RobtheAggie

@brunamoura Is the qualification for the 30k different than other events?

Another option is find a university special collections library that focuses on the Olympics. You could also simply donate it to the college you graduated from with the requirement that it becomes searchable. You could also try and contact NASSH.org. They could provide some contacts as well. Possibly an article out of it as well. That organization has the largest group of historians of sports in North America.

Three former Russian biathletes change nationalities to Moldova. Pavel Magazeyev, Andrei Usov and Alina Stremous According to the article: The athletes did not need permissions for their transfer from the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) and the International Biathlon Union (IBU) since they never competed as part of the Russian senior national team. It also seems that Ekaterina Shumilova also wanted to move change to Moldova, but that will not happen.

What about LA84?

A short article where Khovantsev shares a few thoughts. One thing that is telling is that he does not shy away from doping. He insinuates that resent results are partly to blame because athletes who grew up in a doping culture are trying to adjust to a non-world. In essence, there was a strong doping culture in the Soviet/Russian biathlon team(s).

Maybe Birkeland can find a grandparent from another country so he could switch. We would take him here in the US. Back to the 1200 shots a day. Is it a finances thing that Sweden can/is doing this and others do not? Or is it a methodology. Just wondering.

Those are two strong teams. I guess if you know who the best are, just go ahead and announce it.

That really puts it into perspective. Looks like there are a few someones in Sweden who really want her to succeed. How long would 1200 shots take?

OK, so more is coming out about this. Dracheva is accused of using funds to help his wife. Allegedly, his wife had a personal driver paid for by by the Russian Biathlon Union. Also, it looks like that the Russian Biathlon Union is going to run out of money by Fall 2020.

More news out of Sweden, the biathlon national team manager Anders Byström has left and has joined the Swedish National Cross Country team in the same role.

A few random news and notes: 1. US Biathlon recently signed an agreement with Paul Smith's College a very small college near Lake Placid to allow Youth Biathletes to go to college there, and train for biathlon. This is the first program of its kind in the US. Most athletes who wanted to continue biathlon anywhere near full-time had to decide to not attend college and go to a year residency program in places like Ft Kent, ME or Presque Isle, ME. There are a few others, but these were the biggest. If they were lucky, they could have been selected to the US Buathlon X team (developmental team) housed in Lake Placid. The other option was to leave biathlon for 4 years, focus on cross county skiing and go to college and ski cross county at one of the 40 or so schools that have a cross county team. This agreement with Paul Smiths will provide economic assistance for those looking to continue biathlon with their studies. It could be a game changer for the program. But it will take about a decade to see the changes it can make. The first biathlete, Laura Farra, daughter of a former Olympic Nordic Skier, is the first to take advantage of this. 2. Russian Biathlon President Vladimir Dracheva is under serious pressure to resign. In recent years, the team has not performed well on the tracks as well as with sponsorships. With what is arguably the most popular sport in Russia, Dracheva has failed to secure some main sponsors for the team. Yes, the ban on hosting races has hurt, But there is a growing feeling that a change needs to me made. I do not pretend to understand all of the factors going on here, but on the surface it seems that people are upset at the lack of results, lack of sponsorship money and are looking to blame Dracheva.

It is good to see some humor during a challenging time. By the way, this is the best April Fools Day joke ever: And another one of my favorite one:

This would be a very interesting change if it happened. I would make the individual race even more different. I would live to see how the classic would look going up some of the really steep hills around 18-20k for the men, or 13-14 k for the women.

Anastasia Khaliullina has been hospitalized with suspected Covid19. She won the Individual and was 2nd in the relay at the Junior Worlds. She insists that the test was a mistake and that she does not have the virus.

In the Swis-German dialect, anything with -li at the end is the diminutive form. I have no idea what Wu is but I bet that is where they are headed with the name. Something small.

Hippolyt Kempf has been named the head of the Nordic section of the Swiss Ski Association. It also looks like Sweden is not a happy place right now. Possible more defections to biathlon.

If the 2020/21 season starts as it should, we could see some very rested athletes. That could lead for some very good races.

Biathlon is the setting for a new non-fiction book that I was sent. Anyone up for a book club? To be clear, this is not my normal type of books that I read. But I thought it interesting that Biathlon from Australia is the setting for a spy/romance book. Triple terror Author: A K Leigh Publisher: [Sydney] : Escape Publishing, 2019. Edition/Format: eBook : Document : Fiction : EnglishView all editions and formats Summary: The Farris triplets are taking their cold case business international... When no-nonsense police officer and champion biathlete, Nina Farris, is approached by the Australian Federal Police to stop a suspected terror attack at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, she is hesitant. Even knowing her identical triplet sisters, Lizzie and Carrie, will be there to help with the investigation does nothing to ease her anxiety. Because, there is one competitor she absolutely does not wish to see . . . Andrei Strasinski, Russian secret agent, has been commanded to use his dual citizenship and go undercover to compete for the Australian Winter Olympic biathlon team. Which means competing closely with the one woman he can't forget - the one he betrayed. Tormented by his dark past and the lies he was forced to tell Nina whilst undercover, he knows he must come clean about everything, even if it means turning her away from him forever. With the terrorist closing in, friends in peril, and time running out, Nina and Andrei will have to face their history to stop the bomber and earn the chance of a future

Serious question here. How much will the inability to start summer training affect the 2020/2021 season. Do you think that we can expect some slower times at the beginning of the season as athletes will not be able to do their normal summer workouts. No travel to glaciers, or New Zealand, etc to train. Any thoughts?

Mario Dolder of Switzerland has retired. The #2 or #3 Swiss male in recent years.

Max Cobb of US Biathlon gives a good interview.

Some good news for US Biathlon. They have established training facility with Paul Smith's College.

There is speculation that Loginov will retire. He denied that. By the way, every time I see his name, I think of the Hunt for Red October. We meet the cook early in the movie, his name was Loginov.

Like him or not, I am grateful to have seen him compete. Two major stars retire in the last two years on the men's side. Some of the most decorated ever.

US withdrew due to impending travel ban.