Tag: Tekarra Banser

Levins, Cervenka Combine for Sixth in YOG Single Mixed Relay; Canada 13th

The start of Wednesday’s single mixed relay at the Birkebeineren Biathlon Stadium during the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer Norway, with Chloe Levins of the U.S. at the far left. (Photo: Arnt Folvik for YIS/IOC)

Out of 27 teams, the U.S. found itself in second at the final exchange of the first-ever biathlon single mixed relay held at the Youth Olympic Games on Wednesday in Lillehammer, Norway. That was quite the rush for two 17-year-old Americans.

“Getting tagged off in 2nd just behind a couple seconds behind Norway was surreal,” U.S. anchor Vasek Cervenka described in an email.

In the biathlon pursuit two days earlier, Cervenka, a Czech Republic native who lives in Boulder, Colo., raced to 20th with 19-for-20 shooting. His teammate in the single mixed relay on Wednesday, Chloe Levins cleaned the four-stage pursuit and placed fourth.

“Biathlon is similar to golf in that the main goal is to try to be in contention coming into the last stage (or round),” Levins, who skied the first and third legs for the U.S., wrote in an email. “During that last stage (or round), however, whatever happens is only partially in your control. Autopilot comes on, time takes over, and whatever happens is very difficult to control.”

In the single mixed relay, each competitor rounded the 1.5-kilometer course six times — three times on each leg. They stopped to shoot twice during each leg (first prone, then standing). Misses could be remedied by using up to three spare rounds, but beyond those spares, an athlete had to ski 75-meter penalty loops for the number of targets they failed to clean.

U.S. biathlete Chloe Levins racing in the single mixed relay at the 2016 Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. With teammate Vasek Cervenka (not shown), the duo went on to place sixth. (Photo: Arnt Folvik for YIS/IOC)

Levins tagged Cervenka for the fourth-and-last leg, 2.2 seconds behind Norway and 1 second ahead of France in third. She had used a total of four spares throughout her four shooting stages and avoided the penalty lap (0+1, 0+0; 0+1, 0+2).

“The start of the relay was very crowded,” Levins recalled. “Nevertheless, extremely fast skis and the use of just one extra round helped me navigate through some of the other competitors.”

At the first exchange, she tagged Cervenka in seventh, 24 seconds behind China in first. Cervenka then cleaned his prone and used one spare in standing to tag Levins in fourth, 12.5 seconds behind Finland — which had moved into the lead. Meanwhile, China dropped to 10th with two penalty loops in the standing stage of that leg.

“Vasek’s excellent shooting in his first leg put us in fourth, and set me up for a very exciting second round,” Levins explained. “During my second leg, I had more room to ski my own pace on the course. After using one extra round in the prone stage, I left the range with the leader in sight. I am a little frustrated that it took me two extra rounds to hit my miss in the last standing stage, but some mistakes by some of the more competitive nations opened the door for us to move into second position after my second leg.”

On the last two legs, China hit all of its targets to recover from 10th into fourth, and then finally first at the finish. Fanqi Meng and Zhenyu Zhu claimed gold in 41:35.4, just two-tenths of a second ahead of Norway in second and 14.9 seconds ahead of Russia in third.

The anchor legs for Norway, France, Russia, Germany, and the U.S. (Cervenka), used three spares apiece in their final standing stages. France also had a penalty, Germany had two penalties, and Cervenka had to ski a penalty loop as well after the last stage. That put the U.S. in sixth at the finish, 53.8 seconds behind the winners, with a total of one penalty and eight spares (0+0, 0+1; 0+0, 1+3 for Cerkenva).

Ukraine’s Serhiy Telen (l) leads Vasek Cervenka of the U.S. (c) and Finland’s Tuomas Harjula (r) around a turn in the single mixed relay at the 2016 Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Jed Leicester for YIS/IOC)

“It is too bad that I couldn’t clean my last standing shooting,” wrote Cervenka, who turned 17 earlier this month. “We would of had a really great shot at a medal. I was pretty satisfied with our results in the end. All the guys in the top 6 had a solid half a foot in height on me and were overall stronger skiers. I am so proud of Chloe for her performance today, she is awesome.”

Just 0.2 seconds from gold, Norway took silver with Marthe Johansen and Fredrik Qvist Bucher-Johannessen, with a total of one penalty and 12 spares. Russia earned bronze with Ekaterina Ponedelko and Egor Tutmin, with three penalties and 13 spares. France was fourth (+30.2) with Lou Jeanmonnot-Laurent and Emilien Claude combining for three penalties and eight spares, and Germany (Juliane Frühwirt/Danilo Riethmüller) finished fifth (+53.8), about five seconds ahead of there U.S., with one penalty and eight spares.

