March 4, 2009 (Lake Placid, NY) – I am back in Lake Placid now and am enjoying some quality time at home. I had been on the road since Christmas, so it feels great to be back and catch up with family and friends and to sleep in my own bed! The 2009 Biathlon World Championships in Korea was quite the experience. I saw everything from warm temperatures with pouring rain to freezing cold with huge gusts of wind.

These conditions, combined with an organizing committee that was unaccustomed to holding biathlon events, made for some unique racing experiences. All in all I would describe my races in Korea as OK. I had 11th, 14th, 21st and 28th place finishes. Two years ago I would have been thrilled with an 11th place finish at World Championships but I definitely have higher expectations for myself now.

The bottom line was that I simply did not shoot well enough for a top result. My ski speed was right where it needed to be for a big result but I was unable to match this with solid shooting when I needed it. In both the sprint and individual races I had a chance to reach the podium with a clean (no penalty) last shooting stage. I have cleaned the last stage many times before, but in Korea I did not put it together. I will give no excuse for my mistakes, as I realize that I was fully in control of these situations.

Being so close to a great result and not achieving it was very disappointing for me but I have moved on. All of my energy now is going towards a strong finish to the season. On Sunday I will fly to Vancouver for a World Cup on next years Olympic course. This will be a great opportunity for me to see where I stack up against the best on the Olympic trails. From Vancouver I will be flying to Norway and then on to Russia for the final two World Cup stops. I am feeling healthy and fit and I can’t wait for another opportunity to get to the top!