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.
At the first biathlon World Cup races of the 2025/26 season, the biathlon stadium is perched above the small city of Östersund, which is set on a lake. Wind gusts off the lake, pulsing through the stadium. The races take place under the lights, at night – which isn’t saying much. Because in December in northern Sweden, ‘night’ begins at three in the afternoon, when what little sun there might’ve been throughout the day slips below the horizon. It’s in the evenings that the wind is usually at its strongest. The conditions the racers zero their rifles at before the race are rarely the same conditions they find when they come back to the range during the race. Athletes watch the small, red flags in the range, seeing which way they’re moving, deciding whether or not to shift their sights a few clicks, compensating for the changes that happened while the racers skied the course that serpentines up, down, around a 180-degree turn, and back into the stadium where the music plays and the home crowd cheers. Ayyy! As the Swedes hit their targets. A diluted Ney for each Swedish miss.
The mixed relay at the opening stop, Oestersund (SWE), of the 2025/26 IBU World Cup Biathlon season. (Photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)
Over eight days, the best biathletes in the world raced 10 times. Maybe it was the arduous schedule, or the bit of sharpness that an Olympic year adds, but the Ostersund races didn’t feel like the first of the season. It felt like a break had never happened.
One question lingering from the off-season was answered quickly: What would Norwegian biathlon look like without the Boe Brothers? The dominant duo of Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Boe – owners of eight Olympic medals – retired at the end of the 2024/25 season. Leaving what one would assume would be a major hole in the program. But when the Norwegian men came out and won the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay at Ostersund, the Norwegian’s roster depth became clear.
Campbell Wright (USA) during the IBU World Cup Biathlon Men’s Relay in Östersund (SWE). (Photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)
The men’s relay saw a top result from the U.S. men, as well. Paul Schommer, Campbell Wright, Maxime Germain and Sean Doherty finished fifth, one of the best men’s relay finishes ever for Team USA. The next day, at the mixed relay, Germain, Wright, Chloe Levins and Deedra Irwin placed sixth – which is the best finish for a U.S. mixed relay since 2021.
Artem Tyshchenko (UKR) and Paul Schommer (USA), (l-r) during the Men’s Relay in Oestersund (SWE). (Photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)
Germain and Wright continued to build on their early-week momentum, with Germain placing 11th in the sprint. In the pursuit, Wright hit all 20 targets for the first time in his career and moved up from 18th to 6th. Wright is coming off a stellar 2024/25 season, where he podiumed twice at World Championships, becoming the first American to do so.
Throughout the week, there were highs: Suvi Minkkinen of Finland won her first World Cup sprint. The Norwegian men placed four in the top five in the 20km individual, solidifying their capabilities as a team sans-Boes. And as always in biathlon, some lows: Eric Perrot of France missed his final shot in the pursuit, a devastating moment that cost him the lead. He finished fifth.
Racing wrapped up in Sweden, and teams flew to Austria. In Hochfilzen, a less rigorous racing schedule awaits: sprint, pursuit, and then a men’s and a women’s relay. A few more hours of daylight await, too.
The men’s 4×7.5km relay kicked off the Soldier Hollow BMW IBU World Cup with the U.S. Biathlon Team racing to an historic fourth place finish, the best-ever U.S. finish on home soil in the discipline. The quartet of Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT/Team Crosscut), Sean Doherty (Center Conway, NH/National Guard Biathlon), Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) and Jake Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) each put on world class performances both on the range and on skis to achieve this milestone in front of a home crowd.
Starting in bib 14,, Bonacci kicked off the race with a phenomenal lead leg, shooting clean and tagging off to Doherty in third place, just 10 seconds off the leaders. Bonacci, who is a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, wanted to “put it on for my city”. The local fans showed up, filling every corner of the course, making sure the team could feel the support.
“We had more fans than the last time the World Cup was here,” Doherty said after the race, “Real home crowd feeling, I have to say I love it. It was fun, we put on a good show which is what we always aim to do.”
Doherty continued pushing, staying with the leaders and, after using just three spares on the range, tagged off to Wright in fifth place. Wright, as we have seen time and time again, had a spectacular leg, only needing one spare round in prone and cleaning his standing shoot to push the team up to second place at the third and final exchange. Brown, despite having to ski one penalty lap, kept his calm and pushed to the limit on his final lap, fending off a late charge from the Swedish team, to secure the team a fourth place finish.
“My favorite spot was out on cabin hill. I went by the fans and they were chanting ‘Jake, Jake, Jake,’ which was pretty surreal,” Brown said just after finishing, “I had never had something like that before, so that was really cool.”
The team crossed the line just +1.30 off the leading Norwegian team of Sturla Holm Laegreid, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Thinges Boe and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen. Norway was joined on the podium by Italy’s Patrick Braunhofer, Tommaso Giacomel, Didier Bionaz and Lukas Hofer, and Germany’s Justus Strelow, Johannes Kuehn, Benedikt Doll and Philipp Nawrath.
*The best-ever U.S. men’s relay finish took place in Ruhpolding Germany in 1988, where the team of J. Thompson, C. Schreiner, D. Binning and L. Nelson raced to third place.
About U.S. Biathlon
As the Olympic sports organization centered around the sport of biathlon, the United States Biathlon Association, known as U.S. Biathlon, is recognized by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as the national federation for biathlon in the United States. Founded in 1980, U.S. Biathlon exists to support and encourage the development of biathlon in the United States, to work with biathlon clubs and regional centers around the country to organize training and competition from the grassroots to elite level, and to prepare athletes for international competition. U.S. Biathlon staffs and finances the U.S. Biathlon national and junior national teams and is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. For more information, visit usbiathlon.org.
FasterSkier’s Coverage of the Biathlon World Championships is made possible through the generous support of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center: New England’s finest snowmaking, world class race venues and touring trails, healthy food in abundance, comfortable accommodations at Craftsbury: Sports, Sustainability, Stewardship.
On the second-to-last day of 2024 World Championships, USA reached a historic fifth-place finish among 24 nations in the Men’s Relay under the lights at the Vysocina Arena in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
On Saturday in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, the American quartet of Vincent Bonacci, Sean Doherty, Campbell Wright, and Jake Brown made history for US Biathlon, finishing fifth among 24 nations: the team’s best-ever World Championship or Olympic Men’s Relay result. After more than an hour and 15 minutes of racing, the team finished just 1:22 behind the winners from Sweden. Norway out-sprinted France for the silver, and Germany was fourth.
Vincent Bonacci led off for the US in the 2024 World Championship Men’s Relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The first leg was full of surprises. Estonia, Czechia and Kazakhstan led at the first exchange. France and Norway tagged in eighth and 12th after going into the penalty loop. For the US, Bonacci needed two spare rounds in prone but then cleared all five of his standing targets and tagged just ahead of Norway in 11th, 43 seconds out of the lead. Bonacci did his World Cup debut last season and has been steadily improving his results as he builds his ski speed. In late January he became one of the last two athletes named to this year’s World Championship roster after he took sixth at the European Championships with 20/20 shooting in the 20 k Individual. His reliable shooting earned him relay starts here in Nove Mesto, and he rose to the challenge of the World stage, scrambling with success in both the Mixed Relay and the Men’s Relay.
Tarjei Boe (NOR) set a grueling pace on the second leg but Sean Doherty was able to catch a ride on the first loop. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Doherty caught a draft from Tarjei Boe (NOR) on the first loop of the second leg. Germany briefly took the lead but then went into the penalty loop, and just as France was making a comeback from their penalty loop on the first leg, they went back in twice more. This opened the door for Boe, who out-skied the field by 30 seconds, to bring Norway all the way from 12th to first at the half-way point. Doherty cleaned his prone targets but needed all three spares in standing. Thanks to the changes at the front of the race, he only lost about 13 seconds on the leg, tagging Campbell Wright in 10th place in a tightly packed field, still within one minute of the lead.
Campbell Wright throws his rifle on his back after a successful standing bout. He skied the fourth-ranked course time and used just one spare to bring the US from 10th up to sixth on leg three of the Men’s Relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Wright continued his streak of outstanding performances, using just one spare and skiing the fourth-best course time on the third leg to bring the team all the way up to sixth. He tagged Jake Brown for the anchor leg just 12 seconds out of third place. In the last men’s relay before World’s, Brown suffered on the shooting range, incurring two penalty loops in prone, but on Saturday he hit all five prone targets with no spares. He arrived at the shooting range for the final bout in fifth place, and used two spares to hold his position.
Shooting on lane one, Norway’s Vetle Christiansen experienced a biathlon nightmare, missing all but two of his eight bullets, incurring three penalty loops and throwing away a huge one-minute lead! Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden capitalized on his Norwegian rival’s misfortune, shooting fast and clean. He skied to the finish with enough time to glide in waving the Swedish flag, celebrating Sweden’s first gold medal of the Championships. Behind Samuelsson, France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet used just one spare and left the range as Christiansen was exiting the penalty loop. Ultimately Christiansen hunted down the Frenchman and claimed an anticlimactic silver for Norway.
Jake Brown tuned out the distraction of a stadium full of screaming Czech fans as he shot head-to-head against the Czech Republic in the final shooting stage of the Men’s Relay. (Photo: NordicFocus).
