February 06, 2013 (Nove Mesto, CZE)  – To commemorate tomorrow’s one year countdown to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and to kick-off its Road to Sochi campaign, the United States Olympic Committee, in partnership with NBC Sports and the U.S. Biathlon Association, will air two hours of same-day coverage of the 2013 IBU World Championships from Nove Mesto on the NBC Sports Network Feb 9 and 10 at 6 PM EST.  Universal Sports will air additional coverage of the opening weekend on Feb. 11 and 12 at 7 PM EST.

“Same day coverage of the IBU Biathlon World Championships on the NBC Sports Network is a profound step forward for biathlon in America,” said Max Cobb, US Biathlon President & CEO. “Biathlon has long been Europe’s most watched winter sport and now Americans will get a chance to enjoy the great drama and excitement that is biathlon.  It is a wonderful one year to go preview of the 2014 Olympics.”

Veteran play-by-play announcer Steve Schlanger, who provided commentary for the London 2012 Olympic Games and has experience in nearly 30 sports over his 15-year career, will work with biathlon expert Chad Salmela who will serve as the program’s analyst. Salmela, a biathlon coach and former competitor, was NBC’s biathlon commentator during the Torino and  Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

“The Road to Sochi is about sharing our athletes’ journeys to the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and with just one year until the Games, we are thrilled to bring Olympic winter sport competition into living rooms across the country,” said USOC Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Baird. “America’s athletes are incredibly inspiring, determined and talented, and these Road to Sochi telecasts will help introduce their stories and their sports to the American public ahead of the Games.”

NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports “Road to Sochi” 2013 IBU Biathlon World Championship Schedule

Team USA Arrives in Nove Mesto for 2013 IBU World Championships 

2013 IBU World Championship Schedule
(all times CET, +6 hours ahead of EST)
Livestream webcast of all races will be available here

February 01, 2013 (Obertilliach, Austria) – The Canadian squad finished an impressive 7th in the Junior men’s 4×7.5km relay at the IBU Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships in Obertilliach, Austria, while their women’s teammates placed 10th in the Junior momen’s 3x6km event.

The Norwegian men’s squad took the top spot in a time of 1:18:33.2 with a total of 13 shooting penalties. The second place French team shot much cleaner with only six penalties, but they had to settle for silver at only 14s back from the leaders. Team Russia grabbed the bronze with 16 penalties and trailed by 50s.

The Canadians, Menno Arendz, Christian Gow, Jasper Mackenzie, and Macx Davies, amassed nine penalties and finished 4:55.2 behind.

In the Junior women’s race, the Germans were in a league of their own, acquiring only one penalty to finish in a time of 52:39.4, a whopping 2:03.4 ahead of second place, Ukraine, with eight shooting penalties. The Russians finished third with 11 penalties and a 2:24.8 deficit.

The Canadian team of Rose-Marie Cote, Julia Ransom, and Emma Lodge were 3:52.1 behind with 10 penalties. No Americans completed in either relay.

Results
Junior men HERE.
Junior women HERE.

January 25, 2013 (Obertilliach, Austria) – USA’s Sean Doherty, 17, won a silver medal in the Youth men’s 7.5km sprint as the 2013 IBU Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships kicked off today in Obertilliach, Austria. Fabien Claude (FRA) won the race in a time of 21:12.4. Doherty trailed by 3.6s. Both competitors logged two shooting penalties.

This is the first World Championship podium for Doherty had the fourth fastest skiing time, and climbed five positions on the last lap of the race to finish second. “It is hard to believe that I have worked all of this time towards this goal but now it is here I am still a little bit in shock,” said Doherty at his third trip to the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships.

“My strategy today was no different than any other race. I stared the two laps skiing well but under control. On the last lap I got a split from my coach that I was in fifth, really close to third, and I just gave it my all on the last lap. My main goal is to keep calm in the pursuit and have a really good race.” Doherty will race in Sunday’s 10-kilometer pursuit.