“Today’s race was a great learning experience for Vasek and myself,” Levins wrote. “We are satisfied and thankful for all of the work and encouragement our coaches do and give to us during every race. We may not have made the podium, but I think we had the most fun today!”

“I was pretty satisfied with our results in the end,” Cervenka wrote. “Thanks to my parents, coaches, teammates, and wax techs for tons of support and wicked fast skis.”

Canada finished 13th (+3:23.0) with Tekarra Banser and Ben Churchill combining for two penalties and 10 spares. The anchor, Churchill cleaned three of four stages, using just one spare in his second prone stage (0+0, 0+0; 0+1, 0+0).

“This was an excellent opportunity for us to try and do some damage among the field in a new event,” Churchill said in a Biathlon Canada press release. “It was a lot of fun to try and pace myself well through both legs, stay warm in the interim, and keep my cool mentally no matter how Tekarra was doing.”

In Monday’s 10 k pursuit, Churchill shot 18-for-20 and achieved a career-best 10th. He had previously placed 17th in the 7.5 k sprint.

“I went into the pursuit feeling hungry and aiming to improve on my sprint result,” Churchill said. “Taking some lessons from the sprint, I attacked the course more intelligently, pushing harder up the hill each time. Execution in the pursuit was much more put-together, and I was thrilled to notch my first top-10 result in an international competition. Big thanks goes out to our wax technicians and the invaluable behind-the-scenes support from our coach, Luke McGurk, and the rest of the Team Canada Mission Staff!”

In the relay, Banser accounted for both penalties and nine spares (0+2, 0+3; 2+3, 0+1). At the first exchange, the Canadians were in 21st, 1:47 back from the leaders, then improved to 14th (+1:27) at the second handoff, before Banser tagged Churchill for the last time in 16th, 2:16 back. He brought them to 13th at the finish.

“Competing in the single mixed relay was exhilarating to say the least. Starting in a mass start format with 26 other countries made it tougher to focus, but I was able to get into my zone,” Banser said. “Fighting to stay with the pack on the first lap was challenging. The corners were tight and the other athletes were just as aggressive as I was. I ran into a few obstacles throughout my portion of the race, although I kept fighting to the last second and left nothing in the tank.”

On Sunday, biathletes at YOG will wrap up with a four-person mixed relay.

“My experience at YOG has been spectacular so far,” Levins wrote. “Because the Norwegian culture is rooted in cross-country skiing and biathlon, fans have flooded the stadium for every one of our competitions! It feels great to be a part of an atmosphere that cares so much about the sport Vasek and I dedicate so much of our time to. The organizers have done an excellent job of maintaining near-perfect snow conditions on the track as well.”

“So far the YOG experience has been incredible,” Cervenka wrote. “So much time has been put into this event I am glad it is going so well.”

Results

February 18, 2016
Bumps, Jumps, XC Cross, and Biathlon: YOG Weekend Roundup

(Above: Complete race video of inaugural Cross-Country Cross event at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games. To view on YouTube, click here.)

Bumps? Jumps? An uphill and downhill slalom? While racing through an obstacle course on skis is challenging enough on its own, competitors at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer, Norway, maneuvered around obstructions and other racers as well last Saturday, Feb. 13, for the opening event: the Cross-Country Cross (XCX) 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint.

Beyond ‘bumps,’ the YOG’s first-race event competition also differed in sprint brackets. After racing a qualifier, the top-30 athletes advanced to one of three semifinals.

The top two finishers in each semifinal then automatically advanced to the sprint final. The sprint final totaled 10 skiers: the two winners from each semi-final, as well as two lucky losers from the two fastest semifinals.

The Cross-Country Cross (XCX) course at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games

Once on course, four 1.5-meter high ‘bumps’ greeted the athletes a little over 100-meters from the start. Competitors then cruised into a sharp lefthand turn, followed by a sharp righthand turn through a part of the course called ‘The Snake.’

After The Snake, skiers tackled the course’s first major climb. In the following descent, racers spent some hang time while passing over a 1-meter high drop.

With increased speed, competitors soared into the second major incline on course, as well as another series of three 1.5-meter high rollers and a 0.5-meter high drop.

The next course challenge tested athlete’s coordination and balance during an alternating ‘bumps’ section. The section prompted many skiers to take on a classic striding arm and leg swing movement.

After a tight hairpin turn, athletes then worked their climbing strength and stamina in an uphill slalom. Immediately upon cresting the top of the incline, competitors descended into a downhill slalom.

With no major climbs left, racers worked their way over another jump and one final set of 0.4-meter high rollers before the flat 100-meter sprint to the finish.

Sweden’s Moa Lundgren proved most adept on course. She remained unchallenged by any competitor all day, winning the qualifier in 3:27.59, as well as her semifinal and eventually the final in a time of 3:26.36.