After second-ranked Germany arrived at the finish line visibly disappointed in fourth, Brown arrived visibly thrilled in fifth. Since longtime US Biathlon stars Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey retired in 2018, the men’s team has been in a rebuilding phase, developing young athletes as well as experienced cross-country skiers like Brown. They have had three head coaches in five years, but throughout that period Brown has been a steadying force and has played a key role in building a positive and united men’s team culture. While 31-year-old Brown has not indicated any plan to retire, he summed up the importance of this result for his own career and for the team, saying, “Now I can retire in peace.” R.I.P.!
Estonia finished a historic fourth in the Women’s Relay, anchored by former MSU Bobcat and Craftsbury Green Racing Project training parter Johanna Talihaerm (left) . (Photo: NordicFocus)
Earlier in the day, the French women won their first-ever World Championship relay, followed by Sweden and Germany. Estonia shocked the biathlon world with a historic fourth-place finish, anchored by former Montana State bobcat and Craftsbury Green Racing Project training parter, Johanna Talihaerm. Norway absolutely melted down, finishing tenth, followed by the Italian defending champions in 11th. To the 30,000 fans on-site plus millions watching on TV, the race offered biathlon drama at its best: equal parts miracle and collapse. The US was unfortunately in the latter category on Saturday, getting lapped and finishing 21st.
The last day of racing at 2024 Biathlon World Championships will feature the premier Mass Start events, in which the 30 top-ranked athletes compete head-to-head over four shooting stages. Campbell Wright and Sean Doherty will represent the US starting at 10:30 eastern time.
Sunday 18 Feb Women’s 12.5 k Mass Start 08:15 eastern time
Sunday 18 Feb Men’s 15 k Mass Start 10:30 eastern time
FasterSkier’s Coverage of the Biathlon World Championships is made possible through the generous support of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center: New England’s finest snowmaking, world class race venues and touring trails, healthy food in abundance, comfortable accommodations at Craftsbury: Sports, Sustainability, Stewardship.
Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) defended his 2023 World Championships title in the 20 k Individual at 2024 World Championships. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The 20 k Individual is the longest race in biathlon, and with a one-minute time penalty per miss, so much can happen over the course of one competition. When defending champion Johannes Thinges Boe (NOR) missed one shot on the first stage, it looked like someone else might have a chance at the gold. But he swiftly dispelled any doubt, hitting the 15/15 remaining targets and out-skiing the field by a ridiculous 50-second margin to claim his 9th individual World Championships medal—just two medals shy of the record shared by greats Ole Einar Bjorndalen (NOR) and Martin Fourcade (FRA). Boe’s older brother, 35-year-old Tarjei, who won this event at the 2011 World Championships, skied the second-fastest time of the day and hit 19/20 to claim silver and give biathlon fans another “Boedium” to celebrate. In third, the German men’s team finally made an appearance on the podium thanks to Benedikt Doll’s 19/20 performance.
Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) overcame three prone misses to finish sixth.
The Individual stretches out over a couple of hours and each loop can seem like its own race. On Wednesday afternoon in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, bib number 1 of 100 starters, France’s Quentin Fillon-Maillet, missed two targets right away on the first stage, incurring two minutes of time penalty and leaving the range in 73rd place with 16 kilometers still left to be skied. But he kept fighting for every second on course, hit 14/15 of the remaining targets, an moved all the way up to sixth place, earning himself a bouquet in the flower ceremony (and 7,000 Euros). Fillon-Maillet’s teammate Emilien Jacquelin finished fifth with one miss, and Andrejs Rastorgujevs of Latvia was fourth, also with two misses.
Campbell Wright (USA) skied the 14th fastest course time to take 20th despite three misses. (Photo: NordicFocus)
From the US, 21-year-old Campbell Wright matched his career-best 14th-ranked ski time from the Sprint to finish 20th despite three misses. The 2023 Junior World Champion was was pleasantly surprised by his own ski speed. “When you’re fit and have 40th ski time or fit and have 14th ski time, it feels the same,” said Wright, referring to past seasons when he also felt fit, but couldn’t yet keep up with the top senior-level athletes. Now, even though Wright is still one of the youngest athletes in the field, he is skiing with the best. With his finishes of 11th, 12th, and 20th so far at the World Championships, he has qualified for Sunday’s Mass Start featuring the top 30 athletes. Wright has done one other Mass Start, back in 2022 when he was just 19 years old. “I feel like I won’t just get blown out the back on the first loop,” said Wright. “I’m a lot more in the fight.” Wright is humble and just starting to come to terms with his own capabilities, but for everyone watching it is clear that he is very solidly “in the fight.”
Sean Doherty (USA) skiing his way to 23rd in the 20 k Individual. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sean Doherty (USA) finished just behind Wright in 23rd, with two misses. “I’m happy with it,” he said. “I was in the right state of mind for an Individual, to really be in it and give myself a chance.” Since starting the Championships with a 44th in the Sprint, Doherty has been exceptional, moving up 18 places in the Pursuit to 26th, and then posting his season-best result in the Individual. Thanks to these two top-25 results, Doherty will join Wright in the Mass Start.
Also for the US, Jake Brown was 50th and Vincent Bonacci was 75th, both with four misses.
Tarjei Boe (NOR) and younger brother Johannes Boe (l-r) giving biathlon fans what they want: a Boedium! Benedikt Doll came through for Team Germany to take the bronze. (Photo: NordicFocus)
FasterSkier’s Coverage of the Biathlon World Championships is made possible through the generous support of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center: New England’s finest snowmaking, world class race venues and touring trails, healthy food in abundance, comfortable accommodations at Craftsbury: Sports, Sustainability, Stewardship.
After finishing second in Saturday’s Sprint, Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) moved up into first in Sunday’s Pursuit, defending his 2023 title .
On a rainy Sunday afternoon in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, 30,000 fans packed the Vysocina Arena for the women’s and men’s Pursuit competitions of the 2024 Biathlon World Championships. The weather has been dismal for the first five days of the event, meaning a lot of soggy boots, sink laundry, and rifle cleaning for the athletes, and long, cold, days for team staff and event organizers. But it has not dampened the spirits of the biathlon fans who continue to make the atmosphere bright.
French teammates Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (foreground) and Julia Simon shoot head-to-head in the Pursuit. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Women’s 10 k Pursuit
Simon defends world title, Vittozzi moves up from seventh to silver, and Braisaz-Bouchet keeps her podium streak alive.
In the women’s Pursuit, Julia Simon of France defended her 2023 World Championship Pursuit title as well as her Sprint victory from Friday. Last year, Simon started the Pursuit wearing bib 10 and overcame a deficit of more than one minute to take the gold, but today’s defense of Friday’s Sprint gold was also impressive. Only four women in the past ten years have won both the Sprint and Pursuit at the World Championships or Olympics: Marie Dorin-Habert (FRA) in 2015, Laura Dahlmeier (GER) in 2018, Tiril Eckhoff (NOR) in 2021, and Marte Olsbu-Roeiseland (NOR) in 2022.
Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) fights to the finish line, moving up from seventh to silver ahead of bib 2 Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (FRA). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Simon started with a negligible five second advantage over teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who is the fastest skier in the field but a slower and less-accurate shooter than Simon. A gap of nearly 40 seconds separated those two leaders from the third starter, Lou Jeanmonnot (FRA), but then six women all started within about 30 seconds. Simon and Braisaz-Bouchet matched one another’s shooting (0,1) on the first two stages to hold their lead over the chasers. But then on the third stage, Simon cleaned while Braisaz Bouchet missed two, opening the door for bib 7, Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi, to move into second with her 15/15 shooting through stage three of the race.
Sophie Chauveau (FRA) finished fourth in the Sprint and Pursuit. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the final stage, Simon closed with the same perfect shooting we’ve now seen in three of three races at World Championships, nailing all five targets in 21.5 seconds—somewhat tame for Simon but still the fastest in the 60-person field. Behind her, Vittozzi missed her only shot of the day, creating an opening for Braisaz-Bouchet and bib 4, Sophie Chauveau. But luckily for Vittozzi, both of them missed one as well. Chauveau left the range a few seconds ahead of Braisaz-Bouchet, and for a moment it looked like the 24-year old might take her first World Championship medal after finishing a bittersweet fourth in the Sprint. But Braisaz-Bouchet out-skied Chauveau on the final lap to take the bronze, leaving Chauveau in fourth again. To put things in perspective, Chauveau won her first medal (a bronze) in January of this year, and her two fourth places so far at World’s are her next-best results.
Deedra Irwin was the top American in the Pursuit, finishing 46th with four misses. (Photo: NordicFocus)
From the US, Deedra Irwin started in bib 39 and fell back to place 46 with four misses. Tara Geraghty-Moats started in bib 58 but was lapped after the second shooting in her first-ever Pursuit.
Sturla Holm Laegreid’s (NOR) clean standing shooting earned him the silver medal in the Pursuit. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Men’s 12.5 k Pursuit
J.T. Boe shuffles the sprint podium to defend World title while the USA’s Wright and Doherty finish 12th and 26th.
