Recap: 2026 Junior Open European Championships

The 2026 Junior Open European Championships in Imatra, FIN saw four days of racing for the U.S. junior biathletes, featuring individual, relay, sprint, and mass start competitions against a deep international field.

Racing opened on Wednesday, January 21 with the individual events. The junior women took to the course first, led by Abigail Van Dorn, who delivered a strong performance to finish 24th, despite three misses on the range. Haley Finch followed in 50th with two misses on the day, while Alex Taylor placed 53rd with five misses. Annelise Baird finished 63rd, and Brenna Barton rounded out the results in 71st. In the men’s individual, Eric Anderson led the U.S. junior men with a 48th place finish, despite five misses on the day. Aidan Sands followed in 57th, also with five misses. Elias Watson finished 70th, Thomas Van De Kamp placed 80th, and Tristan Thrasher finished 88th.

Relay action followed on Thursday, January 22 with the mixed relay team of Baird, Finch, Sands, and Van De Kamp racing to a solid 12th place finish. The squad avoided the penalty loop, using a combined 13 spare rounds. Later in the day, the single mixed relay duo of Van Dorn and Anderson finished 13th, despite four laps around the penalty loop and 14 spare rounds used across their stages.

After a rest day on January 23, the juniors returned to the start line for sprint races on Saturday, January 24. In the women’s sprint, Baird led the U.S. in 40th with one miss in standing. Finch followed in 54th with clean shooting, Barton placed 57th with one miss in prone, Van Dorn finished 58th with two misses in each shooting stage, and Taylor landed in 69th after three misses in standing. On the men’s side, Anderson delivered the top U.S. result of the championships with a strong 19th place finish and clean shooting. Sands finished 58th with three misses, Thrasher placed 70th with one miss in prone, Watson finished 73rd with one miss in standing, and Van De Kamp followed closely in 74th with four misses.

The race weekend concluded on Sunday, January 25 with the mass start 60 events. Van Dorn again led the U.S. women, finishing 38th with three misses. Finch placed 45th with two misses, Taylor finished 56th, and Baird placed 60th. Anderson was the lone U.S. starter in the men’s mass start 60, racing to 39th, despite six misses on the range.

After two solid weeks of racing, the U.S. juniors head into a training period as they gear up for the 2026 Youth and Junior World Championships in Arber, GER, slated for February 28 - March 08, 2026.