Colchester, Vermont. If the 2004 Biathlon season was one of moving up, then the 2005 season was a further extension of that theme, as the US Biathlon Team continued its drive to international excellence and recognition.
The focus each year is the World Cup season. One of the goals for 2005 was: to start and finish fast, with a full December-March schedule. This would give the top US Biathletes every opportunity to score World Cup points and build Nations Cup points, while at the same time giving World Cup experience to development athletes.
Starting four women and three men in most competitions, the US amassed significantly higher Nations Cup points than 2004. This came in a year when more nations than ever were jockeying for starts at the upcoming Torino Olympic Winter Games. The big jump came from the women’s team as they moved up from 16th with 2103 points last year to 14th with 2954 points in 2005. Likewise, the US men were 18th with 2115 points in 2004, moving to 17th with 2566 points this year. This gives the US three starters and a relay team for both men and women in World Cups and at the Olympics. With Jay Hakkinen and Rachel Steer both ranked in the World Cup top 50, the US will have an additional starter for both men and women in World Cups and at the Olympics.
Once
again, Hakkinen and Steer created much of the excitement for the US Biathlon
Team. Hakkinen, after two years training on his own, once again teamed up
with Coach Algis Shalna. The result was the best season by a US male biathlete
in years. Hakkinen had many goals, but the two big ones were pre-qualifying
for Torino and a top eight finish.
Armed with a strong aerobic base that turned into fast skiing and superb standing shooting, by January 16, 2005, Hakkinen had checked these two goals off his list. First came the 7th place in the Ostersund10K Sprint. With only one penalty on the day, he was a mere 36.9 seconds out of the top spot. Hakkinen praised the wax technicians for his fast skis and commented, “As soon as I started, I had that feeling in my skis. ”Ever the realist, he added, “ I just have to try to keep putting it together.’
The Kasilof, Alaska native did just that, picking up his second top 15 finish (US Olympic Men’s Biathlon pre-qualifying standard) on January 16 in Ruhpolding, Germany. His 15th in the 12.5K Pursuit gave him reason to smile; he had climbed back to the top of the mountain in the two years since severe tonsillitis basically destroyed his 2003 season. His reaction to qualifying, “As I came towards the finish, I saw on the scoreboard that Rottman (who was 5 seconds in front of him) was 14th, and then I realized I had it."
Hakkinen finished his season, ranked 33rd in the World Cup overall, with 18th place in the World Championships Sprint, three top 15 finishes while cracking the top 30 on 16 occasions. His third top 15 came at the Olympic venue in San Sicario, Italy with a 14th place in the 10K Sprint. Hakkinen gave his impressions of the Olympic venue after that competition. “The San Sicario (Olympic Biathlon) tracks suit me perfectly. They are great for a strong climber like me.”
Fellow Alaskan Rachel Steer had her second big season in a row. She finished 36th in the World Cup overall for the second year, amassing 123 points, 21 more points than in 2004. In almost every category, Steer was outstanding. She picked up 13 top 30 finishes (compared to 10 in 2004), with three of these at the Biathlon World Championships. Her 17th place in the World Championships 10K Pursuit punctuated her growing maturity as a well-rounded biathlete. Steer, many times in the past depended on her shooting to provide the stimulus to high finishes, but several times this year it was her skiing that made the difference. After the 17th place, she commented, “My skis were so good…. It was awesome just gliding past people all day. It was fun.”
The World Championships came in the middle of Steer’s brilliant run of 10 top 30 finishes in 12 starts, culminating with 12th place (equaling her personal best World Cup performance) in the World Cup Final Mass Start in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. The competition in Khanty was another display of quiet resolve from the 27-year-old biathlete. She cleaned both prone stages for the first time this year to put herself solidly in the top 15 before standing. Picking up one penalty in each visit to standing, she skied faster on each loop, and was in 8th place with 800 meters to go although outkicked in the final 200 meters, she was closer to a top 10 finish than ever before. , “I really wanted 10th place today. They caught me on that last ramp. You know, I only have one speed. They had just a bit more. But this sure is a much better note to end the season on than the Pursuit (46th place).” Once again, Steer challenged the best women in the world, and served notice that they could be looking at her back in 2006.
Beyond the overall team efforts and the achievements of Steer and Hakkinen, there were additional reasons for smiles in the US Biathlon camp.
Jeremy
Teela again showed that he could be a factor at the World Cup level. He topped
Hakkinen while placing 20th in the Ostersund Pursuit, his best result of the
season. Most of the year, Teela and Hakkinen were skiing within seconds of
each other. The difference was on the shooting range where Teela struggled
early in the season. His shooting came around for his annual run for the top
10 in the World Championships 10K Sprint. He finished 22nd, with two penalties,
only 39.4 seconds from the top eight and 5.2 seconds behind Hakkinen. Teela
finished the season with six top 30 results, picking up four of them in the
final seven competitions. This solid improvement on 2004 gives the US men
two strong competitors for podium spots on any given day.
Jill Krause Beste also took a step forward this season. Although she did not reach the levels of 2003 (25th in the World Championships Sprint), she had seven top 40 finishes and a 28th place in the Oberhof 7.5K Sprint, major improvements from the previous year. Like Teela, Krause Beste skied well all season, and is poised for to be more competitive in 2006.