In the men’s 12.5 k Pursuit, the Norwegian podium sweep from Saturday’s Sprint grew to a monstrous top-five sweep. Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) overcame three prone misses with flawless standing shooting to win his eighth individual World title—his 34th World Championship medal. (If you include Olympic results, Sunday’s victory was Boe’s 11th title and 42nd medal.) After winning Saturday’s Sprint with his signature perfect shooting, Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) uncharacteristically missed two in the first stage of the Pursuit but then hit the rest of his targets to fight back for the silver medal. Vetle Christiansen (NOR) led the race early on when he cleared all his prone targets and J.T. Boe and Laegreid both missed. But then two misses on his final stage set him back. He left the range a few seconds ahead of Laegreid but was caught in the final lap.
Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) finished third in both the Sprint and Pursuit. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The fight for the top-six flowers was marked by some surprising shooting melt-downs. Having hit all his targets through the third stage, Tarjei Boe came into the final shoot tied for second with his younger brother Johannes, just nine seconds behind race leader Christiansen and a full 30 seconds ahead of the chasing group. But he missed a heart-wrenching four out of five targets and fell to fifth. Meanwhile, his teammate Johannes Dale moved up into fourth by clearing his final five, recovering from a messy three misses on the third stage. Behind Dale and T. Boe, Sebastian Samuelsson (SWE) kept his wits about him and shot 17/20 to complete the flower ceremony in sixth.
Campbell Wright (USA) was the top American in the Pursuit finishing 12th with two misses. (Photo: NordicFocus)
For the US, Campbell Wright in bib 11 missed one shot each in the prone stages but then cleared all 10/10 standing targets, finishing 12th. His 11th-place finish in the Sprint was a personal-best and this 12th place ties his previous personal-best. With these two results, Wright is almost guaranteed a start spot in next weekend’s 30-person Mass Start featuring the top 30 athletes of the Championships.
Sean Doherty (USA) happy in the finish area after moving up 18 places from 44th to 26th. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sean Doherty was one of the biggest climbers of the day, moving from 44th to 26th with just a single miss in the first standing stage. Jake Brown started 38th and finished 37th with four misses, skiing the fastest of the three Americans in the race, 1:11 off the pace set by J.T. Boe.
Sturla Holm Laegreid, Johannes Thingnes Boe, and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, (l-r) shuffled their podium sweep from Saturday’s Sprint in Sunday’s Pursuit. (Photo: NordicFocus)
FasterSkier’s Coverage of the Biathlon World Championships is made possible through the generous support of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center: New England’s finest snowmaking, world class race venues and touring trails, healthy food in abundance, comfortable accommodations at Craftsbury: Sports, Sustainability, Stewardship.
Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) celebrates after crossing the line in first in the Sprint at the 2024 World Championships in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Shut out at last year’s World Championships, Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid claimed his place in the spotlight on Saturday, edging out defending champion Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) in dramatic fashion for gold in the 10 k Sprint. Vetle Christiansen completed the podium sweep for Norway, taking his first individual World Championship medal.
Defending champion and World Cup Overall leader Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) races in front of a packed stadium on his way to a silver medal, 3.5 seconds behind Laegreid. (Photo: NordicFocus).
Laegried’s results in the four non-team competitions at last year’s World Championships were two silvers, a bronze, and a fourth place. Thingnes Boe won all but one of those races; he took the bronze in the Mass Start, pushing Laegreid off the podium. Laegreid has ranked second in the World Cup overall score the last three years in a row—twice behind Thingnes Boe—and is currently the sixth of six Norwegians who fill the top of the rankings. It’s hard to think of Laegreid as an underdog, and yet somehow he is. But second fiddler no more, Laegreid boldly claimed first chair in the Sprint at the 2024 World Championships in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR) completed the podium sweep for Norway. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Laegreid’s super power has always been his shooting, and on Saturday it earned him the gold. Wearing bib 50, he was latest of the medal favorites to start, and one by one the others in front of him missed targets. Only Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden managed to hit 10/10, but he couldn’t quite match the speed of the Norwegians and had to settle for fifth.
When Laegreid left the range after hitting 10/10, he had an eight second lead over J. Boe. But he couldn’t match Boe’s speed on the uphills of the final lap and with just one kilometer to go, Laegreid trailed Boe by two tenths of a second. In the final meters, with the advantage of knowing Boe’s splits, Laegreid put in a decisive finishing sprint to win by a margin of 3.5 seconds. It’s been a long time since an athlete looked so thrilled to cross the finish line in first.
Eric Perrot (FRA) finished fourth, the closest any French man has come to the podium this winter. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Only Samuelsson and fourth-place Eric Perrot (FRA) infiltrated the otherwise Norwegian top seven. Perrot’s fourth place ties his second-best finish and is the closest any French man has come to the podium this winter. His teammates Quentin Fillon Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin finished eighth and ninth, and Samuelsson’s teammate Martin Ponsiluoma was tenth.
Campbell Wright (USA) waves to the crowd after shooting clean and finishing with a new personal-best of 11th in the Sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Just outside the top ten, American Campbell Wright set a new personal-best of 11th with clean shooting. This is Wright’s first season competing for the US, after training with the team last season while still competing for his other nation of citizenship, New Zealand. Wright will start Sunday’s Pursuit in bib 11 just 1:08 behind Laegreid. Teammates Jake Brown and and Sean Doherty also qualified for the Pursuit in 38th and 44th, both with three misses. Maxime Germain just missed qualification, finishing 63rd with four misses.
Doherty expressed mixed emotions about qualifying but not with a standout result: “It was tough and although I am very much looking forward to the Pursuit,” he said. “I feel like I left a bit on the table with three misses.” He also pointed to the exciting atmosphere and success of his teammate: “The crowds were awesome and I am really proud of Campbell.”
Sean Doherty (USA) (background) and Campbell Wright (USA) preparing to zero their rifles before the Sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Jake Brown also expressed mixed emotions, describing how good execution doesn’t always align with a good result in biathlon. “I think I pushed pretty deep today and I’m satisfied with that. As for shooting, I was satisfied with my shooting speed; I really committed to sticking to my process, and I did that, and it was just frustrating to miss two in standing.” He went on, “I really came in with confidence. I’ll probably take the same approach in tomorrow’s race.”
Benedikt Doll (GER) speaking with one of his staff members after a disappointing team performance in the Sprint (Photo: NordicFocus)
The gap in ski times in the men’s Sprint was enormous, resulting in an unusually large 3:37-spread separating the top-60 Pursuit qualifiers. A typical spread is 2-2:30. When asked why he thought the spread was so large, Brown pointed to a combination of skis, conditions, and the ban of fluorinated wax products enacted this season. “There are pine needles everywhere, it’s very dirty, and there is a lot of loose, wet snow. It seems like the ski times on the first lap are somewhat normal but then they open up on the second and third laps.” In these conditions, technicians face an extra challenge of preparing skis in such a way that they repel dirt. Brown said that the US team had good skis, while many other nations struggled. The Germans, for example, who have been highly competitive all winter with three different gold medalists, did not place a single athlete in the top ten of the ski time rankings, and their best finisher in the race, Benedikt Doll, was 13th. Technicians from every team will have their work cut out for them again Sunday for both the men’s and women’s Pursuits.
Up Next:
Sunday 11 Feb Women’s 10 k Pursuit 08:30 (Eastern Time)
Sunday 11 Feb Men’s 12.5 k Pursuit 11:05 (Eastern Time)
Johannes Thingnes Boe, Sturla Holm Laegreid, and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, (l-r), celebrate their podium sweep for Norway in the Sprint at 2024 World Championships. (Photo: NordicFocus)
FasterSkier’s Coverage of the Biathlon World Championships is made possible through the generous support of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center: New England’s finest snowmaking, world class race venues and touring trails, healthy food in abundance, comfortable accommodations at Craftsbury: Sports, Sustainability, Stewardship.
Fans fill the trail-side stands during the 2023 Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The 2024 Biathlon World Championships open on Wednesday, February 7 in the countryside town of Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic. While not widely known as a winter wonderland, Nove Mesto boasts some of the most impressive crowds on the international biathlon circuit. Organizers have already sold out the 30,000-capacity stadium and bleacher-lined course for the opening and closing weekends and expect to sell a total of 200,000 tickets during the 12-day event. For those not lucky enough to join the festivities in person, here’s a brief viewer’s guide.
Athletes ski into the shooting range of the Vysocina Arena during the 2023 Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
How to Watch?
All races will be streamed live for free with English commentary on a brand new digital platform: Eurovision Sport. Replays are available there as well. The full event schedule is available here automatically adjusted to your time zone.
Why Watch?
Wednesday’s Mixed Relay features 25 teams from 25 nations! While the podium places in most World Championship competitions will likely be contested by the “big five” biathlon nations—Norway, Germany, France, Sweden, and Italy—the field is deep and diverse and will inevitably deliver some surprises. Watch for the drama!
Watch to be inspired by the stories of set backs and success that take shape over the course of the nearly two-week event. The series of 12 races in 12 days (a maximum of seven for any given athlete) is an odyssey for athletes and viewers alike. It starts with the chaos of the opening Mixed Relay. The most tense moments of pressure for perfection come in the Sprint, which serves as the qualifier for the Pursuit and sets the tone for each athlete’s Championships. Fatigue peaks in the second week with the long Individual competitions, before a reprise of team relays and finally the grand finale Mass Starts featuring the 30 best athletes. While each competition is entertaining in its own right, viewers will be rewarded for following the arc of the full Championships.
Finally, it’s worth watching this event just to see the stadium atmosphere. It’s shaping up to be one of the most well-attended Nordic skiing events ever.