“We are very exited about Sean’s race today,” said U.S. Biathlon Coach Vladimir Cervenka. “He did great and according his plan he saved his best for the last loop. It will be fun to watch the pursuit on Sunday.”

The fastest Canuck of the day was Stuart Harden in 20th place, while teammates Carsten Campbell and Arthur Roots finished 30th and 59th, respectively. Other North Americans include USA’s Jakob Ellingson in 62nd, Matthew Strum (CAN) in 69th, Jordan McElroy (USA) in 79th, and Brian Halligan (USA) in 88th.

Uliana Kaisheva (RUS) won gold in the Youth women’s 6km sprint in a time of 18:08.7 with only one shooting penalty. Anna Kubek (USA) was the top North American woman in 34th spot, followed by Canadian Sarah Beaudry in 36th. Mikaela Paluszek (USA) finished 65th and Leilani Tam Von Burg (CAN) tied for 71st place. Canada’s Emily Dickson was 75th, Charlotte Hamel (CAN) finished 80th, and Aleksandra Zakrzewska (USA) placed 84th.

Youth Women results HERE.
Youth Men results HERE.

January 21, 2013 (New Gloucester, ME) – US Biathlon‘s  International Competition Committee is pleased to announce the 2013 World Championships Team.  Team USA will travel to Nove Mesto, Czech Republic for the IBU World Championships Biathlon, which opens with the mixed relay on February 7th.  A complete event schedule and links to the 2013 World Championships can be found HERE. Congratulations, and good luck Team USA.

2013 US Biathlon World Championships Team

Men
– Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY)
– Tim Burke (Paul Smits, NY)
– Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME)
– Leif Nordgren (Marine, MN)

Women
– Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY)
– Hannah Dreissigacker ( Morrisville, VT)
– Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT)
– Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID)

2013 IBU World Championships Biathlon, Nove Mesto, CZE
– 07 Feb – 11:30 – Mixed 2×6+2×7.5 km Relay
– 09 Feb – 07:00 – Men 10 km Sprint
– 09 Feb – 10:15 – Women 7.5 km Sprint
– 10 Feb – 07:00 – Men 12.5 km Pursuit
– 10 Feb – 10:15 – Women 10 km Pursuit
– 13 Feb – 11:15 – Women 15 km Individual
– 14 Feb – 11:15 – Men 20 km Individual
– 15 Feb – 11:15 – Women 4×6 km Relay
– 16 Feb – 09:15 – Men 4×7.5 km Relay
– 17 Feb – 06:00 – Women 12.5 km Mass Start
– 17 Feb – 09:00 – Men 15 km Mass Start

January 07, 2013 – US Biathlete Tim Burke celebrated his first World Cup podium this season in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with a third-place finish in the men’s 15km mass start – his first podium since his incredible 2009-10 campaign when he scored three podiums and became the first American to wear the World Cup leader’s bib.

Just prior to the start of the second half of the E.ON World Cup Biathlon season in Oberhof, Germany this past weekend, SkiTrax touched base with American Tim Burke to get his thoughts on the initial World Cups, what he was up to over the holiday break, his thoughts on his recent WCup podium, and what he expects for the upcoming World Championships.

How satisfied are you with your performance for the 1st third of the season? Has your skiing been what you expected, and how well you’ve been shooting?
Tim Burke: I was very pleased with my results from the first world cup period, especially considering that I did not feel 100% for most of the period. I expected to feel better on the skis during the first period but after struggling a bit with my health at the start of the season, I was forced to more or less race into shape. The biggest difference with my results during the first world cups was that I was much more consistent on the shooting range. This was something that I have worked very hard on and I hope to continue this for the remainder of the season.

You podiumed in the 15km mass start WCup race in Pokljuka, Slovenia reminiscent of your 2009/10 season. How did it feel and how important is it for your confidence going forward ?
TB: I think the most important thing about my podium in Pokljuka was what it did for my shooting confidence.  I never had any doubt that my skiing was strong enough to get back to the podium over the last few seasons but I struggled a lot on the shooting range.  Coming through under pressure like in Pokljuka is absolutely the best shooting training that I could have.  I hope to carry this confidence through the rest of the season.

