OG Beijing 2022: Mixed Relay!

Well that started with a bang, didn’t it! What a way to begin the first biathlon event of the Winter Olympics with a highly entertaining Mixed Relay!

Where do you start to describe this race? Well as it customary let’s try the start! The first lap was as normal as this race got. Everyone skied round the tracks with no issues then we got to the first prone and all hell broke loose!

The wind in the stadium is absolutely horrible! It’s strong but not consistent as it drops and gets up all the time. That wasn’t the problem for Marte Olsbu Roeiseland though. Her rear diopter sight had fallen off pre race and was left on the mat for her to screw back on before she could start shooting. That cost her time and so did the spare she needed to drop all five targets.

Lisa Vittozzi had no such problems hitting all five and putting Italy in the lead ahead of Finland and China. At the second prone Vittozzi needed a spare and this time Roeiseland didn’t and was right on the Italian’s tail heading onto the tracks.

Roeiseland overtook Vittozzi to exchange first with Italy second Belarus third and Sweden fourth. It was now Tiril Eckhoff at the front followed with Dorothea Wierer, Hanna Sola and Elvira Oberg chasing.

The wind was blowing hard when they came in for the prone. Eckhoff struggled and incurred a penalty loop. Wierer coped the best getting all five down first time and she left in the lead followed by Eckhoff who was flying on the skis. Sola was still third with Kristina Reztsova and Oberg behind her.

Eckhoff and Wierer were back together by the time they reached the range for the standing. The wind was even worse now and everyone had trouble, well almost everyone. Eckhoff only got 3 targets down with her 8 bullets and was off to do another two penalty loops. Wierer took a long time but eventually got them all down. Meanwhile Julia Simon and Clare Egan were incredibly hitting 5/5 to go into second and third place.

A great ski from Simon put France in first to make up for Anais Chevalier-Bouchet’s earlier penalty loop. Wierer exchanged in second with Elvira Oberg taking third and the USA were 4th. Despite her penalty loops Eckhoff still managed to tag Tarjei Boe in 5th.

Emilien Jacquelin was on course for France and he maintained the lead given to him by Simon. He cleaned the prone and things were looking good. However all the others also cleaned so he couldn’t extend his lead by a lot. The standing saw the wind play it’s part again. Jacquelin hit his first three targets but then he couldn’t manage to get the next two even with the spares. Like many others he had issues loading his spares because of his thicker gloves to combat the cold.

While he headed for two penalty loops behind him Alexander Loginov got his five targets down first with 1 spare and put Russia into first. Sean Doherty left the range in second followed by Martin Ponsiluoma and Jacquelin. Bormolini and Tarjei Boe came next after the Norwegian needed all three spares.

By the final exchange Russia were still ahead, Ponsiluoma and Jacquelin passed Doherty on track to put Sweden into second and France into third. America were 4th and Tarjei tagged his brother in 5th.

Eduard Latypov received a 17 second lead from Loginov for the final leg. Samuelsson and Quentin Fillon came next and then Paul Schommer and Johannes Thingnes Boe.

Latypov came into the first prone and hit 5 targets with 6 bullets to stay in front. Fillon Maillet and Boe managed to pass Samuelsson and the chase was on.

By the standing shoot all four were much closer together. Latypov again needed just one spare but Fillon Maillet was clean. Boe hit his first four but missed the last. However he hit the remaining target quickly with his first spare meaning it was a ski race for gold.

Boe was 9 seconds behind leaving the range but it didn’t take him long to catch up to the leading pair. He stayed behind Latypov leaving the Russian out in the wind. Coming to the final straight Boe made his move and powered into the lead and they could do nothing to stop him.

It was gold for Norway, silver for France and bronze for Russia. Sweden were 4th, Germany 5th and Belarus 6th. An unfortunate penalty loop on the standing for Schommer meant the USA finished 7th but they were fantastic today.

You know it’s crazy times when the gold and silver medallists both do 3 penalty loops but the conditions here meant that it wasn’t as crucial to avoid them as almost everyone got them. It was more important to do them fast like Eckhoff and Jacquelin. It was crucial for Johannes to hit his last target with one spare though as if he had used 2 or 3 he might not have caught up to the leaders. His ski form is back and he definitely needed it today.

It was a great race to start off with but the wind is going to be a big issue. It’s going to make the lucky few and break a lot more.