Start of the Single-Mixed Relay at the 2023 Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
What to Watch?
Relays, Pursuits, and Mass Starts are head-to-head races that promise high drama and are easy to follow for new fans. The Sprint and Individual test the composure of athletes on the range, as the podium almost always demands perfection. The full event schedule is below (Eastern Time):
07 Feb 11:20 4x7k Mixed Relay (M+W)
09 Feb 11:20 Women 7.5k Sprint
10 Feb 11:05 Men 10k Sprint
11 Feb 08:30 Women 10k Pursuit
11 Feb 11:05 Men 12.5k Pursuit
13 Feb 11:10 Women 15k Individual
14 Feb 11:20 Men 20k Individual
15 Feb 12:00 Single Mixed Relay (M+W)
17 Feb 07:45 Women 4x6k Relay
17 Feb 10:30 Men 4×7.5k Relay
18 Feb 08:15 Women 12.5k Mass Start
18 Feb 10:30 Men 15k Mass Start
Deedra Irwin (USA) shooting on lane 5 during the Mixed Relay at the 2024 Biathlon World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Who to Watch?
The American duo of Deedra Irwin and Campbell Wright is likely to get some TV time in the Single-Mixed Relay after fighting for a podium finish in the most recent running of the event in late January. Irwin set a new personal-best World Cup result of eighth place in a Sprint in December and will be looking to improve on that in Nove Mesto. She has hit 19/20 targets in the 15 k Individual in her last two Championships; if she can do that again this year she’ll have shot at the podium thanks to improved ski speed.
The Americans are also dark-horse contenders in the Men’s Relay. Led by veterans Sean Doherty and Jake Brown, the team has been boosted by a cohort of precocious young talents, including two medalists from last winter’s Junior World Championships: Wright and Maxime Germain. Vincent Bonnacci rounds out this year’s World Championships roster, coming fresh off an impressive 6th place at the European Championships. The team has shown glimmers of greatness this season but has yet to perform to its full potential. This could be their moment to shine.
A pack of Norwegian men at the front of the Mass Start at the 2024 Biathlon World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Looking at the international field, Norwegian superstar Johannes Thingnes Boe has won the World Cup overall title five times in the past six years and is threatening records set by biathlon legends Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) and more recently, Martin Fourcade (FRA). But he’s not the only Norwegian to watch; six of them fill the first six places in the men’s World Cup overall score. Always in the shadow of Norway, the Germans have quietly made their own statement, placing five different men on the podium this season including three different winners. There will be good fights for medals between these two teams and some challengers from Sweden and Italy, but it’s fair to expect a frequent playing of the Norwegian national anthem.
The women’s podium is more widely contested. Fifteen women from six nations have landed on the podium this winter. France alone has had three different gold medalists. Lena Haecki of Switzerland broke through the dominance of the big nations with her first gold medal just a few weeks ago. And with more than ten women averaging over 90% hits on the range, the standard of competition is exceptionally high. All of this will make for some exciting biathlon.
It all gets underway Wednesday at 11:20 Eastern Time.
Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) prepares for the opening event of the 2024 Biathlon World Championships during official training on Tuesday, February 6 in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The first trimester of the IBU World Cup concluded this past weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Team USA’s Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) stepped up and had the best weekend of her career, landing eighth in the sprint on Thursday. The last time U.S. Biathlon had an athlete in the top ten was in 2022 when Irwin skied to seventh place in the individual event at the Olympics in Beijing.
Irwin, who shot clean in the sprint, was followed by teammate Grace Castonguay (Jackson, NH/Ethan Allen Biathlon Club) in 74th with one miss, skiing to a World Cup personal best after making her debut in Hochfilzen. Jackie Garso (Lake Clear, NY/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) finished in 80th with three misses in standing. Irwin continued to have a strong weekend, finishing 21st in Saturday’s pursuit after only two missed shots in her first stop in prone. In Sunday’s mass start, Irwin shot 20 for 20, the first of her World Cup career, landing her in 13th to round out the weekend.
“Just incredible to have two of my races go clean. It’s just unreal. It’s really just a dream come true to have all of this come together,” said Irwin. “The wax team did such an amazing job and my coaches did an amazing job preparing me, so to be able to share this weekend with so many amazing people who have helped me get to this point is just so cool. I can’t wait to come back to Lenzerheide next year for World Championships!”
Friday’s men’s 10km sprint brought a strong showing by the U.S. men’s team. Sean Doherty (Center Conway, NH/National Guard Biathlon) led the group in 27th with one missed shot. Jake Brown (Saint Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT/Team Crosscut) finished neck and neck in 48th and 49th to both qualify for Saturday’s pursuit, Bonacci’s first World Cup pursuit qualification. Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) finishing just out of pursuit contention in 72nd with two misses on the day.
In Saturday’s pursuit, Doherty skied to 37th place after one miss in each of his four shooting bouts. Bonacci followed suit, also missing four, finishing 48th. Brown did not start the pursuit.
The first trimester has brought World Cup debuts, personal bests, clean shooting and stellar performances. During the World Cup premier in Östersund, Sweden, Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, WA/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) raced to a personal best 36th in the women’s individual, where Margie Freed made her World Cup debut. Irwin’s 8th place, clean shooting and feature in the mass start, and Bonacci’s 48th place and pursuit qualification in Lenzerheide highlighted the weekend’s results.
The U.S. Biathlon Team will now head into a well-deserved holiday break before the second trimester of World Cup racing begins in Oberhof, Germany on January 4. Highlighting the new year will be World Championships taking place February 7-18 in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, and March 8-10 will bring the IBU World Cup back to home soil for the first time since 2019. The top biathletes will be racing at Soldier Hollow in the second-to-last race weekend of the season, which is sure to be a spectacle. For information on the Soldier Hollow World Cup, check out https://ibuworldcuputah.com/.
Sean Doherty (USA) leads Vladimir Iliev (BUL) in the IBU World Cup Biathlon, pursuit men in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. (Photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)
About U.S. Biathlon
As the Olympic sports organization centered around the sport of biathlon, the United States Biathlon Association, known as U.S. Biathlon, is recognized by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as the national federation for biathlon in the United States. Founded in 1980, U.S. Biathlon exists to support and encourage the development of biathlon in the United States, to work with biathlon clubs and regional centers around the country to organize training and competition from the grassroots to elite level, and to prepare athletes for international competition. U.S. Biathlon staffs and finances the U.S. Biathlon national and junior national teams and is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. For more information, visit usbiathlon.org.
Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) congratulates his brother, Tarjei Boe (NOR) who finished beside him on the podium at the IBU World Championships Men’s Sprint in Oberhof. (Photo: Reichert/NordicFocus)
One man has won all five 10 k Sprint competitions so far this season, so even with 112 starters in today’s BMW IBU World Championship Sprint, there was no doubt about the favorite. Johannes Thignes Boe of Norway has been untouchable on skis since November, regularly out-skiing his nearest competitor by over 30 seconds. The 150m penalty loop in biathlon usually takes athletes about 23 seconds, so Boe can afford to miss once and still win. Today he missed once in prone—the target barely visible at 50m through dense fog—but cleaned standing with no hesitation in just 21 seconds. With a 36-second second margin to the next-fastest skier, Boe defended his Olympic title and become the 2023 World Champion. This sets him up for another likely victory in tomorrow’s Pursuit competition, but with four shooting stages, anything can happen.
Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) started and finished in bib number 1 at the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sharing the podium with the unbeatable Boe were two teammates: his older brother, Tarjei Boe, shot the perfect score to complete the family sweep for the second time this winter, and Sturla Holm Laegreid missed just one in standing to capture the bronze. Laegreid is ranked second behind J. Boe in the Overall standings and has been on the podium in all but three competitions this season, so he was very much the silver medal favorite, but T. Boe is the fifth-ranked Norwegian (and 8th in the World Cup Overall standings), so the so-called “Boedium” was a pleasant surprise for the brothers.
Tarjei Boe (NOR), Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR), Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) (l-r) on the podium of the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The Norwegian men make it look easy to land on the podium even with nine out of ten hits, but it’s not. Only four people on the whole men’s World Cup circuit have a shooting average of 90%. Laegreid is one of them. The Boe brothers are among the top 15 athletes with an 88% hit rate. Add the expectation of victory, and their performances become even more impressive.
Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) racing to third place in the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
With Johannes Dale in fourth and Vetle Christiansen in sixth, the Norwegians almost pulled off a full sweep of the Flower Ceremony, but one athlete managed to upset the total domination. Dmytro Pidruchnyi of Ukraine shot clean and skied the 15th course time to take fifth. He had only raced twice this season—once in November and once just last week, with a knee operation in between—before coming to the World Championships. Pidruchnyi has a history of performing his best at championships; he was the World Champion in the Pursuit in 2019. Today’s fifth place was his top result since then. This victory will certainly mean a lot to him, his team, and the people of Ukraine as they suffer from war at home.
Flower Ceremony finishers in the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. Front L-R: Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (NOR), Dmytro Pidruchnyi (UKR), Johannes Dale (NOR), Back: L-R: Tarjei Boe (NOR), Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR), Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Andrejs Rastorgujevs of Latvia shot 10/10 to finish 7th, Johannes Keuhn of the home German team finished 8th for his best result of the season, and two French athletes, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Antonin Guigonnat, rounded out the top ten. Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden finished in 11th with two penalties. Both he and Fillion Maillet will be podium threats in the Pursuit even starting around 1:10 back.
