junior competition,” Levins wrote in an email. “A lot of juniors have IBU Cup experience, World Cup experience, and a handful even attended the Olympics. Fortunately, there’s also a big difference between the youth athlete I was last year and the junior I am now. I’ve been fortunate to compete in more winter biathlon races than ever this year, which has really helped me up my game. It’s a good feeling to see that I’m prepared to compete at this level.”
She explained that she had one goal on Thursday: “smile no matter what,” she wrote. “The hay is in the barn. Now it’s just time to get out of my own way and focus on one thing at a time.”
While Levins had experienced the rush of being near the front of the race in a pursuit, actually contending for a top result in an individual-start race was a new experience for her, she explained.
“As always, I tried not to let thoughts of my position distract me from thinking tactically about the course or my shooting process,” Levins noted. “Every lap, every corner, every shooting remained an opportunity for me until the finish line.
“A lot of my friends finished their races around me, so I did not even see my standing at the finish,” she continued. “When I finally looked at the board and saw that I was more than three minutes back of the leader, I thought that this result, with three penalties myself, was okay. I didn’t expect it to be good enough for sixth place.”
The race was Levins’s first of the week and she presumably has two more to go — as do Moser, Bankes and most of the other junior women — with a sprint on Saturday and, if they place in the top 60 of the sprint, a pursuit on Sunday.
As the only American junior woman in Otepää, Levins wrote that she was fortunate to have a significant amount of team support behind her on Thursday.
“My skis today were incredibly fast,” she emphasized. “Our wax guys made the fastest skis on the track today. … I can’t thank them enough.”
The U.S. team’s head coach and trip leader, Erik Lewish, pointed out that Levins had the seventh-fastest overall ski time and one of the best shooting performances of the day.
“It’s great to see that she is right in the mix with this very competitive field (2 of the starters today were competing in the Olympics),” Lewish wrote. “1 more hit and she would have finished in 2nd place today, this is very exciting looking forward to the Sprint and pursuit (sat and Sunday) where she will have another chance to get on the podium.”
“There are a lot of good things to take from this race and, as always, a lot of things to learn,” Levins concluded. “What’s my goal for the rest of the week? Keep learning. Keep smiling.”
According to Canada’s head coach and trip leader Jacqueline Akerman, the Canadian techs also nailed the wax.
“The techs hit the wax perfectly allowing for some of the top skis out there, when skiing form and wax meet it sets the scene for great results,” Akerman wrote. “The shooting was a bit tricky today with varying strength and switching winds, but both [Nadia and Megan] managed to keep misses to a minimum. They both hit enough to place in the top ten on a day when no one in the field shot clean and only one athlete managed one penalty. They are both happy with their performance, and the rest of us are too!”
Next on the results sheet for Canada was Dickson in 36th (+8:33.7) with five penalties (2+1+0+2), and Zoë Pekos in 63rd (+15:50.6) with eight misses.
Canada’s Adam Runnalls racing to 29th in the junior men’s 15 k individual at IBU Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Bill Gilliland)
In the junior men’s 15 k, Canada’s Adam Runnalls led the North Americans in 29th (+4:26.4) with five penalties (0+0+3+2). Teo Sanchez followed in 58th (+7:25.2) with four misses (1+1+1+1), Angus Tweedie was 67th (+9:11.8) with six misses (2+0+2+2), and Trevor Kiers 77th (+12:44.3) with 13 penalties.
For the U.S., Tim Cunningham finished 53rd (+6:49.3) with six penalties (1+3+1+1), Cody Johnson was 60th (+8:01.7) with seven misses, Jacob Pearson 83rd (+16:39.6) with 13 misses, and Cameron Christiansen 84th (+16:53.6) with eight penalties.
Russia had two on the podium in the men’s race as well, with Igor Malinovskii scoring his second-straight win after racing to gold in the junior men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Tuesday. He has won the last four races he’s contested, including the sprint and the pursuit at IBU Junior Open European Championships before Junior Worlds. Malinovskii finished in 41:48.5 on Thursday with three penalties (1+1+1+0), besting Norway’s Sturla Holm Lægreid in second place by 19.4 seconds; Lægreid also had three penalties (1+0+1+1). Russia’s Said Karimulla Khalili added bronze (+23.0) to his medal collection, with two misses (0+1+1+0), after capturing gold with his relay team.
No one in the junior men’s individual had fewer than two misses.
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.
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