What have you been up to since round three in Pokljuka, Slovenia?
TB: I went back to Lake Placid for the holidays. This was my last chance to go home before the end of the season, so it was important for me to see my family and friends and also to get a little mental break. Unfortunately, the snow was not so good at home so I had to spend a lot of time roller skiing on the treadmill. Of course this gets a little boring but I was able to get in some good training.

What are your expectations heading into the World Championships in Nove Mesto, CZE from Feb. 7-17?
TB: I am very excited about the Nove Mesto World Champs. I feel that this course suits me well and I will put a big focus  on these Championships even if that means training through some of the other World Cups.

Good luck in the rest of your season.
TB: Thanks.

December 14, 2012 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Canada’s Rosanna Crawford leaped up the field in the women’s 7.5k Sprint at the IBU World Cup in Slovenia today, cutting her PB result earned last weekend in half finishing a stellar 12th with a perfect shooting record to trail winner Gabriela Soukalova (CZE) by only 52.1s.

“Yep new PB!! I am really excited about todays results. It’s always nice to shoot clean, but to also place a personal best in the top 12 is fantastic! Shooting has always been my strong point. I am also pretty fast in the range, shooting time and getting in and out. I feel like this makes up a little bit for not being as fast on the skis,” Crawford told Trax.

“I didn’t feel very good in my warm up this morning so I didn’t go as hard as I normally would in my warm up. My first loop was pretty slow and I got faster as the race went on and had my best loop my last loop. The opposite to last weekend where it was really hard to get to the finish line!

“The snow was tricky, the track was much slower than it had been in training days, but it was pretty even for the whole field. The range was also pretty calm which was nice. Defiantly the shooting made my race for me. It’s hard to be in the mix for top 15 with missed targets,” she added.

Soukalova also earned a big PB – her career-first World Cup victory. She out-gunned second place, Miriam Goessner (GER), who faced two penalties in the second round of shooting, to win by 2.1s. Nadezhda Skardino (BLR) scored the bronze, accumulating zero penalties and trailing by 30.1s.

Susan Dunklee (USA) was the top U.S. finisher, placing 14th and 53.2s back. Teammate Annelies Cook was 40th. Canadians Megan Heinike and Megan Imrie finished 45th and 90th, respectively.

“Today was a great day for me and for the team.  We had three women not only qualify for tomorrow’s pursuit but also score World Cup points. After years training together and putting in lots of hard work, it is nice to see that pay off. There was heavy snow falling during the race making the skiing a little tough.  I didn’t quite have my highest gear, but I don’t think
most of the field did,” Dunklee told us.

“Hitting 90% of my targets was awesome.  I been struggling a lot on the range the last couple weeks but had a few really good training days earlier this week that helped me regain confidence.  Tomorrow is another day to practice what we do everyday- skiing and shooting.  I’m looking forward to it and we’ll see what happens,” she concluded.

For tomorrow’s Pursuit Crawford is optimistic but realistic… “For the pursuit tomorrow I am just going to take it one shot at a time! It’s supposed to snow 40cm over night which could make things even tougher tomorrow,” offered Crawford.

Results
1. Gabriela Soukalova (CZE) 22:09.8
2. Miriam Goessner (GER) 2.1
3. Nadezhda Skardino (BLR) 30.1

12. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) 52.1
14. Susan Dunklee (USA) 53.2
40. Annelies Cook (USA) 1:45.2
45. Megan Heinike (CAN) 1:57.9
90. Megan Imrie (CAN) 4:17.9

Full results HERE.

December 13, 2012 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – US Biathlon’s Tim Burke (USA) placed just outside the medals in fourth spot for a superb performance shooting clean in the men’s 10km sprint at round 3 of the IBU World Cup in Pokljukain, SLO today. Local star Jakov Fak (SLO) took the win on home turf, besting rivals Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) and Martin Fourcade (FRA) to the delight of Slovenian fans.