Paul Schommer (USA) zeroes his rifle before the Sprint competition at the IBU World Championships, in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Today was a tough day for the North Americans, with the exception of Paul Schommer (USA) who qualified for the Pursuit in 31st with one penalty each in prone and standing. Paul’s 31st-ranked course time was his best in a Sprint this season. “That prone miss was definitely one of those things where I thought, okay, I should have taken another second, but the standing felt good,” Schommer said of his shooting. As in yesterday’s Women’s Sprint, drafting on the long, windy straightaway into the range was critical. With that in mind, Schommer went out of his comfort zone on the second lap to stay with another athlete. “I may have pushed a little too hard before standing, but I made up so much time by staying with him.” It’s easy in biathlon to play the “what if” game, and Schommer recognized that he would have cracked the top 20 with one less miss, but he said, “tomorrow I’m going for the money!” The top 30 finishers in biathlon World Cups and World Championships earn prize money.
Maxime Germain (USA) in the finish of his first senior-level World Championship race. Oberhof (GER). (Photo, NordicFocus).
Twenty-one-year-old Maxime Germain (USA) finished just outside of the Pursuit qualification in 65th with three penalties. Both Sean Doherty (USA) and 22-year-old Vincent Bonacci (USA) cleaned prone but then uncharacteristically missed four in standing. They finished 80th and 98th.
For Canada, Adam Runnalls was the team’s top finisher in 82nd with five misses. Trevor Kiers was 86th with three, Christian Gow was 92nd with four, and Logan Pletz was 94th with four. This was certainly not the day that either North American team had hoped for. Those not racing in tomorrow’s Pursuit will shift their focus now to next week’s 20km Individual competition.
Biathletes racing in Oberhof, Germany in January of 2019. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The 2023 BMW IBU Biathlon World Championships kick off on Wednesday, February 8th in Oberhof, Germany. Let’s start with reasons why to watch:
Why Watch?
Watch because it’s free and easy. This winter, all biathlon World Championship, World Cup, Junior World Championship, and even IBU Cup (World Cup feeder circuit) races and are free to stream live with English commentary on Eurovision’s website.
Watch because on the men’s side, Johannes Thignes Boe’s domination so far this winter has sparked talk of “G.O.A.T.” status. That is saying something, given that the 29-year-old Norwegian has “only” three World Cup Overall titles and 66 individual victories to his name. Boe’s compatriot, the original “King of Biathlon” Ole Einar Bjorndalen, won 95 races, and more recently, French star Martin Fourcade won 85 races and seven consecutive Overall titles. But winning 11 out of 14 individual competitions already this season, Boe is catching up at an extraordinary rate. Outpacing his competitors by ridiculous margins and hitting 90% of his targets on average, there’s no doubt Boe will put on a show to remember in Oberhof.
On the women’s side, watch because—in contrast to the Boe Show—we’ve seen eight different winners from five countries so far this season: none yet from Norway. It’s truly anyone’s game. The depth of competition on the women’s side all but guarantees the kind of high-drama shooting and down-to-the-wire finishes that we all love.
Watch to support Nordic skiers getting paid. World Championships have the biggest viewership draw and consequently the biggest prize money purse of the biathlon season, with each event winner taking home 25,000 Euros. The payout reaches all the way down to 30th place, and women and men are paid equally.
Watch because—for the first time since 2020—spectators will be allowed to attend the season’s highlight event. Oberhof’s Thuringen Arena is expected to draw over 160,000 die-hard biathlon fans from one of the sport’s core regions. Watch because if you can’t be there in person, the live stream is next best!
Biathlon World Cup Women’s Pursuit in Oberhof , Germany in January 2021. (Photo: NordicFocus)
February 8-19. See competition schedule below in Eastern Time. Full season schedule and results available at: www.biathlonresults.com
What to Watch?
For those new to biathlon, check out any of the relays, the Pursuit, or the Mass Start. Those races are easiest to follow because they are head-to-head.
To see North Americans in the front of the pack, watch the Single-Mixed Relay. One woman and one man each do two short biathlon races, tagging off in between. The Canadian couple of Emma Lunder and Christian Gow have a World Cup best of fourth in the event and Americans Deedra Irwin and Paul Schommer finished sixth just a few weeks ago. No matter how they do, this speed shooting and sprint skiing frenzy is entirely enjoyable to watch.
Watch for those same four athletes in the 15/20km Individual as well. They each have scored at least one top-10 result in biathlon’s longest event format, known for its brutal one-minute time penalty per miss. If any of them can hit 18 targets or more out of 20, expect to see them on the live stream and—if they’re lucky—on the podium.
Emma Lunder and Christian Gow (CAN) at the IBU World Cup Biathlon in Kontiolahti, Finland in December 2022. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Who to Watch?
International Women:
Julia Simon (FRA): currently leads the World Cup Overall and Mass Start standings. Watch for her to blaze through five targets in 19 seconds and then throw down a heroic last lap for a come-from-behind win. Not to be overlooked: her three teammates who have also landed on the podium this winter.
Elvira Oeberg (SWE): Second in the Overall and first in the U25 and Pursuit standings, it’s easy to forget she’s only 23 years old. Like France, Sweden has also put four women on the podium this winter. Watch for those two nations to battle it out in the Women’s Relay.
Lisa Vittozzi (ITA): Following a season in which she inexplicably alternated between hitting all five or missing all five in any given prone stage, Vittozzi is back to her best form on the range and on skis. She currently leads the 15km Individual standings.
Dorothea Wierer (ITA): Quietly ranked fourth in the Overall behind the above three, she took her first win of the season just a few weeks ago and is a perennial favorite at championships.
Denise Herrmann-Wick (GER): Sprint standings leader and Olympic medalist in both biathlon and cross-country skiing, the 34-year-old is currently ranked fifth in the Overall and is Germany’s best chance for an at-home win.
Marte Olsbu Roiselend (NOR): Last year’s World Cup Overall winner returned to competition in January following an autumn illness and went straight into the flower ceremony with a 4th and 5th. She won five Olympic medals in Beijing last winter and seven at World’s in 2020. Bet on her.
Wildcard—Anamarija Lampic (SLO): For cross-country ski fans looking for a dark horse podium contender, the former FIS Sprint Globe winner will make her Biathlon World Championships debut. In her three World Cup outings so far she has placed 5th, 5th and 69th.
Julia Simon (FRA) racing the IBU World Cup Biathlon Relay in Antholz, Italy in January 2023. (Photo: NordicFocus)
North American Women:
Emma Lunder (CAN): Ranked 26th in the Overall standings, Lunder came oh-so-close to landing her first podium when she set new personal bests of 4th and 5th in December. In the two Mass Start races this season she placed 9th and 11th, so let’s hope she can qualify for the premier 30-woman event in Oberhof.
Nadia Moser (CAN): After tragically breaking her leg just before the Olympics last year, Moser fought back and is now having a career-best season, notching three top-30’s including a new personal best of 23rd.
Deedra Irwin (USA): Returning from a breakout season in which she smashed into the top-ten for the first time at the Olympics and qualified for her first Mass start, Irwin may be on track for a similarly well-timed peak. In January her ski times sharpened and she scored her first top-25 of the winter.
Joanne Reid (USA): After finishing 26th in a Sprint in December, Reid struggled with illness in January but don’t count her out. Her top three career results are all from championship events, including 10th and 15th at the 2019 World’s. Chances are good she’ll shine in the women’s and mixed relays.
Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) racing the IBU World Cup Biathlon Mass Start in Ruhpolding, Germany in January 2023. (Photo: NordicFocus)
International Men:
Team Norway: Five of them (J. Boe, S. Laegreid, V. Christiansen, J. Dale, T. Boe) are ranked in the top eight of the World Cup Overall standings. We’ll see all of them compete in Oberhof thanks to a new rule which extends the normal limit of four athletes per nation to five as long as they are ranked in the top 15. In particular:
Johannes Thignes Boe (NOR): won 11 of 14 individual races this season. Currently leads the Overall standings and all of the event standings. More than once this winter, he has outskied the next-fastest competitor by over forty seconds— in a 10k! Come for the biathlon, stay for the exceptional cross-country skiing.
Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR): If it weren’t for Boe’s total domination we’d be talking about Laegreid. He’s finished 2nd in the Overall standings for the last two years and has been on the podium in all but three races this season. His worst (!) finish so far this winter is 6th. In contrast to Boe, Laegreid’s superpower is his shooting. The 25-year-old is currently running a 98% hit rate in prone.
Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE): the only non-Norwegian to win a race this winter. In January he was consistently the second-fastest skier behind J. Boe and therefore one of the few people with any chance of beating him. Ponsiluoma’s weakness is shooting accuracy but Oberhof’s windy range could level the playing field to his advantage.
Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA): Last winter’s World Cup Overall winner, currently ranked 4th, never gives up.
Niklas Hartweg (SUI): At just 22 years old, the U25 leader is having a breakout season which started with a silver medal in the 20km Individual in November. Winner of the 2019-20 Junior Cup, Hartweg is on a near vertical trajectory at the senior level, ascending from 74th in the World Cup Overall standings last year to 12th currently.
