SalamAkhi

Did (not) age well.

: Knotten is a reliable athlete, low ceiling but strong enough to make the cut and a secure option for the relays. I reckon Arnekleiv has guaranteed herself a spot now. Then Lien, Johansen, Erdal, Femsteinevik. : They have been very cautious with Tilda Johansson but I think it's time she makes it to the WC team. Brorsson is 32 and her form this year has been underwhelming. Skottheim is a tad younger, it seems she's in the staff's good graces but her shape is highly inconsistent and the good results very scarce lately. Will they try to make some room for Sara Andersson, whose development this year has not been as expected ? : Carrara's shooting is still erratic, but her speed could make up for it ... if no one emerges. Zingerle has stalled, Fauner, Trabucchi or Scattolo are too soft at the moment. : Braisaz will be back. So her, Simon, ACB (but she could well call it a career this week), Chevalier (who talked about retiring last year, she probably changed her mind with this "breakthrough" season) and Jeanmonnot. Chauveau and Colombo (fast skiers but not quite reliable on the range) will be in balance with Botet and Guigonnat (WC ceiling seems high for her but same applied for Jeanmonnot and look where she's now). Richard could get in the mix, but not before Autumn. Same goes for Bondoux, not precise enough.

That's the point. You seem bewildered about Repinc's evolution just to praise to the skies the most precocious athlete immediately after. Sometimes I think "OK this one is particularly mature. Maybe his/her progression will be hampered by whatever, but if he/she only manages to have a constant curve he/she will be one of the best in a few years time" ... and it just doesn't happen.

Well, all three are pretty much established as, at least, competent IBU Cup athletes, if not WC. So no big surprise to find them here, they were in the mix as a dozen others before the race. Overall the Norwegians are not particularly dominant (often the case at this age group), only Nevland and Frey have been seen outside of Norway (which is telling about their abilities in itself), with very decent results but not enough to deem them as n°1 favorites. No Russians also. The French are particularly poor this year. Combined with the performances in the IBU I fear we might have to reduce our expectations in the near future, but that's something to be expected as French biathlon has a lean production process. Repinc has had recurring health issues. But I don't consider Slovenia as an "exotic" nation and I reckon they have the means to get athletes to the top level. Maybe below what could be achieved if the athlete was German, but still. And look at Sara Andersson, just like Repinc she was the next big thing two or three years ago ... and she's Swedish. In fact a lot of young athletes never make it to the senior level. But the bigger nations' pool is wider, with more promising athletes. We're biased because we tend to remember the couple of ones who fulfilled the expectations while failed talents fall into oblivion. The umpteenth Norwegian is more easily forgotten than the one and only Serbian. Overall building expectations over such young athletes is more often than not destined to fail. Particularly young women, with early puberty, unknown margin for progression, most of the time unknown workload, unavoidable health issues ...

Track cycling : Mikhail Yakovlev to

Argentina looks strong and consistent. They will probably qualify at this point if they manage to get to the QF in HK. Pools are out and could do some huge damages : A : B : C : D : B and C look quite straightforward, but Uruguay does have a positive record against GB and Spain-USA are always down to the wire. Making it to the QF would be a gigantic step towards maintaining their spot in the World Series. Uruguay have beaten Fiji, NZ and SA in the span of 7 tournaments (I think it took more than 20 years for France to beat NZ and the W are as rare as you could get) but failing to make the quarters in most of these situations, which is harsh. And let's talk about the horrible ending of Spain-USA ... Spain butchered a QF by failing to shoot the conversion. Literally. A and D on the other hand ... which one of Fiji and Samoa get into the top 4 doesn't really matter as long as NZ and Australia are in too. That last Australian try vs Ireland in the pool stage proved to be VERY costly for Canada. They were on the brink of qualifying for the QF, thus scoring at least 10 points ... and ended up dead last. They're now trailing far behind. South Africa are back to their worst and they better tidy things up or the qualification will get away from them.

Same in France. No lol just kidding of course it doesn't, we rely on sheer luck to grab some talents in individual sports (like Mathilde Gros, former basket-ball player, detected when she tried a watt bike for fun). Paris 2024 here we come. Canada does the same with the RBC Training Ground.