“I am really happy with today’s result,” said Burke in a team release. “Of course it would have been nice to find a few more seconds to get onto the podium, but I really did everything I could out there today so I am very happy with that. I felt very solid on the shooting range today.

“I was able to execute the techniques that I have been working on in practice. I am still missing my top gear on the skis, but hopefully that will show up at World Championships in February. Now I am looking forward to Saturdays Pursuit. I will be starting only 15 seconds behind first place so everything is still possible!”

Fak posted a time of 24:41.7 and a spotless shooting record to nab the victory by a mere 0.8s over Svendsen, who suffered a penalty on the second round of shooting. Fourcade finished 6.1s behind after shooting clean in both rounds. Burke who also shot clean finished 15.2s back.

Scott Perras was the fastest Canuck on the day, sprinting into 34th place, with Lowell Bailey (USA) close behind in 36th. Other North American results include Scott Gow (CAN) in a tie for 50th, Jean Philippe LeGuellec (CAN) in 83rd, Russell Currier (USA) in 89th, and Jay Hakkinen (USA) in 92nd.

Results
1. Jakov Fak (SLO) 24:41.7
2. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) 0.8
3. Martin Fourcade (FRA) 6.1

4. Tim Burke (USA) 15.2

Full results HERE.

March 01, 2012 (Rupholding, Germany) – The 2012 IBU World Championships open Mar. 1 in Ruhpolding, Germany with the 2×6+2×7.5 km Mixed Relay featuring a team of two women & two men. Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID), Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) and Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) will start for Team USA.

“The team arrived here in Ruhpolding on Monday after our final preparation in Ridaun, Italy. We think that we have done everything we can now, and everybody is looking forward to the start of the races ,” said US Biathlon Head Coach Per Nilsson. “The team has had an up-going trend in January and February, which we wanted due to the late date for the World Championships, so we know that we have a good capacity. The key is to continue to stay with the routine that every athlete has. They should just do the normal work and focus on things that they can impact. Then we will have some good results over the next 10 days.”

“The team really feels at home here in Ruhpolding. We’ve had several summer camps here, so it feels natural for them to be here,” said Bernd Eisenbichler, US Biathlon High Performance Director. “Everyone has done their work – the athletes, coaches, wax technicians, the physiotherapists – and now it’s time to go ahead and execute what we’ve been working on over the last year.”

The World Championships continue through March 11th. Ruhpolding has a 34 year history of hosting of World Cup and World Championship event. Ticket sales have reached 30,000 per day and the TV audience is expected to exceed 25 million viewers per competition.

Competition begins at 9:30 am (EST) Mar. 1 and will be webcast live HERE.
Please visit HERE for a link to the complete World Championship schedule and results.

2012 U.S. Biathlon IBU World Championship Team

Men
– Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) – World Cup Ranking: 13th – two 5th place finishes
– Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) – World Cup Ranking: 22nd – 6th & 8th place finishes
– Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME) – World Cup Ranking: 47th – two 6th place finishes
– Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) – World Cup Ranking: 33rd – 9th & 14th place finishes
– Leif Nordgren (Marine, MN) – World Cup Ranking: 94th – 33rd & 48th place finishes

Women
– Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) – 2nd & 4th place finishes in IBU Cup 7, Canmore
– Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY) – World Cup Ranking: 76th – 33rd & 39th place finishes
– Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT) – World Cup Ranking: 48th – 17th & 27th place finishes
– Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) – World Cup Ranking: 55th – 15th & 23rd place finishes

February 21, 2012 (Kontiolahti, Finland) – The IBU World Junior Championships got underway in Finland yesterday and Canada’s Julia Ransom led all North Americans with an eighth-place finish in the Youth Women’s 10km Individual competition. The 19-year-old Ransom, from Kelowna, B.C., missed only three shots in four rounds of shooting, and finished with a time of 41:38.1.

Germany’s Julia Bartolmaes captured the first gold medal while Galina Vishnevskaya of Kazakhstan won the silver medal, with Norway’s Hilde Fenne grabbing the bronze.

