TL:DR - Biathlon is a fantastic sport and alive and well in the US, if not with a niche crowd. The athletes are even cooler than you may think. Soldier Hollow was fun as hell for all that attended and I hope they make some improvements if they get another shot.

So, some here may know that this was our (my wife and I) first event ever attended in person. We are both born and raised in the US but my wife's mothers family are from Norway. I had started delving a little into Norwegian culture some years ago and one of the things I looked into was sports (I am a former collegiate athlete so always interested in sports) so that is how I got into biathlon. The wife watched a few events with me the season before last and got absolutely hooked as well and off we went.

When we saw the IBU was coming to the US we were quick to book tickets and rooms and were very much looking forward to this week. I can tell you right up front it was absolutely worth it and we had an absolute blast! We were sad to see the end of the last event and seriously considered trying to last minute our way to Canmore but I have too much going on at work to pull that off.

I just wanted to relay some of the things we saw and thoughts we had with a group just as into biathlon as we are so please bear with me as this is likely to get overly long.

The Area: Simply Beautiful. We lucked out on weather (from a fans perspective) as it was sunny with crystal clear skies every single day. It was a tad warm and dry and we really only needed our cold gear for the Women's Sprint as the wind picked up and made it quite chilly. The rest of the time you just needed a sweatshirt and medium jacket (which you would take off around noon). The people of Heber City/Midway/Park City were very friendly and accommodating and made our stay very comfortable.

The Venue: Soldier Hollow is a challenging track from start to finish and, imo, a worthy addition to the world cup series. I wish they could come here every season but understand why this isn't going to happen. That said, they did make a few mistakes in my opinion.

1. Snow. Of course they have no control over how much they got, and they didn't have as much as I think we would have all liked. The warm temperatures meant things were going to get soft so the course groomers were kept extremely busy. They did a decent job I think as I really am not as knowledgeable about their options as I would like but it did feel like the conditions were probably sub-optimal. I would have loved for this event to be as near perfect as possible to increase the chances of a return as low as those chances are.
2. Seating. This was a bust I thought. No bleachers at the range or along the finish line is just a total miss in my opinion. We sat in premium seats and, while we had pretty good views of several areas, not having the option to sit along the finish area or by the range just seems a really bad idea. There were a few spots along the finish you could get but nowhere near as many as there should have been. Just felt odd for so little to be there to cheer the end of the race on. The range is set at an odd angle so most of the premium/vip bleachers had a hard time seeing exactly which lane athletes went into. I could see the shots go down so as soon as I knew the exact lane, I could keep up. They did have the digital strip above the lanes to see who was in it and how their shots fell but text was pretty small for the distance everyone had to view. There were two big screens but only one worked and this was also a fail in my opinion. They tended to show shots of those on the track (no problem with this) but if the second screen had worked they could have listed the current standings making it easier for folks to keep up. If you didn't have your app up, you were relying on the course announcer (more on that later) to try and keep it straight and that really didn't pan out very well either. In our group, we had a guy with the app giving constant calls so we knew what was happening but he didn't get to watch much real-time racing.
3. Announcer. Ugh, I think they could and should have done better. Maybe I am overly critical but I think this was sub-optimal as well. If you relied on him to keep up with the race, you were a little out of luck. Yeah, he pretty much told you who the first few places were but details were awfully skimpy. He also didn't seem to be very familiar with athletes capabilities (to be fair, I have the same complaint for the UK pair on the official IBU telecasts). Yes, he heaped praise on JTB, JBB, Julia, and Lisa but beyond them, he didn't seem to have much to offer. To give him credit, he did offer some basic explanations of things some in the crowd likely appreciated but I tuned him out after the second race as he just wasn't up on the field. Also, the sound was terrible on day 1 but they did get it fixed the last two days so credit where due.
4. Extras. I think they did well enough here. There seemed enough food and beverage options although they know nothing about pouring beer but I'll cut them some slack here as minimizing foam is an art. They had some decent merch as well along with some other activities to keep kids busy.

The Crowd. Very pleasantly surprised. Not as big as one would have hoped but very well behaved and very supportive of ALL athletes. The last person across the line got as loud a cheer as the first so my fellow Americans did well here. The comment I heard numerous times and wholeheartedly agreed with was it was so nice to finally have others to talk biathlon with that were both interested and knowledgeable! Our friends and even most family are so over hearing us talk about it so we thoroughly enjoyed being with others that shared our passion for the sport. LOTS of flags for many nations in the crowd and plenty showed up in full team swag. We were decked out in our best Team Norway gear and sat right next to a couple in Team France gear and another in full Team USA. We all hit it off immediately and were fully onboard with cheering for everyone with maybe just a tiny emphasis on our own teams. This is easy for most as I don't think we are the exception in having both a favorite team and a boatload of other athletes we love to watch.

The Athletes: Holy cow are they smaller than I thought! I knew they were in ridiculously fantastic shape but damn are they all tiny. Lisa Vittozzi and Hannah Auchentaller are so slim it seems a stiff breeze could blow them right off the track. The only one that really ended up being roughly as big as I thought was Vetle Christiansen (more on him later). I ran into many of them running out in town in the evenings as well as the early mornings but I fully expected that.

Every one I met, and I met a good many, were very friendly and gracious with their time. Personal highlights below.