Finishing 1.7 seconds behind Lundgren was Swedish teammate, Johanna Hagstrøm.

Rounding out the women’s top three was French skier Laura Chamiot-Maitral who crossed 3.21 seconds after Lundgrun.

Hannah Halvorsen (Far West/Sugar Bowl Academy) qualified 10th in the first-ever Cross-Country Cross event at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Far West/Facebook)

Two North Americans competed in Saturday’s XCX event for the first time, American Hannah Halvorsen and Canada’s Annika Richardson.

Halvorsen qualified in 10th, 16.45 seconds back from Lundgren. She then advanced to semifinal 3, where she raced in third behind Chamiot-Maitral and Germany’s Anna-Maria Dietze until the uphill slalom.

Losing steam during the climb, Halvorsen moved into fourth, while China’s Chi Chunxue cranked her way into third. Hot on Halvorsen’s heels through the slalom gates was Russia’s Yuliya Petrova.

As the women came through the final bumps, Halvorsen moved to the outside right and Petrova gained momentum in the middle lane.

Halvorsen finished the heat in fifth, 1.7 seconds off of earning a lucky loser spot and advancing to the final, and 3.7 seconds off the heat winner Maitral-Chamiot (3:36.20).

After qualifying in 25th (+26.3), Richardson advanced to the first semifinal where she finished in ninth, 19.7 seconds back from her heat’s winner, Lundgrun.

Canadian wax technicians Mike Mappin (l) and Camille Cheskey (r) hard at work during the during the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games on Feb. 10 in Lillehammer Norway. (Photo: Jon Buckle for YIS/IOC)

“It went really really well all things considered,” Richardson said in an interview with Cross Country Canada.

“Definitely a lot of stuff I can work on with the technical aspects of the course, but I felt really strong in the last half of my heat going up the hill. I’m just really grateful to be here and be experiencing all the Olympic spirit,” she added.

Women’s results

***

In the men’s event, Korea’s Magnus Kim topped the results. He won the qualifier in a time of 3:01.45, his semifinal and eventually the final in 2:59.56.

In second place, 1.17 seconds off of Kim was Norwegian skier Thomas Helland Larson.

Rounding out the men’s top three was Lauri Mannila of Finland, finishing 2.28 seconds behind Kim.

Canadian skier Levi Nadlersmith and American Hunter Wonders nabbed the last two qualifying spots in 29th and 30th, respectively.

Wonders advanced to the first semifinal, where he finished ninth, 8.8 seconds behind the heat’s winner, Kim.

In his first international race ever, Nadlersmith also finished in ninth (+16.51) in the second semifinal.

“I felt really strong climbing a the top of the course,” Nadlersmith told Cross Country Canada.

“Going down into the last corner I had a weird line and I guess someone stumbled in front of me, so I had to do a quick maneuver to go around them. Then kind of after that I felt good, but lost a bit of my steam going over the last hill. I think for the most part I felt really good,” he added.

Men’s results

***

Day 2: Biathlon Begins

While some were shooting cupid’s arrows on Sunday, Feb. 14, biathlon competitors at the YOG shot targets. The second day of events included the men’s 7.5 k and women’s 6 k biathlon sprints at the Birkeneineren Biathlon Stadium.

On the men’s side, Emilien Claude of France won the event in a time of 19:01.5 after shooting clean during both the prone and standing stages.

“In lap three, in my head it was ‘maybe I win, maybe second’,” Claude said, according to an Inside the Games press release. “But when I finished and saw that I was first, I thought, ‘Wow.’ ”

Taking the second place silver medal, 7.1 seconds back, was Norway’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who missed one shot prone and one standing.

Third place and the bronze medal went to Russian racer Egor Tutmin. Tutmin skied the first of the three 2.5 k laps the fastest and shot clean during the prone stage. However, after two penalties standing, he finished 18.0 seconds back from the race winner’s time.

Two Canadians competed in Sunday’s event, including Ben Churchill and Leo Grandbois.

Churchill finished in 17th overall (+1:35.5) with one penalty (1+0). Grandbois placed 22nd (+1:58.6) after missing two shots during the standing stage.

The American men also had two competitors in Sunday’s 7.5 k sprint, Vasek Cervenka and Eli Nielsen.

Cervenka was the first American across the line in 36th place (+2:50.7) after skiing four penalties (1+3). Nielsen finished one minute and 7.4 seconds after Cervenka in 46th, (+3:58.1) after a total of six penalties (2+4).

Canada’s Gillian Gowling receives a pole during the women’s 6 k sprint at the Youth Olympic Games on Sunday in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Lillehammer 2016 Olympic Games/Facebook)

With perfect shooting on Sunday, Germany’s Juliane Fruehwirt won the women’s 6 k sprint event, covering the 3 x 2 k course in a time of 18:23.5.

