November 27, 2016 (Oestersund, Sweden) – The American foursome of Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey put in a strong effort to finish 8th in mixed relay won by Norway as the BMW IBU World Cup season got underway on Sunday in Oestersund, Sweden.

The Norwegian team of Marte Olsbu, Fanny Horn Birkeland, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Johannes Thingnes Boe dominated finishing in 1:10:57 and using six spares. Germany was second at 33.7 seconds back while Italy took the last spot on the podium, with one penalty and 12 spares.

Team Canada’s Julia Ransom, Megan Tandy, Scott Gow and Brendan Green had two penalties and used 11 spares before being lapped.

Dunklee got Team USA off to a strong start tagging Egan in first place at the exchange, directly ahead of Norway, Sweden, France and Switzerland. Egan suffered on the range in standing and tagged Bailey in 12th as he moved the squad back up to 10th place when he cleaned in standing with one extra shot. Burke steadily advanced up to eighth cleaning five shots in prone while using three spares in standing.

“No matter how well you’ve prepared, the first race of the season always creates a few extra nerves,” said Dunklee. “You just don’t know how you are going to stack up. I am pleased with my performance today, particularly my improvement in shooting speed. As a team we didn’t have a perfect day but it is clear that we have the ability to fight for a podium later in the season.”

Results here.