Chloe Levins (USA) raced to an impressive 4th in the Biathlon Pursuit © YIS/IOC

February 16, 2016 (Lillehammer, Norway) – The second edition of the IOC Youth Olympic Winter Games runs in Lillehammer, Norway from Feb. 12-21 for ten days of exciting action. With 1,089 athletes from 71 countries, the event is putting to use the upgraded venues from the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games. Athletes aged 15 to 18 years old have travelled from far and wide to compete for gold in 15 winter disciplines, including cross-country skiing and biathlon.

Day 2 – February 13 – Cross-Country Cross Free

Lillehammer saw the inauguration of the cross-country Cross event that took place at the Birkebeineren Cross Country Stadium. The event closely parallels that of a sprint race, with the addition of freestyle ski-cross inspired courses. The exotic event saw South Korean Magnus Kim strike gold on the men’s side ahead of Norway’s Thomas Helland Larsen, and Finland’s Lauri Mannila. Magnus Kim who has had experience on the Senior World Cup before, showed his prowess by leading the final heat through its entirety. Canadian Levi Nadlersmith qualified 29th and finished 9th in his heat, while American Hunter Wonders qualified 30th and also ended up 9th in his heat.

The ladies’ event saw Swedes Moa Lundgren and Johanna Hagstroem take gold and silver respectively, while Laura Chamiot Maitral of France rounded off the podium. American Hannah Halvorsen finished 5th in her heat to land her a solid 13th position. Canadian Annika Richardson finished off her day in 25th position.

Cross-country ski action gets back underway February 16th with the men’s and women’s classic sprints. Two days later, the men’s 10km free and women’s 5km free takes place with more medals on the line. Skiers will conclude their Youth Olympic Games with the trial event of the Nordic Mixed Relay, which will see a Nordic combined athlete, and ski jumper, and a cross-country skier join forces to determine the ultimate Nordic nation.

Day 3 – February 14 – Biathlon Sprint

The Birkerbeineren Biathlon Stadium played host to men’s 7.5km sprint that saw Frenchman Emilien Claude shoot clean to claim the top step of the podium. Host nation’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken took silver, while Russian Egor Tutmin took bronze.

Canada’s Ben Churchill skied to 17th place overall after shooting 9/10. The Calgary Biathlon Racer Club athlete finished at 1:35.5 back in a tight field. Fellow countryman Leo Grandbois finished at 1:58.6 behind in 22nd spot. Americans Vaclav Cervenka and Eli Nielsen finished 35th and 46th respectively.

Germany’s Juliane Fruehwirt shot 10/10 to claim the top spot of the women’s podium, while Norway’s Marthe Krakstad Johansen took home the nation’s second silver medal in biathlon. Kazakhstan’s Arina Pantova took third to round off the podium.

America’s Amanda Kautzer finished in a solid 10th place at 58.9 back, and teammate Chloe Levins finished in 22nd at 1:33.1 behind the leader while shooting 8/10. Canadians Gillian Gowling and Tekarra Banser finished 30th and 35th respectively.

Day 4 – February 15th – Biathlon Pursuit

American Chloe Levins put together an impressive race, moving up 18 spots to 4th position overall as the lone skier to shoot clean and hit all 20 targets. She was able to ski her way up the results sheet in part due to her unmatched shooting.

“The pursuit in Lillehammer today was a dream,” Levins said. “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.”

Teammate Amanda Kautzer who started the pursuit in 10th place had difficulties on the range shooting 12/20 and dropped 17 spots to 27th overall. Canadians Tekarra Banser and Gillian Gowling finished of the pursuit 35th and 45th position respectively.

In the men’s race, Canadian Ben Churchill moved up the rankings from 17th to 10th place overall, while shooting 18/20 on the range. Teammate Leo Grandbois lost three spots on his start position to finish 25th overall. American Vaclav Cervenka finished in 20th place, 16 spots ahead of where he started. Fellow American Nielsen finished up in 45th place overall.

Biathlon action resumes February 17th for the single mixed relay where a single male and female compete on a relay team in search of gold. Four days later at the Birkebeineren Biathlon Stadium the mixed relay gets underway to conclude biathlon action at the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Games.

Biathlon results here.

All YOG 2016 results here.