Wildcard— Simon Eder (AUT): the 39-year-old proved he’s still in great form when he earned his 99th and 100th career individual top-ten results in January. He recently ended a prone hit streak of over 110 shots which he had started last March.
Paul Schommer (USA) and Adam Runnalls (CAN), (l-r) racing the IBU World Cup Biathlon Pursuit in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand in December 2022. (Photo: NordicFocus)
North American Men:
Sean Doherty (USA): Coming off a banner summer season in which he took 2nd at the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival and 6th at Summer Biathlon World Championships, Doherty landed his best result since the 18-19 season in December with a new Sprint best of 11th.
Christian Gow (CAN): a lighting fast and reliable shooter coming into form with two top-25 results in January.
Adam Runnalls (CAN): 24-year-old having a breakout season with two top-20s so far including a new personal-best of 13th in the Sprint in January.
Paul Schommer (USA): has finished in the points (top-40) in all but two races this season, showing high-level consistency, especially on the range where his 87% hit rate ranks among the best.
Jake Brown (USA): 12th in the Sprint at 2021 World’s proves he can make it happen when it counts. Watch for Jake to put up a sneaky excellent Men’s Relay leg.
Keep following fasterskier.com for on-site coverage from Oberhof.
You can find the full US Biathlon World Championships team roster here.
You can find the full Biathlon Canada World Championships team roster here.
The American team of Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Seah Doherty, and Paul Schommer took seventh in the mixed relay to match the best U.S. Olympic result in the event. (Photo: NordicFocus)
BEIJING, China (Feb. 5, 2022) – The American quartet of Susan Dunklee Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) and Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Team Crosscut & USABA) finished seventh in the mixed relay Saturday as the Beijing 2020 Winter Games biathlon competition got underway at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Center. The result tied the best-ever finish for Team USA in an Olympic mixed relay, equaling their seventh place at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. The U.S. finished 15th four years ago in PyeongChang, Korea.
The race began under clear skies but with gusty winds cutting across the shooting range.
Starting toward the back of the field in the 19th position, Dunklee used three spare rounds in prone and another two spares in standing but moved the U.S. into 10th position as she made the first exchange with Egan.
“This is one of the coldest races we’ve seen in a few years,” said Dunklee. “Just keeping your hands warm enough to be able to handle the rifle and magazines is really tough. And we’ve got some crazy winds and I think that’s throwing a lot of people off. The important thing was I stayed out of the penalty loop and I tagged off enough in the mix that Clare was really able to take it and run with it.”
Egan turned in the second-fastest second leg with just one spare in prone and clean shooting in standing. She left the range in third place just ahead of Sweden Elvira Oeberg and made the tag for the third leg to Doherty in fourth place, 29 seconds back of the leader France.
“This is certainly a great way for me to start the 2022 Olympics,” Egan said. “Our skis were excellent. Our wax techs have really been working hard. They’ve come here twice in preparation for the Olympics, getting some research done on the snow and how they can best prep our skis, and that really paid off today. I worked really hard to stay with people out on the track to be able to draft which is really important when there’s this much wind, and I managed on the shooting range really well so I’m really satisfied with my race.”
Clare Egan helps the Americans to seventh place in the opening mixed relay during the 2022 Winter Olympics. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Doherty mirrored Egan’s marksmanship on the range, needing just one spare in prone and cleaning standing in just 53.8 seconds of range time, the fastest time in the field for the third leg. His performance maintained fourth position for the Americans as he made the final exchange to Schommer, just 18.5 seconds back of the lead and a mere 1.2 seconds out of medal contention.
“I wasn’t that close to second place when I came into shooting,” Doherty said of his standing stage. “The focus was all on the target and I came out there and I was like ‘Let’s see how fast we can get this last lap done.’ It was fun to have made that great stage and make those shots count.”
Schommer, in the first Olympic competition of his career, ended up with a penalty in prone but finished strong with two spares in standing to bring the team home in seventh, 2 minutes, 12.7 seconds back.
“It’s always a bummer to do loops in the relay,” said Schommer of his penalty in prone. “It’s always a goal to stay out of the penalty loop but at the end of the day, it’s still biathlon. The wind switched on me in the last shooting and it just made it difficult. The same luck for us that we got early on seems like the other teams got at the end. I think we’re in a really great spot as a team. I think we’re fit. I think our shooting is really good. We’ve had a lot of good work here in the wind at this venue and there’s a lot of chances still to have that success that we’re really hoping for.”
Paul Schommer competes in the Mixed Relay during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe sprinted past Russian Olympic Committee’s Eduard Latypov in the final 100 meters to give Norway the first biathlon gold medal of the Games. Boe teamed with Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, Tiril Eckhoff and his brother, Tarjei Boe, for a time of 1:06:45.6, with three penalties and 13 spare rounds. France, the 2018 gold medalists, also moved past the ROC team to take silver, just 0.9 seconds back, with the ROC claiming bronze, 1.5 seconds behind Norway.
After a rest day on Sunday, the biathlon competition will resume Monday with the women’s 15-kilometer individual beginning at 4:00 a.m. EST.
Mixed Relay results
1.
Norway (Roeiseland, Eckhoff, J.T. Boe, T. Boe)
1:06:45.6/3+13
2.
France (Chevalier-Bouchet, Simon, Jacquelin, Fillon Maillet)
+0.9/3+11
3.
ROC (Nigmatullina, Reztsova, Loginov, Latypov)
+1.5/1+13
7.
USA (Dunklee, Egan, Doherty, Schommer)
+2:12.7/1+12
Check out the Watch Olympic Biathlon schedule for viewing options of all the races from Beijing. You can also follow all the action on the IBU app – download it today!
Biathlon Event Schedule for Beijing 2022 Olympic Games (all times EST)
Saturday, Feb. 5
4:00 am – Mixed relay
Monday, Feb. 7
4:00 am – Women’s 15km individual
Tuesday, Feb. 8
3:30 am – Men’s 20km individual
Friday, Feb. 11
4:00 am – Women’s 7.5km sprint
Saturday, Feb. 12
4:00 am – Men’s 10km sprint
Sunday, Feb. 13
4:00 am – Women’s 10km pursuit
5:45 am – Men’s 12.5km pursuit
Tuesday, Feb. 15
4:00 am – Men’s 4×7.5km relay
Wednesday, Feb. 16
2:45 am – Women’s 4x6km relay
Friday, Feb. 18
4:00 am – Men’s 15km mass start
Saturday, Feb. 19
4:00 am – Women’s 12.5km mass start
About US Biathlon
US Biathlon is an Olympic sports organization that fosters the growth of the biathlon community in the U.S., developing athletes with integrity and achieving international and Olympic success. US Biathlon’s vision is to stand atop the international biathlon stage and be a leading organization for supporting athletes and clubs, prioritizing athlete well-being, and acting with integrity.
Paul Schommer (USA) 9th in Antholz (ITA). (Photo: Nordic Focus)
U.S. Biathlon Team and Team Crosscut athlete Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI) on Thursday added to his already stellar season with the first top-10 performance of his career. Schommer, who earlier this season qualified for his first Olympic Winter Games, placed ninth in the 20km Men’s Individual race in Antholz, Italy under gusting conditions and on one of the more challenging 20km courses on the IBU World Cup.
“Today’s approach was the same as it’s been all year – don’t do anything special,” said Schommer. “We have had great preparations this year and I believe we don’t have to do anything differently to get our best.”
The last time the US had a man place in the top-10 was Leif Nordgren’s 8th place in the 2020 World Championships 20km Individual, also in Antholz. Before that was Sean Doherty’s 10th place at the 2019 Soldier Hollow, Utah World Cup. Antholz is the final World Cup ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games and, as such, is an important tune-up for athletes as they head to China next week.
“There are many ways to achieve good individual performances, but consistent good team performances are built through a team culture,” said Men’s Head Coach Vegard Bitnes. “We have a team that is pushing each other everyday…Paul had a good biathlon race, from beginning to end. The whole team worked so hard today and I’m proud and humbled to be a part of that.”
With his ninth place finish, Schommer has qualified for the Men’s Mass Start event on Saturday – an invaluable experience for any athlete will be Schommer’s first World Cup Mass Start.
“It feels great [to qualify for the Mass Start]! I can’t wait!” said Schommer.
Also today, Jake Brown finished 34th, Leif Nordgren was 54th and Sean Doherty placed 70th. The Women’s Individual race is next up on Friday at 8:15am ET. Catch the action live on Peacock with Chad Salmela commentating live from Antholz. Download the IBU App to keep track of all your favorite athletes!
Sean Doherty (USA) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, sprint men, Oestersund (SWE). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) became the fifth biathlete to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The discretionary selection was announced by the U.S. Biathlon International Competition Committee on Monday following Doherty’s dominating performance in the sprint and pursuit races at the U.S. Biathlon Olympic Trials held in Arber, Germany, Jan. 2-3.
“Sean performed really well and kept his focus during two really challenging races,” said U.S. Biathlon Director of High Performance Lowell Bailey. “The weather has been windy and warm, making for tricky racing. He clearly showed he deserves the spot and will be a great addition to the U.S. team in Beijing.”