We know Duplantis was not there, no need to remind it every 30s. As we say here "les absents ont toujours tort", congrats to the winner.

France in a medal position after 6 laps out of 8, who would have thought ? 4th at best but

South Africa keeps its place in the top 4 but had Uruguay beaten Canada, they would have had a very bad week-end. I feel the field is more leveled than ever, that's probably why NZ is faring so well. They are usually the more consistent team out there (with South Africa) and they are now building on this to ensure an olympic spot. Any team can miss the Cup and reshuffle the rankings, things can change very quickly. The USA and Ireland are not in the best position at the moment but we're only just passed the halfway point. The current ranking is not ideal in terms of top team representation though. With Argentina and South Africa in, Uruguay (Chile ?) and Kenya (Uganda ?) have a free bye to the Games, whilst Samoa/Australia and Ireland/GB/(Spain ?) will have to battle it out. This means at least one top 10 team out of the O.G. I hope Japan will not make it to the Olympics, looks like they are not even trying.

First, Norway was aware of its 6 quotas in the Men's sprint, but not with the pathway you describe. They had 5 guys in the top 15 + an individual quota. 6 guys were expected to start before F.F.Andersen had to withdraw. They decided not to replace him at first, but then sent Stroemsheim. For the women it's all on the IBU. No one knew how it worked before the "clarification". Actually it seems the IBU changed their minds after a German request for a larger interpretation of the "top 15 rule", hence the surprise. https://twitter.com/zigystardust77/status/1623786050811207680

fielding a Women's Team Sprint ... with Rachele Barbieri, the fastest of the endurance riders. Probably because there is no Elena Bissolati. Of course Vece is in here, with Giada Capobianchi, who's a decent young sprinter. deciding not to try and qualify a Women's Team Pursuit. Odd choice given the recent progress of this young team. Leaves the door open for another country.

Thea Lafond is a triple-jumper. Unequal chances in this lot : also has Lana Pudar (Women's 100/200m Butterfly) and, though a long shot now, Amel Tuka (Men's 800m). is a fair bet. Let's see how Alfred does in Budapest first. is a decent one. Probably less likely now than it was a few years back but McMaster remains one of the best. Problems are : he's struggling with injuries, and the competition will not allow him any leeway. alright. But Gega is not that young though she's at her best at the moment. Women's 3000m steeple is usually quite open when it comes to big competitions, but she'll have a hard time getting a medal. Others are highly unlikely.

And don't forget the Tallinn Combined Events Well it's the Meeting de l'Eure, in Val de Reuil

I know this seems strange but it's Roeiseland, not Steiner, for the last spot.

Rastorgujevs throwing away a potential win on the last shoot in an individual, how unusual

19/20 for Laegreid

No way PNG wins that match, even less with Samoa's current level. But having the 4 Oceanians teams qualified through the World Series is not out of the picture.

As for Vittozzi's prone, it appears her shooting was actually "good", very concentrated but just on the, wrong, edge.

Great showing from Maya Cloetens nearly getting points in a sprint with 8/10 on her debut ...

Dude, winning relay golds with Norway is like a German winning in luge, nobody cares. Also considering how far back was Boe after Oberhof your point is off track.

Don't want to seem overly patriotic but why does Johannes Boe appear multiple time in the nominees and not Quentin Fillon-Maillet ? At the Olympics (individual events of course) they're even, with a slight edge for QFM (2-1-0) vs JTB (2-0-1). Apart from the Olympics QFM won 6 races in 2022, JT Boe 4 and last but not least QFM clinched the 2022 Big Crystal Globe.

Well I know it so it doesn't work

He's not far off the truth

The rest of the team could match these performances soon. Polona Klemenčič is establishing herself as a more than decent skier, 15th ski time today, almost getting points while shooting at 7 ... Of course Repinc is a star in the making, but when will she make her individual debut in the WC ? Then you have Zorc, K.Vindisar, with Z.Klemenčič doing the job.