2025-26 Youth & Junior Season Recap: The Next Generation Shows Progress and Depth

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The 2025-26 season showcased continued progress and depth across the U.S. Biathlon youth and junior pipeline, with athletes gaining valuable international racing experience in Latvia, Finland, and Germany this winter. From the IBU Junior Cup and Junior Open European Championships to the season’s pinnacle at the Youth and Junior World Championships, the next generation of U.S. biathletes demonstrated steady development and promising results across all age categories.


Building Experience on the Junior IBU Cup Circuit


The international season began with competitions on the Junior IBU Cup circuit, including racing in Madona, LAT and Imatra, FIN. These early season races provided key development opportunities for U.S. athletes competing under pressure against top junior fields from across Europe. Highlighting the junior races In just her second international race, Abigail Van Dorn delivered two of the team’s standout performances, racing to 13th place in the sprint in Madona, shooting a perfect 10 for 10 on the range, and 24th in the individual in Imatra, despite three misses on the range.


Championship Racing at Youth & Junior Worlds


The season culminated at the 2026 Youth and Junior World Championships in Arber, GER, where U.S. athletes competed across individual, sprint, relay, and mass start 60 events against the world’s top emerging talent.


Several athletes produced breakthrough results:

  • Aidan Sands led the U.S. youth men with a 14th place finish in the individual, marking an international personal best, and later added a strong 21st place in the mass start 60

  • Noor Erickson delivered another top U.S. result with an 18th place finish in the youth women’s sprint, also a personal best

  • Abigail Van Dorn continued her strong season with 23rd place in the junior women’s sprint, highlighted by clean shooting

  • Annelise Baird secured a 25th place finish in the youth mass start 60

  • John Lohuis led the U.S. youth men in the sprint with 26th place

  • Linus Arstad recorded a strong 32nd place finish in the junior mass start 60

  • Reine Soule led the youth women in the individual with a 35th place result


A major highlight of the championship was the number of athletes qualifying for mass start 60 races at Youth and Junior Worlds, with 8 of 16 U.S. athletes earning qualification, a significant step forward compared to just three qualifiers in both 2024 and 2025. Notably, the U.S. qualified athletes in every age category, underscoring the growing strength and depth of the development pipeline.