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Jan. 27, 2009 Summary: Canmore, Alberta, Canada, January 27. After several days of acclimation, testing skis, and braving extreme temperatures, the athletes finally take the stage on Wednesday at the 2009 Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships. Canmore, Alberta, Canada, January 27. After several days of acclimation, testing skis, and braving extreme temperatures, the athletes finally take the stage on Wednesday at the 2009 Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships. Conditions are expected to be very pleasant after the extreme temperatures of recent days. The forecast calls for high temperatures near minus two with sunny skies. Unfortunately, with warmer temperatures comes wind, which will add to the challenge of the 1400-meter altitude of the Canmore venue. Competition opens with the Youth 12.5K Individual competition at 10 AM MST (1800 CET) followed by the Junior Men 15K Individual at 13:30 MST (21:30 CET). The Youth Women 10K Individual starts the program on Thursday, followed by the Junior Women 12.5K Individual, with the same time schedule. The US Team is both well prepared and acclimated according to Coach Vladimir Cervenka. Most of the athletes have been here for 5-6 days. Cervenka said that the two top US men (Junior Category), Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN) and Wynn Roberts (Battle Lake, MN) were feeling better. Cervenka commented. “We missed some planned workouts due to the extreme cold over the weekend (minus 32 Celsius), so the guys felt a bit sluggish on Monday. Now, especially in the warmer (minus 8 Celsius), they felt a lot better. The key for them as well as the Youth Men tomorrow is the shooting. This can be a tricky range when it is windy.” The US will have four starters in the Youth Individual competition. Ethan Dreissigacker (Morrisville, VT) was the top Youth finisher in the World Championships last year. Cervenka feels he is much stronger this year. Along with Dreissigacker, the US will start Preston Butler (Marion, MA), Raleigh Goessling (Duluth, MN), and Nick Michaud (Fort Kent, ME). Two Champions return from the 2008 Championships in Ruhpolding. Jean Guillaume Beatrix of France attempts to retain the Junior Men’s title on Wednesday, while his teammate Ludwig Ehrhart will defend his Youth title. On Thursday, Dorthea Wierer of Italy will defend her Youth title. Beatrix will not have an easy time, despite another year of experience. Benjamin Weger of Switzerland, Lukas Hofer of Italy and Florian Graf of Germany will challenge him. Two medalists from the Youth category, Manuel Muller of Germany and Mathieu Souchal of France have moved up to the Junior category adding to the competition. With no defending medalists in the Youth Men category, the competition is wide open, but it is likely that the strong teams from France, Germany, and Russia will probably take some medals. On Thursday, the Junior Women’s competition will be lacking the star power of the previous two years, as Magdalena Neuner has moved on to World Cup stardom. Nevertheless, Maren Hammerschmidt of Germany and Elise Ringen of Norway, medalists in other competitions at Ruhpolding will have a chance to take the spotlight. Wierer’s tasks to defend her title in the Youth Women Individual competition will the biggest challenge. Silver medalist Nicole Wotzel of Germany and Bronze medalist Natalia Prekopova of Slovakia also return, hoping to unseat the Italian from the South Tyrol. The next two days will surely provide surprises, as well as some expected results. Regardless of the outcome, the athletes starting here in Canmore are the stars of tomorrow in the world of biathlon.
Watch live results and streaming video of all World Cup competitions at www.biathlonworld.com.
TD Banknorth is the title sponsor of the US Biathlon Team. adidas®, Stewart Filmscreen®, Lapua, and Exel Ski Poles are supporting sponsors of the US Biathlon Team.
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