Doherty, 26, will be competing in his third straight Olympic Games in Beijing. He is the all-time leader in individual medals at the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships and became the first American biathlete to reach the podium three times at a single world championship when he did so at the Youth/Junior Worlds in 2016, bringing his career medal total to 10. Doherty was the youngest member of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team at the age of 18 and last season teamed with fellow three-time Olympian Susan Dunklee (Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USABA) to win the bronze medal in the single mixed relay at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
“I am very happy to be named to the Olympic Team,” Doherty said. “I am looking forward to representing Team USA. I think the previous Games have prepared me well for more cold and windy night races, so we will see what I can make of the opportunity.”
Clare Egan (USA) competes in the IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Doherty joins Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Team Crosscut & USBA), Dunklee and Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA) as early qualifiers for the 2022 U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team.
The final team selection for biathlon will be announced on Jan. 9 following completion of the IBU Cup event in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia, and will include one additional selection for the men’s team and two additional selections for the women’s team. All selections to the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
This press release, written by Bill Kellick, was originally posted at TeamUSA.org.
Oct. 27, 2021, 8:47 a.m. (ET)
(NEW GLOUCESTER, MAINE) – US Biathlon has announced the roster for the Pre-World Cup On-Snow Camp in Obertilliah, Austria, as well as the roster for the first two IBU Cup competitions of the 2021-22 season.
The Pre-World Cup Camp will begin November 11 with athletes joining National Team Coaches Armin Auchentaller and Vegard Bitnes for on-snow training ahead of the first BMW IBU World Cup races in Oestersund, Sweden, beginning November 27.
The women’s roster is led by 2022 Olympic Team qualifiers Susan Dunklee (Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA), Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/USBA), 2018 Olympian Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.), Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, Wis./National Guard Biathlon Team & USBA) and Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash./Craftsbury Green Racing Project).
Susan Dunklee racing to 8th in Nové Město’s sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The men’s roster includes two-time Olympians Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) and Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon & USBA). They will be joined by Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Team Crosscut & USBA), Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA) and Vasek Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn./National Guard Biathlon & USBA). Brown is pre-qualified for the World Cup team.
The final roster for the first two BMW IBU World Cups of the season will be announced at the end of the camp.
Named to the Team USA roster to compete at the IBU Cup events in Idre, Sweden (Nov. 25-28) and Sjusjoen, Norway (Dec. 1-4) are Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt./USBA), Hallie Grossman (South Burlington, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Lina Farra (Heber City, Utah/National Guard Biathlon Team) on the women’s team, and Max Durtschi (Ketchum, Idaho/Team Crosscut & USBA), Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, Utah/Team Crosscut & USBA) and Luke Brown (Saint Paul, Minn./Team Craftsbury Green Racing Project).
Leif Nordgren during the IBU World Cup 4 x 7.5 k relay in Ӧstersund, Sweden in December, 2019. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The women’s podium from the 7.5-kilometer sprint competition at USBA Rollerski National Championships. Clare Egan led the way ahead of Deedra Irwin (right) and Susan Dunklee (left). (Photo: Instagram @usbiathlonwomen)
This post will be updated with men’s comments as available.
As the annual event was held in a virtual format in August 2020 due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, the weekend marks a welcome return to public national level biathlon competition. Participants from clubs throughout the U.S. made their way to Northern Vermont to race a sprint on Saturday, followed by a mass start on Sunday.
Apart from the elite senior men and women’s fields, the races saw nearly 50 participants from the U15 youth level to the senior veteran age class. These athletes competed in a 10/12.5-kilometer pursuit stage on Sunday rather than the mass start.
“It was great to see athletes and coaches from across the country get back together,” commented US Biathlon team member Clare Egan in an email. “I was also happy to see an increase in numbers of participants — in the past we have had similar numbers, but almost half the field was Canadian. This year without the Canadians we hit those same numbers, so that was exciting. It’s a reflection of the growth happening at the club level in places like Bozeman, Craftsbury, Soldier Hollow, Truckee, Anchorage, Grand Rapids MN, Lake Placid, and others, where there are good facilities, coaches, and training groups now.”
Clare Egan celebrates a double at the USBA Rollerski National Championships with a homemade poptart, courtesy of team dietitian Megan Chacosky. (Photo: Instagram @clareeganbiathlete)
Egan posted strong results this weekend, winning both the sprint and mass start events — and lots of maple syrup, the Vermont classic podium award. In the 7.5-kilometer sprint, she missed one target while shooting prone to finish with a time of 20:33.6. She finished 33 seconds ahead of Deedra Irwin of the National Guard Biathlon Team who missed one target per stage (1+1), with USBA teammate Susan Dunklee one second behind in third (1+2).
In the 12.5 k mass start, Egan again missed only one target, this time standing (0+0+1+0), leading her to double up on her victories with a finish time of 37:08.1. Dunklee missed three targets during her standing stages (0+0+1+2) and skied to second place in 38:03.8. Kelsey Dickinson of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) took the third podium spot in 39:22.2 (1+1+2+2).
“I was satisfied with my racing this weekend, especially the shooting,” Egan wrote. “I only missed 2 targets out of 30. That’s an excellent percentage for me and definitely what I am aiming for as I head into the World Cup and Olympics season. I had a really hard time on skis, but I think that it was entirely due to the intense heat and humidity.”
Both days saw temperatures in the upper 80’s with high humidity — which makes for hot radiating pavement and very sweaty ski boots.
“My training has been going well and I’m confident about where I’m at and the direction I’m headed,” Egan concluded.
The men’s 15k mass start podium at the USBA Rollerski National Championships. Paul Schommer took the win ahead of Sean Doherty and Leif Nordgren. (Photo: Instagram @usbiathlonteam)
On the men’s side, Sean Doherty of the National Guard Biathlon Team shot clean in the 10 k sprint, skiing his way to the top spot on the podium on his home course in a time of 24:33.3. Doherty was followed by Leif Nordgren of the VT Army National Guard who missed two targets (1+1) to finish in 25:24.8. Paul Schommer of the Crosscut Team in Bozeman, MT, rounded out the podium with two misses (1+1) and a time of 25:45.1.
The men’s podium rearranged itself in Sunday’s 15 k mass start. Schommer improved his shooting percentage, missing one shot in two of the four stages (0+1+1+0) and crossed the line in 38:15.6 for the win. Doherty followed 40 seconds behind with four missed targets (1+2+1+0) and a final time of 37:55.7. Nordgren took the third podium spot with a time of 38:36.8 with five misses (2+0+1+2).
“I have been working on some new things this summer and having them come together in Sunday’s race was a huge confidence boost,” Schommer wrote in a post-race email. “I still know there is a lot to work on, but it’s always great to see improvement. As I continue into the fall, I hope to keep the level of focus I have had thus far in the training year and continue to identify and address areas where I can improve. I don’t want to think about the next races, I just want to focus on becoming the best biathlete I can be.”
Schommer also reflected on the experience of being back on the tracks and range in Jericho with the broader biathlon community, and the contrast in his ability to adequately prepare for biathlon last summer versus the present.
“Coming back to Jericho after a year off was great! Last year at this time I hadn’t been at a range with a roller loop yet, so to be here this year is a real blessing. It also was great to see the biathlon community with a large turn out. Lots of young biathletes coming up which is great to see!”
Sean Doherty (USA), and Susan Dunklee (USA), (l-r) took third in Sunday’s single mixed relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
NOVE MESTO, Czech Republic (March 14, 2021) – Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.) and Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.) combined to give the United States its first medal in the single mixed relay since 2017 as the BMW IBU World Cup wrapped up two weeks of competition in Nove Mesto on Sunday. Dunklee was part of the previous podium appearance as well when she teamed up with Lowell Bailey for a silver medal four years ago.
Dunklee led the pack after a perfect first prone stage with Switzerland’s Elisa Gasparin and Sweden’s Linn Persson right behind. With the wind swirling, Dunklee needed three spares to get through the standing stage of the opening leg and made the first exchange with Doherty in sixth place, but just 11.8 seconds off the lead.
“My single mixed relay strategy is to take some risk on the shooting range,” Dunklee said. “I think that’s the only way to create an opportunity in this race format.”
Doherty brought the team back with just one spare used on the second leg and tagged off to Dunklee in third position, 16.6 seconds off the pace. Dunklee went clean again from prone and needed one spare in standing to bring the team neck-and-neck with Norway at the final exchange.
On the anchor leg, Doherty used one spare round in prone and another spare in standing to secure the bronze medal for Team USA, as he crossed the line 26.1 seconds back of winner Sweden., who edged Norway by 1.5 seconds at the finish.
“Sean performed under very high pressure in that last standing stage,” added Dunklee. “He did an amazing job keeping his focus on his own task and not thinking about the top guys who were breathing down his neck.”
“I am incredibly happy to be third today,” said Doherty. “We were able to shoot well and keep ourselves in contention. I just tried to stick to my own plan and not get over-excited. But I will say when I left the range, then I got excited. I am very proud to share the podium with Susan and proud of the team effort it took to put us there today.”
Earlier in the day, the U.S. mixed relay foursome of Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.), Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn.) and Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt.) finished sixth in the 25-team field with seven spare rounds and 2:26.4 off the winning pace set by Norway.
“Clare gave me a great starting spot with a lot of teams within striking distance,” said Reid of her second leg. “I tried to play to my strengths, which are climbs, and just hold onto the group on flats. That let me pass quite a few people on the first lap in the climb and come into prone fairly high up.”
