Pokljuka (Bled), Slovenia, March 12. Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK), under very harsh, windy conditions, moved the US from 23rd position to 18th at the finish today, with a strong anchor leg in which he needed only two extra rounds to clean.

The US, with three penalties and 16 extra rounds, finished 8:13.6 behind Russia, who had only one penalty and 10 extra rounds. Ole Einar Björndalen pulled Norway to second place from 10th position at the start of his leg. Norway, with three penalties and 16 extra rounds, (same as the US Team) finished 53.6 seconds back, 1:04.5 ahead of France.

After “dodging the bullet” in regards to the weather for the three previous competition days, the Pokljuka organizing committee’s luck ran out today. Sunday dawned with light snow in Bled, but 800 meters higher at Pokljuka, the light snow was falling horizontally as a strong front approached from the north with winds up to 60km per hour. This resulted with continual moderate drifting on the tracks and a day that was more than challenging on the shooting range. Banners and mats were flapping in the winds and spectators and officials did their best to find some shelter from the biting winds.

Despite these less than spectacular conditions, 25 teams toed the line for the second Mixed Relay World Championships.

Rachel Steer (Anchorage, AK) led off for the US. Always strong in relays, Steer’s experience showed today. She needed all three extra rounds to clean prone, but showed patience, as she waited for the wind to subside to just below gale force to take her shots. In standing, she again waited and needed only one extra round. Her strong shooting put the team in 12th position as she tagged Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY).

Bailey faced some of the strongest extended gusts of the day, as several banners ripped from a fence as he shot prone. He spent a lot of time trying to wait out the wind, but still took a penalty on both prone and standing. Bailey commented, “I kept waiting out there and the wind never let up. It was like a hurricane all of the time!” He tagged Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) in 22nd position.

Barnes needed all of the extra rounds in both prone, and took one penalty. Like Bailey, she shot in a period when the wind blew the snow into almost whiteout conditions. In standing, Barnes shot fast, used the extra rounds to clean, passing to Jay Hakkinen in 23rd.

Hakkinen once again showed he is one the best male biathletes in the world. With the wind howling, he came to prone, settled in, shot five shots, hit five targets and was gone, moving up two positions. In standing, he shot with equal confidence, but needed two extra rounds to clean. He passed Canada on the shooting range and Finland on the final loop to bring the US home in 18th place. Hakkinen had the seventh fastest time for the anchor leg.

Assessing the competition after the finish, US Biathlon Development Coach James Upham who works at the Maine Winter Sports Center commented, “We had to look at today as an adventure. Even with very tough conditions, it was fun for the athletes. We have good enough people that in the future, we can be very competitive in this event.”

The Mixed Relay ended the week in Pokljuka. The next competitions for the US Biathlon team will be next Thursday in Kontiolahti, Finland.

The United States Biathlon Association is the National Governing Body for the sport of Biathlon in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Biathlon Union. The US Biathlon Association supports the US Biathlon Team and development of the sport on all levels within the United States.