Three other Canadians and three American women also hit the start line. Anna Kubek (USA) was 30th while Sarah Beudry (CAN) was 33rd; Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA) placed 44th, while Rose-Marie Cote (CAN) finished in 47th place. Erin Oliver-Beebe (CAN) finished in 50th, with Melissa Manning (USA) and Mikaela Paluszek (USA) finishing up in 58th and 72nd place, respectively.

Youth Men 12.5 km Individual Pursuit
France’s Aristide Begne missed just one shot on his way to gold ahead of Maksim Romanouski from Belarus, with the Ukraine’s Artem Tyshchenko finishing in the bronze medal position.

Calgary’s Christian Gow led the North American men in the 12.5-kilometre individual pursuit competition. The 18-year-old missed one shot in each of his four bouts on the range to finish in 11th overall.

Following Gow was Sean Doherty (USA) and Samuel Dougherty (USA), finishing in 26th and 28th position. Canadians Albert Bouchard, Stuart Harden, and Carsen Campbell finished mid-back (36th, 38th, and 41st place), while Nicholas Proell (USA) finished 55th and Jacob Prince (USA) ended up in 83rd place.

Women’s 10k Individual results HERE.
Men’s 12.5k Individual results HERE.

February 13, 2012 (Canmore, AB) – Canada’s Nathan Smith made history on Saturday in the Rockies when he won the men’s IBU Cup sprint race, becoming the first Canadian male to win an IBU Cup tour competition. Then on Sunday, he did it again, scoring gold in the 10k. Hear what the 26-year-old Canmore local has to say about his recent success.

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.

January 13, 2012 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Olga Zaitseva (RUS) took the win in the women’s 7.5km sprint event at the IBU Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto on Friday with a time of 23:08.1 and a perfect shooting score, despite conditions that went from bright to stormy during the competition.

Tora Berger (NOR) finished second with two shooting penalties and +25.5 behind the winner, while Magdalena Neuner (GER) raced into third spot with three penalties and a deficit of +34.5.

Canada’s Zina Kocher (CAN) was the top North American finisher in 23rd spot. Teammate Megan Imrie (CAN) finished 44th, Susan Dunklee (USA) was 45th, Annalies Cook (USA) 51st, Sara Studebaker (USA) 54th, and Tracy Barnes (USA) 87th.

Full results HERE.

January 11, 2012 (Oberhof, Germany) – In tough conditions with snow falling, Germany’s Magdalena Neuner won her second victory of the weekend taking the women’s 12.5km Mass Start with a winning time of 40:02 despite three shooting penalties. Norway’s Tora Berger was only 12.5 seconds back in second with two penalties while Neuner’s teammate, Andrea Henkel had only one shooting penalty to claim 3rd at 32 seconds back. No North American women qualified for the event.

The skiing was very challenging as the heavy snowfall created taxing ski conditions and difficult shooting. None of the top racers shot clean. With 2.5km to go, Neuner took the lead with her strong skiing and didn’t look back taking her second win of the weekend.

“It was a great race and a lot of fun since it is my last time here. I am in very good shape and I had very good skis, so I am very happy with my race,” Neuner told Biathlonworld post-race. “The penalties did not faze me I was always close to the lead and felt all day like I had enough power to handle Tora and Andrea. I was very relaxed all day.”

The snow subsided shortly after the men’s 15km Mass Start race began and it was Germany again as Andi Birnbacher was unstoppable shooting clean on his way to victory with a finishing time of 38:34. In second was Simon Fourcade of France at 24.3 seconds back with only one shooting penalty, followed by Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) in third with three penalties at 29.6 seconds back.

With better conditions a total of 19 men shot clean on the first round of prone shooting including Lowell Bailey of the USA, the lone North American in the field. Nine men shot clean on the second prone round and after the first standing session Birnbacher was one second behind the race leader Klemen Bauer (SLO).

Birnbacher shot clean in the final round while Bauer cracked missing three shots and was out of contention. Bailey missed two rounds in his first standing session, the only shots he missed on the day to finish 16th overall.

