Oberhof Racing Concludes With Solid Performance from Women’s Relay Team

The U.S. Biathlon women’s team with Armin Auchentaller, Emil Bormetti and Lucia Biermaier following the women’s relay in Oberhof, Germany.

After a delayed start to the race weekend in Oberhof, Germany with rain and strong winds creating challenging conditions for the athletes, the U.S. Biathlon Team was able to pull off clean shooting, pursuit qualifications and strong relay performances. The focus now turns to this weekend’s races in Ruhpolding, Germany, which will kick off with the women’s relay on Wednesday, followed by the men’s relay, sprint and pursuit races, spread over five days.

In the opening sprint race in Oberhof, Chloe Levins (Rutland, VT/ Team Crosscut) impressed with a clean shooting in her first race of the World Cup season. Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI / Army World Class Athlete Program) skied to 46th after three misses in the standing shoot to qualify for the 10km pursuit. Irwin finished 49th in the pursuit hitting 16 of 20 targets.

The highlight of the weekend came on Sunday, with the team of Jackie Garso (Lake Clear, NY / Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, WA / Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Irwin and Levins fighting for a top 10 in the women’s relay. Each athlete put in an impressive leg to finish in 11th, and are eagerly looking towards the opening relay in Ruhpolding.

The men’s team qualified three athletes in the pursuit for the second straight World Cup. In the 10km sprint, Jake Brown (St. Paul, MN / Craftsbury Green Racing Project) led the group in 46th, with Sean Doherty (Center Conway, NH / National Guard Biathlon) and Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL / U.S. Biathlon) following in 54th and 58th. Wright made up the most ground in the pursuit, jumping 21 spots to finish 37th with two missed shots. Doherty followed suit, gaining 11 places to cross the line in 43rd, with Brown rounding out the bunch in 55th.

Sean Doherty (USA), Miha Dovzan (SLO), Tero Seppala (FIN), (l-r) – IBU World Cup Biathlon, pursuit men in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)

World Cup 5 in Ruhpolding will feature the women’s team of Irwin, Dickinson, Levins and Garso and the men’s team of Doherty, Brown, Wright and Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, UT / Team Crosscut). For information on the IBU App and live stream, visit www.usbiathlon.org/how-to-watch. For spectator resources, please visit usbiathlon.org/spectator-resources.

World Cup 5 – Ruhpolding, Germany

January 10

Women’s 4x6km Relay 8:30 EST/ 2:30 CET

January 11

Men’s 4×7.5km Relay 8:30 EST/ 2:30 CET

January 12

Women’s 7.5km Sprint 8:30 EST/ 2:30 CET

January 13

Men’s 10km Sprint 8:30 EST/ 2:30 CET

January 14

Women’s 10km Pursuit 6:30 EST/ 12:30 CET

Men’s 12.5km Pursuit 8:45 EST/ 2:45 CET

About U.S. Biathlon

As the Olympic sports organization centered around the sport of biathlon, the United States Biathlon Association, known as U.S. Biathlon, is recognized by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as the national federation for biathlon in the United States. Founded in 1980, U.S. Biathlon exists to support and encourage the development of biathlon in the United States, to work with biathlon clubs and regional centers around the country to organize training and competition from the grassroots to elite level, and to prepare athletes for international competition. U.S. Biathlon staffs and finances the U.S. Biathlon national and junior national teams and is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. For more information, visit usbiathlon.org.

Media Contact

Sara Donatello

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