SalamAkhi

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.

I was so wrong Very very impressive indeed on the skis, and above all her shooting may not be as erratic as it could. Didn't see her prone but 5/5, 36s, that's fair enough. Then the standing, with three mistakes of course but look at how she managed to put the last two, in 31s total which is quite decent. Will be very interesting to see her in a peloton (or alone then) and shooting in confrontation, but this performance is encouraging. Also really exciting as for the skiing abilities of the young IBU Cup guns

Same in France. In winter sports (meaning on snow here, kinda) most of the elite athletes are enrolled in the Gendarmerie, the land Army or the Customs.

Well, I think points with a 7/10 is maybe a bit far-fetched. She impressed in IBU Cup, skiing-wise, that's for sure, but the field was not as strong as usual. It was more or less a very strong Junior Cup. Without the Russians and with most of the Norwegian B-team in WC, only the Germans were fielding their "journeywomen", who are not the fastest out there. My call is she will be within 30-50s of the best ski time today. Considering her pedestrian shooting speed (44s in Idre) it's like she's starting with only 9 bullets, so "6/10" would be short of the top 40.

Bakken's problems are related to his third covid jab.

Lol. End of the joke.

The mighty Fijians have fallen ! too strong in the final minutes edges them out (20-17). First loss for in HK for the first time since 2014 ... overtakes for the bronze. Since their return, Samoa have qualified for every semi-final (5), only to finish 4th each time. Very interesting first tournament as a core team for without key players such as F.Etcheverry, T.Inciarte or B.Amaya. They win they "Shield", dominating their likely direct opponents towards relegation, and . So, with the new rules : at the moment would be relegated without ceremony, , and would play with the Challenger Series winner in a 4-teams tournament to keep their spot in the WS.

Xandra Velzeboer has just OBLITERATED the 500m WR by half a second 41.936 -> 41.416 And the times overall aren't this good, she's really standing out on her own. Her start is not particularly strong, I guess she could take a second off it in a mixed race.