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
| Date |
NBC Sports Network |
Universal Sports |
| Saturday, Feb. 9 |
Men’s sprint: 6-7 p.m. |
— |
| Sunday, Feb 10 |
Men’s pursuit 6-7 p.m. |
— |
| Monday, Feb 11 |
— |
Women’s sprint: 7-8 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Feb 12 |
— |
Women’s pursuit 7-8 p.m. |
Team USA Arrives in Nove Mesto for 2013 IBU World Championships
Team USA has arrived in Nove Mesto, CZE in preparation for the start of the 2013 IBU World Championships, which kick-off Thursday with the Mixed Relay. The women start the relay each skiing a 6-kilometer relay leg then tag off to the men who each ski 7.5-kilometer legs. The Mixed Relay has been added to the Olympic biathlon program for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.
Team USA remained in Antholz, Italy for a two-week training camp to prepare for World Championships following the World Cup held there. “Everybody is healthy and in a very good mood,” said US Biathlon High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler. “We had a great camp in Antholz the last two weeks and the athletes are ready to go.”
The Team USA roster for the 2013 IBU World Championships is listed below:
Men
– Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) Two-time Olympian (2006, 2010)
– Tim Burke (Paul Smits, NY)
Two-time Olympian (2006, 2010)
– Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME)
– Leif Nordgren (Marine, MN)
Women
– Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY)
World Championship debut
– Hannah Dreissigacker ( Morrisville, VT)
World Championship debut
– Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT)
– Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) 2010 Olympian
2013 IBU World Championship Schedule
(all times CET, +6 hours ahead of EST)
Livestream webcast of all races will be available here
| Date |
Start time |
Distance |
Discipline |
Category |
|
March 25, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – SkiTrax caught up with Canadian Men’s XC Team Coach Justin Wadsworth after the FIS World Cup finale in Falun, Sweden this past weekend to get his take on the 2012/13 season, the highs and lows, and what the squad will do differently next year to get the team back on their game.
Things did not go as planned this season admitted Wadsworth, but he is positive the team will turn things around in the upcoming Olympic year – when it really counts.
At the end of the TdS, Ivan Babikov scored the silver in the final 9km FR Pursuit stage up Alpe Cermis (ITA). Babikov was also the top NA skier in the overall WCup in 20th (Devon Kershaw was second overall last year while Harvey was 6th). Then Harvey came around again near the end of the season to be the first ever Canadian man to win an individual World Championship medal when he placed third in the classic sprint in Val di Fiemme (ITA).
On the women’s side, the highlight was when Perianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova scored third in the team sprint at the Sochi World Cup (RUS).
