RobtheAggie

Irene Cadurisch will not race again this season.

Olena and Yuliia Hrdona from Ukraine will compete in Estonia. They were able to get to Poland prior to the invasion and the Czech biathlon federation will support them. They are 20 and 17 years old and from Lviv.

So I wonder how much the absence of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Korea and China will have on the Nation's Cup, and allocations for next season. I think that Ukraine, Belarus and Russia will all drop. The question will be, will it be so far that they lose a spot. I can see Ukraine doing so. I do not think that Russia and Belarus will drop out of the top 10 for the women. Russia and Belarus will most likely drop out of the top 5, and possible all three out of the top 10.

Congrats to Carrara, Erdal, and Colombo for their top finishes in the Women's Sprint. If Tara Geraghty-Moats can ever hit the target she could be really good. Good to see Taiwan. Super Sprints and Mass Start 60's to go.

Erik Lesser has announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Dale wins! He won the IBU Cup Sprint today in Lenzerheide today. Stroemsheim took 2nd. With Bogetveit in 4th, he was 3 seconds out of 3rd. If there was a pursuit scheduled, which there was not, all US men would have made it. I can not remember the last time on the IBU Cup that this happened. Scott Lacy had a PB 27th place. There were athletes from Serbia, Spain, Mexico, Greece, Bosnia and 3 from Denmark. The Rosbo brothers as well as Jens Hulgaard. Mexican Biathlete had his best shooting day ever with only 5 penalties and placed 78th. This was his best placing ever. Granted there were only 78 in the race, and he finished 19:37 behind Dale. But it was his best race ever.

Mona Brosson has tested positive for COVID 19, she has been replaced by Johanna Skottheim. China has not been given permission to leave the country after the Olympics, so they will not be racing in the last three races. That means the following countries are done with their seasons - Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Korea and China Said OEB - "It's dramatic for Chinese biathlon and I'm very disappointed, they will lose all the IBU points they had acquired, they will have to start from scratch and it's really not good." Asked if he and Daria will stay on for another term as coaches in China "I don't know at all, we have to talk privately with the family, with them, and we'll see. For the moment, no decision has been made."

France takes the Junior men, with Italy in 2nd and Norway 3rd.

Tom Lahaye-Goffart of Belgium has announced his retirement.

Those are great prices.

Youth relays today. US Youth Men are somehow 3rd seed.

Either Dale or promote the other Andersen brother.

US with a good showing, three in the 20s. Wes Campbell with 5 misses but only 1:56 behind. He had the 6th fastest course time. Congrats to Kulbin. You have to sort of feel bad for the three who did not make the pursuit. The two from Belgium were at least a min out of 60th place, one was almost 3 min.

Swedish team for Kontiolahti: Women: Hanna Oeberg Elvira Oeberg Linn Persson Mona Brorsson Anna Magnusson Stina Nilsson Men: Peppe Femling Oskar Brandt Malte Stefansson - No idea who this one is. Jesper Nelin Martin Ponsiluoma Sebastian Samuelsson

For people who want to be informed of how the Ukrainian invasion has affected biathlon and the Nordic world, this is a great list of news that is updated as more comes available. The newest are at the top.

And another one, Denise Herrmann has announced that she will decide on her career "in peace and at the right time for me. The 2023 home World Cup in Oberhof can be a great motivation, as an active athlete usually only experiences something like this once in his career. But if I continue, the overall package has to be right, I have to be convinced of the composition of the team." She has committed to finish out this season.

US did decent. Sure they shot terribly, but Bonacci missed 5 and was only 4:15 back. Germain was 5:48 back but missed 7 shots and Bjorn Westvelt missed 10 shots and was 9:36 back. Burkhart who shot the best was over 8 min back.

Kontiolahti has announced that they are bidding to host the 2027 World Championships. The 2026 Championships will also be awarded at the next IBU Congress (September 2022).

Benny Weger has announced that he will retire at the end of the Season. I had hoped he would hang on until Switzerland hosted the World Championships. He is skipping the stop in Kontiolahti, but will race in Estonia and Oslo.

2022 Junior Nations Individual - Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden, United States 2021 Junior Nations Individual - Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, United States Junior Women's Individual - 57 Total entries - I wonder if Hannah Auchentaller (ITA) is the daughter of Armin Archentaller, US Coach? Junior Men's Individual - 79 Total entries

Very interesting top 10. 9 different nations represented, and the duplicate is Germany. 3 medals for Germany on the first day, well done. Only 56 finished the race for the Youth Women. Campbell Wright is starting #1 for the Junior Men's Individual. Quite a few WC starts for the Junior Individual.

Jakov Fak has announced that he plans on returning next season.

As an update, Wierer's coach is retiring at the end of the season, and Simon Eder has announced he will do one more season.

I was thinking about Bjoerndalen and Domrachava's daughter.