Tag Archive | "pursuit"

Fitzgerald Leads USA Women’s Sweep at Slavic Cup 10/15km CL Pursuit in Nove Mesto

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March 04, 2013 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Kate Fitzgerald (USA) bettered her performance landing on the top step of the podium at the Slavic Cup in Nove Mesto on day 2 of the competition in the women’s 10km CL Pursuit, leading an American sweep of the top three spots, with Sophie Caldwell and Rosie Brennan finishing second and third, respectively.

Patrick Caldwell was the best American finisher in the 15km men’s event placing ninth, followed by Eric Packer in 20th, and Peter Kling in 28th. Jakub Graef (CZE) won the event.

Women’s 10km CL Pursuit HERE.
Men’s 15km CL Pursuit HERE.

USA’s Nordgren Storms to 21st in Men’s 12.5km Pursuit at IBU Open Euro Championships

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January 31, 2012 (Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia) – Russia’s Alexey Volkov only missed one shot in the Men’s 12.5k Pursuit at the IBU Open European Championships that run Jan. 27-Feb. 2 in Slovakia to secure the win in a time of 31:48.0, +16.2 faster than second place, Serhiy Semenov (UKR). Daniel Bohm (GER) finished a further +2.3 back for the bronze medal. The top three only received one shooting penalty each.

The race within the race, however, was headlined by USA’s Leif Nordgren, who stormed from a 45th-place starting position to finish a phenomenal 21st, logging a time of 35:01.6 with only two shooting penalties. Team mate Russell Currier (USA) finished an impressive 24th despite a whopping five penalties. Mark Johnson (USA) finished 44th with two missed shots and a time of 37:39.9. No Canadian men competed.

Results HERE.

Drew Goldsack Suffers a Mild Concussion in Whistler

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January 20, 2012 (Whistler, BC) – Canadian Ski Team member Drew Goldsack suffered a mild concussion on Saturday when he crashed during the NorAm freestyle sprint races in Whistler. Due to his concussion, Goldsack has announced he will skip this weekend’s Western Canadian Champs in Canmore. Read his blog for the inside scoop on his crash…

Whistler… I Hope I Didn’t Brain My Damage

Ah Whistler, I have to say I saw these NorAm races going differently in my head movies.  (If you don’t get the ‘head movies’ reference, stop reading, go watch the movie Tropic Thunder, and report back.)

With the extended holiday break over, it was back to business last week with the continuation of the Haywood NorAm race series. The weekend also doubled as selection races for the U23/World Junior Championships so it was an exciting three days of racing with lots on the line! Props to the Alberta World Cup Academy crew who dominated the podium all weekend and managed to qualify a whopping SEVEN athletes for the WJr./U23 Champs., claiming nearly half of the available spots on the World Champs team! A huge part of this success is thanks to the incredibly hard working Academy coaches and technicians who put in long hours behind the scenes every weekend, ensuring that things run smoothly come race day.

The week kicked off with the 30k Pursuit on Thursday and it was a bit of a rough start. On the best of days a 30k is a challenge for my largely fast twitch muscles and despite feeling good on the first lap, the race quickly turned into a suffer fest for me. I blew up early in the race and spent the rest of the time trying to recover, not an ideal way to race a 30k!

Saturday however brought my bread and butter, the freestyle sprint.  The qualifying round went ok for me through heavy snow and on extremely soft tracks which made the course ski way harder than usual. I was feeling a bit sluggish from the 30k, but I also knew that my body would loosen up as the day went on. As expected, I began to feel better with each round and was very confident going into the final. The soft, deep snow made it extremely hard to pass, so a good start and energy conservation were key in order to have a good final push to the line. I started well and was in a good position on the final downhill coming into the stadium but just as I was about to start my attack, another skier went down and I tangled up with them.

Before I could react, my feet whipped out from under me at full speed and I rag-dolled to a stop. Ouch. As I lay there a little dazed, still trying to process what just happened, I took an inventory of my body and in the moment didn’t feel anything too seriously injured. In this case, the insult would come before the injury, my pole had somehow managed to break off at the handle and I was horrified to look down and see my very best pair of race skis shattered just in front of the binding.

Immediately, a feeling of loss that’s nearly impossible to explain to anyone who isn’t a high level ski racer, washed over me. The same pair of skis that faithfully carried me to numerous NorAm podiums and a 5th place finish in Dusseldorf only a month before were now splintered and lying awkwardly twisted in the snow beneath me. It’ll be hard, if not impossible, to find a replacement for that pair of skis.