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WC6 Antholz 2022: Men’s Individual!

It was a windy day for the start of the action in Antholz which made for some tricky shooting conditions on the range.

One man alone mastered them and was the only man to shoot 20/20. So it was a very well deserved victory for Anton Babikov. It’s only his second World Cup win, the last coming in 2016. Unfortunately for the Russian it comes to late for the Olympics as he has only been named as the reserve.

Second place went to Tarjei Boe with two costly misses in his final shoot. However skipping Ruhpolding to train at altitude seems to have paid off.

Third place also went to the Russian team with Said Khalili taking his first ever World Cup podium shooting 19/20. He has always been good on the range and now we are starting to see improvement on skis too.

Fourth place went to Johannes Boe. Even with 3 misses he was only 50 seconds off the winner so his skiing is in good shape at least. Teammate Sturla Laegreid was 5th also with 3 misses and Simon Desthieux also missed three in 6th.

There were some personal bests achieved today too. Paul Schommer got his first top ten result in 9th place with 18/20. Campbell Wright was again impressive in 15th also with 18/20. Niklas Hartweg missed 2 for 17th, Asset Dyussenov was 36th with 17/20, Patrick Jakob took 37th with 18 hits and Lovro Planko got his first World Cup points in 39th even with 4 misses.

World Cup leader Quentin Fillon Maillet missed 5 shots to finish 20th.

As there are only two individual races that count towards the small crystal globe we already have the winner. Thanks to two second place finishes here and in Oestersund Tarjei Boe takes the individual title for this season.

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Jake Brown: The Interview!

Jake Brown is an American biathlete from Minnesota. The 27-year-old was a cross country skier until 2016 when he saw sense and became a biathlete! His progress has been rapid making his World Cup debut last season and scoring his first point when he finished 40th in the Antholz Sprint.

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Why did you become a biathlete?

I have always been a strong skate distance skier and had always wanted to try biathlon- I got the chance after racing NCAA skiing through the US Biathlon’s development program of post-collegiate cross-country skiers. Growing up I loved running, training, and pushing my limits, seeing how hard I could go. Yet I was still drawn to the great moments of team sports, like the buzzer beater in a basketball game or the 2-out at-bat in the bottom of the baseball’s ninth inning. I love that biathlon has a bit of both.

How do you assess last season? What were you happy with? Was there anything that disappointed you?

Last season surpassed my expectations for 2018-2019. I had previously raced in four IBU cups, and so was shooting for a full IBU Cup season with the goal of making top-15s and a dream goal of racing our home World Cup in Utah. I hit 15th in my first IBU Cup race and spent most of the season racing World Cups, plus World Championships. It was a season I won’t forget!

I was really happy with how I trained last year, both in preparation for and throughout the winter. However, this year I’ll seek to do a better job of staying healthy. Lucky for me, sickness struck mostly during breaks in the race schedule last year, but I don’t think the frequency with which I was getting sick would be sustainable in the long term. I want to be more intentional this year about keeping sleep, nutrition, and healthy habits a priority.

You got to race at a home World Cup in Soldier Hollow for the first time last season. What was that like?

I was glued to the 2002 Olympics which were held in Salt Lake (with XC and Biathlon at Soldier Hollow) when I was 10, so to get to race there last year was special. Biathlon is growing in the US, and hosting a World Cup in close proximity to a metro area like Salt Lake City is a great way to spread the hype for this sport.

Your best result was in Antholz where the World Championships are being held! Is that a good track and range for you? Do you like the altitude?

In general I like racing hilly courses, and a lot of courses at altitude tend to have hills. Antholz has a good variety of terrain and is definitely tough, I like that. I needed at least three breaths between shots last year, so I wouldn’t say the range is easy for me, but I enjoyed racing there last year and look forward to racing there again- what a beautiful place.

We thought Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke had finished biathlon but they are both still working with the US team. How important is it for you to still have them around?

It’s been great. We in the US often need to recruit Europeans to lead our programs, and we do benefit from having European coaches. But Lowell and Tim have as much experience as anyone, and they understand better than anyone the challenges that American biathletes face. Lowell, having spent a year in Montana leading the Cross-Cut program at the club level, and Tim, now in a development-director role, are more invested in the grassroots growth of biathlon in the US, not just trying to fast track college skiers to the World Cup (as I was). I think that’s important long term.

What have you been doing for summer training?