“I was pretty tired after the travel and competition in Schalke,” said Birnbacher, “I was still tired in the sprint so it was amazing that I did so well today. Having the wins is good for my confidence, but puts no pressure on me.”

January 06, 2012 (Oberhof, Germany) – The Russian and Italian teams won gold in the women’s 4x6km and men’s 4×7.5km relay, respectively, at IBU World Cup #4 in Oberhof, Germany.

In the women’s race, Olga Vilukhina (RUS) anchored the Russian team to bring home gold with an overall time of 1:19:32 and 13 shooting penalties. Team Norway cruised in +5.9 later for the silver medal, and the French team grabbed bronze.

The Italian squad put together a fantastic race in the 4×7.5km men’s race with only five shooting penalties opposed to second place Russia’s 13. Italy won by a +6.1 margin, while Sweden scooped up bronze with six penalties and a +32.7 gap.

Team USA’s Lowell Bailey, Jay Hakkinen, Tim Burke, and Leif Nordgren opened the World Cup competition with a 11th-place finish, trailing the leaders by +5:42.3 and racking up 19 penalties.

“With the rain training has not been easy, but the organizers have been doing everything they can to put a good track together, ” said U.S. Biathlon High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler. “In the Relay, it’s always tricky in these conditions with both skiing and waxing….”

Results
Women 4×6 km Relay HERE.
Men 4×7.5 km Relay HERE.

December 16, 2011 (Obertilliach, Austria) – Two young Calgary biathletes shocked the world by finishing third and fourth in a men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition at the IBU Biathlon Cup in Obertilliach, Austria on Friday.

Nathan Smith put his name in the history books as one of a handful of Canadian biathletes to win a medal in international racing after capturing the bronze with a time of 24 minutes, 18.1 seconds, while senior team rookie, Scott Gow, narrowly missed the podium placing fourth at 24:31.4 against a deep field of nearly 100 athletes – many of whom compete regularly on the World Cup circuit.

“It feels great. Only a few other Canadians have had top-four results on the IBU Cup so two in one day is exceptional,” said Smith, who turns 26 on Christmas Day and becomes the sixth Canadian biathlete to medal on the IBU Cup over the last decade. The Canadian squad also finished fourth in Wednesday’s mixed relay.

“During the training season I made some strong improvements in both skiing and shooting and I was hoping to carry those over to the competition season. This result is affirmation the work is paying off in actual results.”

Both Smith and Gow shot clean with light winds blowing through the range, and took advantage of good skis on the hard-packed, fast Austrian course.

“Our coaching and waxing team have been doing an awesome job. I’m fairly certain our skis in Obertilliach have been the best of all the teams thus far,” added Smith. “So far this winter four men have put down top results on both the IBU and World Cup. This shows that our team is building depth. I also hope younger biathletes in Canada will see our results and strive to match and exceed them.”

Russia’s Evgeniy Garanichev won the gold medal with a time of 24:09.7 despite missing one shot in his first round of shooting. Germany’s Daniel Bohm snagged the silver with a time of 24:11.4.

Despite finishing just shy of the podium, it was a stellar day for the 21-year-old Scott Gow who made the climb to the senior ranks this year where he has split time on the World Cup and IBU Cup Circuit – a feeder series to the World Cup.

“The race today felt amazing. It was one of those rare days where great skiing with perfect shooting came together, and I’m more than ecstatic it happened today on the IBU Cup,” said Gow, who was clean in his two rounds of shooting. “The skis were the difference today. I have felt great the last two weeks on the boards and they were really good today which gave us an edge on our competitors.”

Equally brilliant off the snow, the sharp-shooting biathlete was an honours student at the National Sport School where he was one of a small group of students selected from around the world to attend United States Space School four years ago at NASA in Houston. An incredible experience for the young Canuck, Gow’s mission has since been focused on achieving his Olympic dream. He enjoyed a memorable campaign in 2011 where he carried the Alberta flag into the closing ceremonies of the Canada Winter Games after winning four gold medals in as many competitions, one week following a ninth-place finish at the Junior World Championships.