For a few more good shots of my crash caught by Jesse Winter, have a look here: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3

Upon my return to the hotel that afternoon, the physical effects of the crash began to set in. I began to feel nauseous, drowsy and a headache was setting in. I knew I had hit my head but didn’t think it was anything serious. The next day I felt ok when I woke up save for some serious whiplash, a stiff shoulder and some new bruises, but as I began to move around I knew something wasn’t right. I started to feel nauseous again and my headache was getting worse… could it really be a concussion?

Am I now part of the hottest statistic in sports? I talked it over with the coaches and we decided that it was best to play it safe and sit the 15km classic as a precaution. Through the day my symptoms got worse and I utterly suffered through the twisty, stop and go van ride to the airport in Vancouver for my flight home.

After seeing our team doctor on Monday, I was diagnosed with a mild concussion. Brutal. Despite this setback, the word ‘mild’ left me optimistic that I would recover in time for the Western Canadian Champs being held at home in Canmore this weekend. However, I have been unable to train due to headaches and nausea and consequently my hopes to race this weekend have been dashed. I could insert any number of cliché’s here but the reality is plainly that luck has not been on my side so far this season. I guess as a small consolation, my many years spent as an athlete have certainly taught me how to be resilient and persevere…so persevere I will.

More great photos from Whistler NorAm weekend can be found on Angus Cockney’s Picasa album HERE.

Overheard:

“I suck at cooking” – Graham Nishikawa… good thing you’re getting married, Congrats man!

In the tape deck:

Artist: Andrew Bird, Track: Tenuousness

Artist: M83, Track: Midnight City

On the tube:

Andrew Bird performing Tenuosness live, incredible use of a looping pedal. If you don’t know what a looping pedal is, look it up, it’ll make you appreciate the video and song a whole lot more.

http://youtu.be/1sivcS6uvIg

This blog and other updates can also be found on www.drewgoldsack.ca

Ferry and Neuner Win 7.5/10km Biathlon WCup Sprint – Canada’s Green 29th, Kocher 17th

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December 18, 2010 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Bjorn Ferry (SWE) beat out last weekend’s double winner Tarjei Boe (NOR) at today’s IBU World Cup 10k men’s sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia. The Olympic pursuit champion shot clean and won by a 5s margin over second place, Boe, who missed one shot. Michael Greis (GER) took third place. Conditions were ideal with clear skies and light wind. Canada’s Brendan Green (CAN) once again led the North American men in 29th place. Tim Burke (USA) was the top US skier in 35th.

In the 7.5k women’s race, it was double Olympic champ Magdalena Neuner (GER) who grabbed the victory despite two missed shots in the standing stage. Anastasiya Kuzimina (SVK) finished second with only one penalty and an 11.2s deficit, followed by Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) and Olga Zaitseva (RUS) in a tie for third at 17s behind the winner. Canada’s Zina Kocher (CAN) found her form and was the fastest North American with one penalty in 17th place while Sara Studebaker led the Americans in 58th with two misses.

Results

Men’s 10km Sprint HERE.
Women’s 7.5km Sprint HERE.

Men
1. Bjorn Ferry (SWE) 27:25.9
2. Tarjei Boe (NOR) +5.1
3. Michael Greis (GER) +8.7
4. Jakov Fak (SLO) +18.2
5. Evgeny Ustyugov (RUS) +23.9

29. Brendan Green (CAN) +1:31.4
35. Tim Burke (USA) +1:43.8
68. Lowell Bailey (USA) +2:37.6
69. Leif Nordgren (USA) +2:38.3
75. Nathan Smith (CAN) +2:47.4
86. Russell Currier (USA) +3:27.9
90. Jean Philippe Leguellec (CAN) +3:51.8
93. Jeremy Teela (USA) +4:16.3

Women
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 23:05.2
2. Anastasiya Kuzimina (SVK) +11.2
3. Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) +17.0
3. Olga Zaitseva (RUS) +17.0
5. Anais Bescond (FRA) +22.9

17. Zina Kocher (CAN) +1:04.4
58. Sara Studebaker (USA) +2:45.7
59. Annalies Cook (USA) +2:46.1
91. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) +5:10.0
92. Laura Spector (USA) +6:08.3