Norwegian skier Marthe Krakstad Johansen was the next closest contender for the gold medal. After missing one shot standing, Johansen finished in second place, 5.6 seconds behind Fruehwirt’s time.

Rounding out the women’s podium finishers on Sunday was bronze medalist Arina Pantova of Kazakhstan. After two penalties (1+1), Pantova completed the course 17.1 seconds behind Fruehwirt.

American Amanda Kautzer cracked the top 10 on Sunday and finished in 10th overall (+58.9) after skiing two penalties (1+1). U.S. skier Chloe Levins missed the top 20 by 1.7 seconds, and finished in 22nd overall with a clean round of prone shooting, but two standing penalties.

After cleaning both the prone and standing stages, Canada’s Gillian Gowling finished 30th (+2:27.8). Her Canadian teammate, Tekarra Banser finished 14.4 seconds later in 35th (2:42.2) after two penalties (0+2).

Results: Men | Women

***

Chloe Levins shoots clean and races to a historic fourth place for the U.S. in the women’s 7.5 k pursuit at the Youth Olympic Games on Monday in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: US Biathlon/Twitter)

Day 3: Levins Just Outside of the Medals, Fourth in Pursuit

Monday marked the third day of the YOG and the second set of biathlon races with the 7.5 /10 k pursuits.

The women’s 7.5 k pursuit event saw Ukraine’s Khrystyna Dmytrenko at the top of Monday’s podium.

Starting 26 seconds back from Sunday’s race winner, Dmytrenko missed two shots during her first stage of prone shooting and then cleaned the rest of her shots to finish the 5 x 1.5 k course in a time of 25:12.9.

In a photo finish, Norway’s Johansen bested France’s Lou Jeanmonnot Laurent by one tenth of a second. Johansen finished 7.5 seconds behind Dmytreno after skiing four penalties (2+0+1+1). Jeanmonnot Laurent finished 7.6 seconds off of Dymtrenko’s time after missing two shots standing (0+0+1+1).

With perfect shooting, American Chloe Levins finished in fourth overall (+34.7), just outside of medal contention.

“The pursuit in Lillehammer today was a dream,” Levins said according to a US Biathlon press release. “As Susan [Dunklee] said earlier in the season, every race is a team effort. We had great skis and excellent conditions for today’s race. My race was made on the shooting range. Of course, it is bittersweet to be close to the podium in 4th position, but I shot clean and skied well, so it is an incredibly satisfying result.”

Read more about Levins’ historic result here

American Amanda Kautzer finished in 27th (+4:04.2) with a total of eight penalties (3+2+1+2). Canada’s Banser finished in 35th (+ 5:43.6) after missing five shots (1+0+2+2) and her teammate Gowling placed 45th (+9:45.30) after missing six shots ( 1+1+2+2).

After winning Sunday’s sprint, France’s Claude was the first skier on the Birkebeineren Biathlon Stadium’s 5 x 2 k course.

Norway’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken after winning the men’s 10 k biathlon pursuit at the Youth Olympic Games on Monday in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Lillehammer 2016 Olympic Games/Facebook)

Starting 7.0 seconds later was Monday’s eventual race winner and Sunday’s silver medalist, Bakken of Norway. Bakken missed four shots (1+1+1+1), but ultimately came away with the 10 k pursuit win in a time of 28:10.7.

Moving up to second place after Sunday’s event was Russia’s Tutmin. With an extra penalty (0+1+3+1), Tutman completed the course one minute and 10.7 seconds behind Bakken’s time.

Taking the event’s bronze medal was Said Karimulla Khalili of Russia. Khalili shot the same as Bakken and finished 1:17.7 behind the race winner.

With two penalties (0+0+1+1), Canada’s Churchill crept into the top 10, finishing in 10th overall (+2:49.1). Cervanka of the U.S. improved his result from Sunday to 20th overall (+3:54.2) after missing just one standing shot.

“Vasek also made a great comeback with 95 percent shooting score and a good skiing performance,” U.S. coach Jean Paquet said in a US Biathlon press release.

“He looked more at ease on the skis and liked the fight on the course. He gained 16 positions by shooting well on the shooting range.”

The next North American was Canada’s Grandbois, who placed 25th (+4:40.7)after skiing five penalties (1+0+1+3).

In 46th was Nielsen of the U.S. (+8:13.4) with six penalties (0+2+2+2).

Results: Women | Men

February 16, 2016

Tag: Tekarra Banser

Levins, Cervenka Combine for Sixth in YOG Single Mixed Relay; Canada 13th

Bumps, Jumps, XC Cross, and Biathlon: YOG Weekend Roundup