“This result is important for me because I feel like it validates my training over the past year, and gives me the confidence going forward to know that I am competitive on the IBU Cup,” said Gow. “Doing as well as I did today against the competition I had is a real boost of confidence because they guys we’re finishing with have good results on the World Cup and are considered World Cup caliber athletes, so it’s another major boost for sure.”

Two other Canadian men suited up on Friday. Calgary’s Tyson Smith shot clean to finish tied for 50th at 26:23.5. Aaron Gillmor was 96th (28:05.9).

Quebec’s Claude Godbout finished as the top Canadian in the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint, placing 32nd at 24:32.2. Yolaine Oddou, of Val Belair, Que., was 34th (24:44.8), while Melanie Schultz, of Camrose, Alta., finished 53rd (25:43.1).

Russia’s Ekaterina Glazyrina shot clean to win the women’s competition with a time of 22:30.8.

Meanwhile, the top women’s biathletes in the country also had a solid outing on the World Cup circuit down the road in Hochfilzen, Austria.

Megan Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., skied to the final spot in the top-25 for the best result of her career. The 25-year-oldImrie, who represented Canada at the 2010 Olympics, missed two shots in her first of two bouts of shooting to clock a time of 22:18.1 in the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition.

Zina Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta., will join Imrie in the pursuit competition with the top-60 athletes after placing 50th with a time of 23:08.0. Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., rounded out the Canadian performances in 73rd (24:05.7).

Russia’s Olga Zaitseva won the women’s sprint with a time of 20:36.6. Darya Domracheva, of Belarus, settled for the silver medal at 20:%0.5, while Sweden’s Helena Ekholm locked up the bronze after clocking-in at 21:06.8.

The IBU Cup and World Cup events continue on Saturday in Austria with the pursuit competitions.

FOR COMPLETE RESULTS: www.biathlonworld.com

IBU Men
1. Evgeniy Garanichev, RUS, (1+0), 24:09.7
2. Daniel Bohm, GER, (0+0), 24:11.4
3. Nathan Smith, Calgary, CAN, (0+0), 24:18.1
4. Scott Gow, Calgary, CAN, (0+0), 24:31.4
5. Johannes Kuhn, GER, (0+1), 24:36.1

IBU Women
1. Ekaterina Glazyrina, RUS, (0+0), 22:30.8
2. Juliya Dzyhma, UKR, (0+0), 22:40.4
3. Sabrina Buchholz, GER, (1+0), 22:44.8
4. Ekaterina Shumilova, RUS, (0+2), 22:53.8
5. Roberta Fiandino, ITA, (0+0), 23:03.2.

32. Claude Godbout, Quebec, (0+1), 24:32.2
34. Yolaine Oddou, Val Belair, Que., (2+0), 24:44.8
53. Melanie Schultz, Camrose, Alta., (2+2), 25:43.1

World Cup Women
1. Olga Zaitseva, RUS, (0+1), 20:36.6
2. Darya Domracheva, BLR, (1+1), 20:50.5
3. Helena Ekholm, SWE, (1+0), 21:06.8
4. Magdalena Neuner, GER, (1+1), 21:21.5
5. Vita Semerenko, UKR, (0+1), 21:32.2.

25. Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake, Man., (2+0), 22:18.1
50. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., (1+3), 23:08.0
73. Rosanna Crawford, Canmore, Alta., (3+0), 24:05.7

December 10, 2011 (Hochfilzen, Austria) – It was a Norwegian showdown in the men’s 12.5km pursuit in Hochfilzen this morning in the men’s 15km IBU WCup pursuit, with Emil Hegle Svendsen besting fellow countryman Tarjei Boe in a final sprint to line with a time of 33:09.0 and a winning margin of only 0.1s. It was a nailbiter, with Svendsen racking up two shooting penalties and Boe only holding one. Switzerland’s Benjamin Weger claimed third place at 4.9 seconds back and only one penalty.