I dealt with lower body injuries this spring, so I did a ton of upper body aerobic training early on: mostly Ski-Erg with a little surf-ski paddling with Paul Schommer. In late June I was able to get back on roller skis and double pole plus introduce a bit a gravel biking. I’ve never been a big cyclist, but I found I really enjoy long solo gravel riding for my over distance workouts in the Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

What are your goals for this season?

-Increase my shooting consistency and dial in my mental approach.
-Help our team crack the top 10 in Nations Cup for both World and IBU Cup

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

A few of my strengths are hilly courses, pushing myself on the last loop, and staying positive. A few current weaknesses are staying healthy, shooting speed and shooting consistency.

What are your hobbies?

Reading, helping out with the junior ski programs at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, exploring, water skiing, and playing sports.

Do you have a favourite biathlon track? Where is it and why?

Valcartier, Quebec. It’s a Nor-Am course on a military base, I love it because it is really challenging yet has great flow. It’s a narrow track through the forest with big climbs and fun, windy, wooded descents.

Who is your favourite biathlete (past or present) and why?

I don’t have a favorite, but I like it when an underdog puts it all together and wins- it was sweet to see Lowell win in 2017 and Dominik Windisch win last year.

Does your rifle have a name?

Nope.

Describe yourself in three words.

I love sports.

Quick fire Questions:
Favourite biathlon nation (not your own): Estonia
Favourite rifle design (any biathlete): The Unicorn one
Favourite ski suit design (from any nation): Russia’s black, blue, and pink suit from last year.
Favourite shooting range: Ruhpolding
Lucky bib number: 77
Funniest biathlete on the World/IBU Cup: Jules Burnotte, Canada
Nicest biathlete on the World/IBU Cup: Simon Fourcade, France
Best thing about being a biathlete: Becoming mentally stronger every day.

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Antholz 2017: The Individuals!

It’s World Cup round 6 ( I know, already!) and we find ourselves in the beautiful surroundings of Antholz-Anterselva. On Thursday the women were racing yet again! They have had a particularly tough schedule since coming back after the Christmas break and I am sure competing at altitude is not helping with tiredness.

This is possibly one of the reasons for the bad shooting in the Individual but the main reason was the strong gusty wind conditions. In fact you could say the conditions on the shooting range were Krapfen!! 😉 ( a fried doughnut of South Tyrol). With some biathletes missing 10 shots out of 20 it was mainly in the shooting range that this race was decided.

That meant of course that Laura Dahlmeier won the race but ironically she wasn’t the best shot on the day however her superior skiing helped her claim the victory. It also meant that she took back the lead in the overall and will wear the yellow bib in the mass start.

Not a single women shot 20/20 but the closest to that with 19/20 were Anais Chevalier who was second and Italy’s Alexia Runggaldier who was third. It was Runggaldier’s best ever result on the World Cup and getting your first ever World Cup podium at home is really special and made a great start to the World Cup for the Italians.

There were only another two women who missed just one target, Olga Poltoranina of Kazakhstan and Canada’s Emma Lunder whose 21st place was her personal best result. Among the others Gabriela Koukalova missed 6 targets as did Domracheva and Wierer and Selina Gasparin missed 10.

The men’s race was on Friday was of course was won by Anton Shipulin or as I have called him for years Ant-holz Shipulin because of his love of this place. He always races well in Antholz and is obviously very comfortable with the altitude. Not even Martin Fourcade could stop him winning here. Well actually he could have if he hadn’t missed 2 targets to Shipulin’s one miss but that 1 target was the difference as Anton won by 41 seconds.

Third place went to Sergey Semenov who is fantastic in the Individual. He missed just one target on the final standing shoot and was only 56 seconds from the lead time. If he had hit 20/20 the race would have been his.

In fact there was only one man who did shoot clean and that was Lenart Oblak from Slovenia who was 35th with a career best result. Another personal best went to Lorenz Waeger of Austria who was 20th with 2 misses. I am not sure what they are feeding the Canadians (probably some sort of maple based syrup) but they got another personal best this time from Scott Gow in 17th.

Ole Einar had another good race coming 4th, Lowell Bailey continued his good form in 10th and his teammate American new comer Paul Schommer came 33rd in his first World Cup race!

So now we move on to a weird programme of the Women’s Mass Start and the Men’s Relay tomorrow! Not the normal schedule but it should be a good day of racing!

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