Beyond these top four athletes, there were more reasons for excitement and anticipation, as several young biathletes continue to improve each year. Both Lanny and Tracy Barnes matured into solid World Cup competitors. After not qualifying for the World Championships, Tracy made the most of her limited World Cup and Europa Cup opportunities. She had two top 25 finishes in the Sprint and Pursuit at Pokljuka, and later shot clean to win the Super Sprint at the final Europa Cup.
At the same time, sister Lanny toiled on the World Cup circuit, picking up valuable experience, while closely missing the top 30 on several occasions. She excelled in the 15K Individual competition with 39th in Antholz, 42nd at San Sicario, and 44th at the World Championships. Lanny’s poise and solid shooting under pressure show a growing maturity that will carry her steadily up in the result’s lists.
On the men’s side of the ledger, Tim Burke raced for most of the season on the World Cup circuit. Although the poster boy for hard luck this season (impacted tooth, falls, viral infection, and the flu), he made his second World Championship’s team and showed continued improvement. His best days were at the Pokljuka World Cup where he had personal best finishes with 37th in the 10K sprint and 40th in the 12.5K Pursuit. Burke’s 66th place in the World Championships 10K Sprint is actually a much better result than the place indicates, as he was only 2:33 out of first place. In many World Cup Sprints, this would easily put him in the top 40.
With the efforts of these athletes and others, the US had another very good World Cup year and is well positioned for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
The season for most of the Junior National Team did not turn out as hoped for. The late March dates for the World Championships found many of the athletes beyond their peaks and fighting illness. On the plus side of the ledger, there were some exciting developments, as several athletes made excellent improvements in shooting. Four athletes: Annelies Cook, Sonne Nordgren, Brynden Manbeck, and Kevin Padzoldt had encouraging results. Padzoldt had a 91.4% shooting for the season and several top 20 finishes in Europa Cups. Annilies Cook picked up a 6th place in the Garmisch Europa Cup and 29th in the Junior Pursuit at the World Championships.
Nordgren and Manbeck were the top US performers at the World Championships. After missing months of training due to illness, Nordgren was 23rd in the Individual and 24th in the Pursuit. She also moved way up in her shooting going from 55% in 04 to 71.4% this year. Manbeck equaled Nordgren ’s best result with 23rd in the Youth Pursuit, while having the eighth fastest ski time that day. Although many of these athletes will move to the senior ranks, Coach Vladimir Cervenka has a several returnees and-will bring a strong focused group to the Junior World Championships next year in Presque Isle, Maine.
Beyond the competitive arena, US Biathletes were in the news from Maine to Alaska in both the print and electronic media.
Media coverage was once again strong for the US Trials in Fort Kent, and the Junior Trials at Presque Isle as well as in the hometowns of our World Cup competitors. With many athletes training at the Maine Winter Sports Center In Fort Kent, biathlon was in the news all winter in the Northeast. The announcement that Banknorth of Portland Maine had become title sponsor for the US Biathlon Team created a buzz in both the sports and business sections across the US. Likewise the success of Alaskans Hakkinen and Steer streamed almost daily from the pages of the Anchorage Daily News.
In the electronic media, US Biathlon debuted a new website and continued its World Cup Biathlon series each week on the Outdoor Life Network. The new website received more hits than expected and has become the place for up to date news and photos of our team in competition. It will continue to evolve as this year unfolds with new features and sections. . We expect traffic to continue to build as the Olympic Winter Games approach
The OLN World Cup Biathlon series, produced by Emmy Award winning Kent Gordis and hosted by Bob Papa and Chad Salmela, brings the excitement of biathlon direct from Europe into US living rooms. The program was once again tapped by the European Broadcast Union to be distributed to sports networks for broadcast in Asia, the South Pacific and Africa. Biathlon on OLN has gained a solid and growing audience in the US, as our athletes vie for top finishes.
The US Biathlon showed continued growth and improvement across the board this season. In the 2001 pre-Olympic season, the US had no athletes in the top 50, while we now have two with Hakkinen at 33rd and Steer at 36th. Only three athletes scored World Cup Points that year and five did so this season. Our Nations Cup Points are at all time highs. The program now has a solid sponsor base led by title sponsor Banknorth and supported by adidas, Lapua, and Exel. Likewise, we get significant media coverage in print and on television and have a heavily visited exciting website. Conclusion---2005 was another banner year and US Biathlon is moving on up!
US Biathlon 2005 Outstanding Individuals
Stars
of the Year:
Jay Hakkinen—7th place finish in the Ostersund World
Cup, pre-qualification for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, and 33rd place World
Ranking (his highest ever) added exclamation points to an outstanding season
Rachel Steer---another rock solid season capped with a stirring 12th place finish (equaling her World Cup personal best) in the World Cup Final Mass Start and 17th place (personal best) in the World Championships Pursuit competition.
Rising Stars:
Lanny Barnes—qualified for World Championships and
had several strong results in Individual competitions; one of the fastest
shooters in World Cup Biathlon
Tracy Barnes—top 25 finishes in both the Sprint and
Pursuit at the Pokljuka World Cup—a level some World Cup athletes never
reach in a career, let alone in one of only two World Cup starts this season!
The Season’s Defining Moment:
Jay Hakkinen’s 7th Place podium finish at Ostersund---the first time
a US biathlete has been on a World Cup podium since 2001 (also Hakkinen) and
further proof that Hakkinen has returned to top form and will be a medal threat
every time he leaves the starting gate. This effort reaffirmed that US Biathlon
is continuing to make progress to the upper ranks of the sport.