The top North American result was logged by USA’s Lowell Bailey, who finished 17th. He trailed by +57.4 and amassed two penalties. Canada’s Brendan Green finished 33rd at +2:00.5 back with three penalties. Jay Hakkinen (USA) landed 45th spot with four penalties.

In the 10km women’s pursuit, Darya Domracheva (BLR) showed an impressive display of determination to snag her victory over second place, Olga Zaitseva (RUS), and third place, Magdalena Neuner (GER). Domracheva came from behind, trailing by 55s after the third shooting stage, to claim the victory on the final round. She finished her race in 29:34.4 with two penalties, while Zaitseva finished only +0.3 back with a single penalty.

Zina Kocher (CAN) scored the best North American result with a solid 23rd place, trailing by 3:09.5 and logging two penalties. Susan Dunklee (USA) finished 43rd, followed by team mate Sara Studebaker (USA) in 44th.

Men’s results HERE.
Women’s results HERE.

March 21, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Check out this great photo gallery of the action, drama, and emotion at Sunday’s Mass Start event, the final IBU World Cup of the season, in Oslo, Norway. Darya Domracheva (BLR) won the women’s 10km race – more here – while Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) took top honours in the men’s competition – more here.

March 10, 2011 (Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia) – Leif Nordgren of the US Biathlon team has had a pair of breakout races at the 2011 IBU World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. Placing 26th and 21st in the Sprint and Individual competitions respectively, the young American pulled off consecutive career bests on the most important stage of the Biathlon World Cup circuit. SkiTrax caught up with Nordgren to talk about everything biathlon, including his results, the team, and the future.

Congrats on your great result in 20km individual race – tell us how things unfolded and how your race went.
Leif Nordgren: This week has been pretty crazy. After my 26th place in the Sprint race, I thought for sure that was it, I wasn’t going to get any higher. But I put a good race together in the Individual too so that was cool. My race was almost perfect – I had good enough skiing, I was just taking it easy behind Lars Berger for a few loops, and through the first three shooting stages I had hit all my targets. I was starting to get a little tired going into the last stage though, I got away with only one penalty. But it was definitely a fight for each shot.

You’re in your first full year on the World Cup Circuit – what do you attribute to your fast development?
LN: I’ve been steered in a good direction by my coaches Per [Nillson] and Armin the last couple of years. I have great teammates like Tim [Burke] and Lowell [Bailey] to train with, they are 100% professional the way they go about their training. I’ve learned a lot of things just watching them, and they’re always keen to give me any advice when I need it. But even with all that help, you still have to have a desire to work hard. I love training and improving myself, but when the good results come, it makes it a lot more fun to train even harder.

Your results at the IBU World Championships are your best by far this season. Did you make any changes or approach these races differently than the others?
LN: I think with me it’s just a process. I’ve had a few good results this year, but I would always be eager for more. A little high strung maybe. I think I’m just now realizing there are a lot of things that it takes to put a good biathlon race together. I’ve seen those things here and there this season, but this week I’ve been able to combine them all.

Being the youngest member of the men’s team, what kind of advice have you received from the veterans who have experienced every level?
LN: Most of the time if I have a bad race I will freak out about it and spend hours analyzing and searching the places where I can improve. Possibly the most important thing I’ve learned this year from the older guys is just to chill out… there will be more races, more opportunities. Of course it’s good to look at your race and analyze your mistakes, but it’s also smart to keep everything in its place.

With these great results have your expectations changed going forward…?
LN: No, not really. I’ve a had a few ok results yes, but for me there’s still a long way to go – a lot of development and hard work that needs to take place. I don’t want to just win a race and have that be the highlight of my career… I want to be at the top for a long time, to be consistent. That’s the most important thing I think, consistency. It will still be a few years until I get to that level. And biathlon is only going to get more competitive, so who knows, I may never make it there. Perhaps it’s more about the journey you take than the final outcome…

What do you hope to accomplish in your career in the sport of biathlon?
LN: To be the best and to inspire people the same way I’ve been inspired.

Good luck with the rest of the championships and this season.
LN: Thanks Clark!