Reid’s fast and clean shooting from prone launched the team up to fifth position.
“From there I just tried to hold fast, power through standing, and hold onto the teams in front to give Jake, who has been on fire this week on skis, someone to ski with,” added Reid. “Both Jake and Leif came through in their legs in spades. Not an easy feat up front with great skiers and solid shooters.”
Norway won the mixed relay event with just four spare rounds and more than a minute ahead of both Italy and Sweden.
The final IBU World Cup event begins Friday in Oestersund, Sweden, with sprints, pursuit and mass start events on the docket.
Thanks to a clean shooting performance on the range and a tactical masterclass on the final lap, France’s Emilien Jacquelin, 24, was able to celebrate across the line in first place in a time of 31:15.2 minutes, after an exciting finish sprint against Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø just 0.4 seconds behind (with 2 penalties).
Emilien Jacquelin of France celebrates the win. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In a bit of an upset, the title in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the 2020 IBU Biathlon World Championships in Antholz, Italy, went to the young French athlete, who had started out the race on Sunday afternoon in sixth position according to his result in the sprint a day earlier. Bø left the range after the last shooting just 0.1 sec behind, but Jacquelin consistently stayed in the lead, with the two athletes at times slowing down a bit to eye each other. At one point Jacquelin even took the time to bend down and tighten the straps of his ski boots while also loosening the rifle suspension strap on his left arm.
Going into the final long downhill stretch, Bø positioned himself to be able to attack out of the draft, but Jacquelin defended his leading position up a short climb and into the flat of the sunny Antholz arena, again packed to capacity with spectators.
Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) placed second on the day. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Bø briefly seemed to lose his balance when he tried to attack, and Jacquelin managed to take the interior lane on the final right-hand turn into the finish stretch not allowing Bø to pass. With strong double poling he kept pushing hard on the finish stretch along the middle lane to widen the gap, before raising his arms several meters before the line, confident that the Norwegian would not be able to catch him anymore. It was the Frenchman’s first medal and victory at IBU World Championships. Jacquelin had also never won a World Cup race before, with two second-place finishes earlier this season as his best results.
In the post-race press conference, Jacquelin credited his experience from another sport for his finish sprint tactics: “[Bø] decided to not attack me, so I was just focused on tactics… I was a track cyclist when I was young, so I just remembered all my training. I was just focused to sprint at a good moment. …He would win for sure if he didn’t let me pass.” Bø, usually an outstanding sprinter who dominated the prior IBU World Cup season and several early tour stages of the 2019/20 season, before taking some time off to be with his wife for the birth of their first child, was not able to withstand Jacquelin’s finish punch this time. Though he made no excuses about his interrupted training and racing period leading up to the peak of the season, and claimed he was happy about the result remarking that he was “less nervous before the world championships because of the family situation at home”.
“I put myself in position for a gold in the final shooting,” Bø said in the press conference. “I just want to have fun, that’s why I was satisfied with my fifth place in the sprint yesterday. … I could just relax today and do my best one more time and hope for a medal.”
Behind them, Alexander Loginov of Russia, coming fresh off his victory in the sprint, claimed the bronze medal position on the podium this time. He had kept his composure and his pursuers in check virtually all race, thanks to three very fast and clean shooting performances on the wind-exposed Antholz range. And while he lost a few seconds on the course on each loop he was able to ski just fast enough to arrive on the range taking his position on the first shooting lane. It already looked like with his perseverance in that game of cat and mouse the Russian had again worn out his competition. But in his final shooting stage he then missed the third target and had to ski through the penalty loop. That enabled the clean-shooting Jacquelin and Bø to pass him, leaving Loginov only with the bronze medal this time, 23.9 seconds back in the finish (with one penalty).
“At the last shooting, I thought I would fight with Johannes for the silver because I thought Loginov was first,“ Jacquelin explained, according to an IBU press release. “Afterwards, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I can win the title!’”
Loginov, who was asked the most questions in the press conference. He credited his wife and daughter for keeping him “happy and comfortable” and always trying to cheer him up during a period of intense media attention due to news about past anti-doping code violations at the 2014 Olympics hanging over the Russian team in general and questions surrounding his own prior two-year suspension.
Emilien Jacquelin (FRA), Martin Fourcade (FRA), Alexander Loginov (RUS), (l-r) on the range. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In fourth place, Jacquelin’s teammate Martin Fourcade, second in the sprint and for most of the pursuit race looking like he could at least repeat a podium finish, missed a target in each of the standing stages to push him out of medal contention. Still, when Fourcade crossed the finish line (+46.3, with two penalties) he couldn’t help but smile broadly, and instantly hugged and high-fived his younger training partner Jacquelin, who stated in the press conference that they live in the same town and have worked together for six years now.
“It’s a childhood dream, since I was five years [old] I wanted to be a champion in biathlon like Raphaël Poirée or Martin Fourcade,” the new gold medalist Jacquelin told broadcaster ZDF in an interview right after the race. “So here for me to do this today is incredible. I was able to make a great race, and it was really tough here at the World Championships. I am really satisfied about my shooting. It’s a dream realized. I just want to thank my parents who are here, thank you for believing in me and to help me reach my goals.”
For Biathlon Canada, only Scott Gow had qualified for the World Championships pursuit race among the top-60 with his sprint result, starting the race in 16th position and 1:16 minutes behind sprint winner Loginov. In his first shooting, Gow incurred two penalties, setting him back to 30th position early in the race.
In the second prone stage he managed to clean his targets, leaving the range slightly up in 28th place, but already more than 2 minutes behind the leaders. Gow’s tactic seemingly was to try and shoot fast, recording the fifth-best shooting and range times of the day overall. While the TV cameras focused on the top of the field, that didn’t quite pay off when he unfortunately shot two more misses in his first standing stage, before incurring his fifth penalty of the day in the final shooting. He finished the race in 35th position, just behind a few athletes including Russia’s Evgenyi Garanichev in a finish sprint, crossing the line 3:34.8 minutes back (2+0+2+1). For Gow, this still ranks as his best result in a pursuit race at IBU World Championships and Olympic Winter Games, improving on a 43rd place at last year’s championships in Östersund, Sweden.
For US Biathlon, Sean Doherty was the lone qualifier for the pursuit. He began the race in 44th position, 2:04 min back. His shooting performance started out on a sour note when he instantly missed his first shot in prone, before hitting the next four targets. That streak continued, with Doherty as he incurred a penalty in each of the next three stages, which prevented him from moving up more in the field despite holding up well on the course with the 35th-fastest skiing time. He finished the pursuit in 43rd position (1+1+1+1). For Doherty, it was his second-best result in a pursuit at World Championships at the senior level, having finished in 20th place the prior season.
After a rest day, the IBU World Championships will continue on Tuesday with the women’s 15 k individual before the men’s 20 k individual follows on Wednesday.
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).
Oberhof, Germany the site where the IBU World Cup snaps into its second trimester of racing after the holiday break, began a series of races.
Yesterday, the women began the Oberhof stop with a 7.5-kilometer sprint. Norway’s Marte Olsbu Roeiseland won in 22:04.9 minutes while shooting clean in both her shooting bouts. Denise Herrmann of Germany was second (+33.1; 0+1), and France’s Julia Simon third (+47.4;1+0).
Emma Lunder, racing to 7th, her best individual IBU World Cup result of the season during the Oberhof, Germany 7.5 k sprint. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Two North Americans had standout performances. Emma Lunder of Canada was seventh overall (+1:14.9; 0+0), and Susan Dunklee for the U.S. was 14th (+1:47.6; 0+1).
Susan Dunklee, racing to 14th, her best IBU World Cup result of the season during the Oberhof, Germany 7.5 k sprint. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Clare Egan, also of the U.S., was 32nd (+2:26.0; 0+2). Teammate Emily Dreissigacker skied to 70th (+3:51.4; 1+0), and Hallie Grossman, in her World Cup debut was 79th (+4:31.7; 1+2).
Canada’s Emily Dickson placed 46th (+2:58.6), and Megan Bankes did not start.
Friday, the men raced a 10 k sprint. With the IBU World Cup men’s leader, Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway sitting out, others were left to fill the top-step void. France’s Martin Fourcade capitalized and won in 25:27.2 with no misses on the range. Teammate Emilien Jacqelin was second (+25.5: 0+1), with Germany’s Johannes Kuehn in third (+33.0; 0+1).
Shooting through the Oberhof fog: Sean Doherty on his way to 21st. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
For the U.S., Sean Doherty placed 21st (+1:50.2; 0+1), and Leif Nordgren also broke into the top-30 placing 26th overall (+1:57.3; 1+0).
Leif Nordgren amidst the Oberhof cacophony. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Scott Gow, of Canada, was the next best placed North American in 30th (+2:07.1; 1+1).
Scott Gow, prepping for the Oberhof range, during the men’s sprint. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Paul Schommer of the U.S., in his first World Cup of the season, was 53rd (+2:46.8; 1+2). Jake Brown skied to 68th (+3:17.0; 2+1).
Rounding out the results for Canada, Christian Gow was 55th (+2:53.9; 0+1), Matthew Strum 82nd (+3:44.0; 1+0), and Carsen Campbell 90th (+4:08.2; 1+1).