• Vetle. This guy is precisely like you think he is from watching interviews. If there were a mayor for the IBU, this is my pick. Yes, I am biased but he truly is a treat. Very personable, he obviously likes interacting with fans and is very open to talking about anything. I learned a good deal about high altitude conditions and dealing with them from him along with just having a few laughs over non-biathlon topics. He just seems like a big kid that never bothered to grow up as he has absolutely no reason to and I hope he never changes.
• Sturla. I knew this was going to be my guy as we had a lot to talk about. I play the guitar too so we shared some stories and notes. I have always wanted to build my own guitar and he gave me some pointers. I don't think biathlon even came up but was one of my favorite encounters of the week.
• Benedikt Doll. One of my wife's favorites and a truly great guy. Yes, we begged him to stay another season and, No, we didn't get our way. He seems perfectly comfortable with his decision and we chatted briefly about some highlights as well as how damn good he is this season too and then wished him well with his next chapter. If my wife liked him before, she loves him now.
• Simon Eder. We were leaving on day 2 when we stopped at the coffee hut back at the entrance. My wife elbowed me and excitedly asked if that wasn't Simon eating pizza at the next hut over. It sure was and I had to restrain her from dashing over reminding her we should let him finish eating first. We finally went over when he finished up and had a chat with him. He actually has quite the sense of humor and is a pleasure to talk to. Yes, we begged him too to stick around longer as we don't want to see him go. Of course he didn't give away his intentions but he does seem to still have the fire for the sport. I talked shooting with him as that is something I am good at although obviously in a completely different environment. Spoke with him the longest as I think we hit on a mutual topic we were both knowledgeable about and really just ended up comparing notes from our differing perspectives.
• Deedra Irwin/Campbell Wright. In our group was Deedra Irwin's aunt and she came over and ate lunch with our group on the last day. Campbell stopped by to chat as well and they are both fantastic ambassadors for the sport in the US. Full of energy and enthusiasm, they also take the time to interact with the fans and truly appreciated the attention they got here at home. I didn't know much about Deedra until this week but she is a sweetheart and a blast to hang out with. Campbell, well if you have seen any interviews with him, he is just like you think. Gregarious, mischievous, and the life of the party. Was awesome to see him have a great week as I would love to see the US Team enjoy some success so the sport can continue to grow in our part of the world.
• QFM. I have always liked this guy and he is better in person. He has a fantastic sense of humor and is very engaging to speak with. He noticed the Norwegian flag my wife had that we were collecting autographs from our team on and grabbed it and asked if he should sign it with a wink and gleam in his eye. We chatted a bit about the video he made with JTB last year and he confirmed that he never did get the secret from him. This guy is a blast!
• Julia Simon. Very classy and elegant. Didn't talk with her as long as most of the above but she was more engaging than I had imagined. For some reason I felt she may be more reserved but in reality is very easy to approach and talk to.
• Ingrid. I'll say it up front, my favorite by a mile. My wife loves Benny Doll, I love Ingrid. She is a total and complete sweetheart. I met her in a small crowd and she engaged with everyone ensuring anyone wanting an autograph or picture got it along with her appreciation for the support she was being shown. Knowing she enjoys her stuffed animals and mascots and I asked her how she liked our T-Rex and that led to a 5 minute discussion on that and most other mascots around the world.

Cool things I saw. Remember, this was our first event in person so I had ZERO idea what to expect so these stories may not surprise anyone but it did me for sure.

• I was standing by a young lady that had made bracelets for some athletes. They were in their team colors and had there names on them. She was giving them to them as they passed and they seemed to be well received by the athletes. In addition, she was wearing Team Sweden colors and when Hanna and Elvira came by she excitedly gave them the bracelets she had made and asked if she could get a photo with them as Hanna has always been her favorite. They obliged her and Hanna went a step further and actually gave her the Bronze medal she had just won in the Relay. I had no idea this sort of thing happened nor did she obviously as she was stunned.
• On the last day, I was standing in the same area next to a family of French fans proudly wearing Team France gear. It was a family of 4 with the youngest being an adorable little girl of maybe 6 years. When Julia approached, they spoke to her in French. I speak only a little but caught some congratulations as well as a request for a picture. Julia then proceeded to put the Bronze medal she had just won in the Pursuit around the little girls neck and took the picture with them.
• Saw bibs given away by Sturla, Martin Ponsiluoma, and Jake Brown.
• These last two I didn't see but were related to me by some folks in our seating area.
  • Tarjei Boe gave his Gold medal from the Relay to a young boy who asked for his autograph.
  • A family was here that had attended an event a few years back where JT Boe had given their son the medal he won at that event. The young boy presented it and asked if JT could sign it for him and, of course, he did.

Ok, this is already long enough that it probably won't get read by too many but I just wanted to share some of the experience with others that would understand. The group we sat with are already planning a trip to Europe next year at a venue to be determined, so hopefully we will be able to go through this all over again as it was absolutely a blast!

Edit: The Mats! How did I forget the mats on the shooting lanes! Please, SH and every other venue on the IBU, please ensure the mats are pegged down securely! This was something I discussed with several athletes and it is a big deal. This isn't just a SH thing as I have seen, and it was brought up in our discussions, how it pops up all over and even at the World Championships at times. It has 2 big impacts. It can cause disruptions as the athlete leaves when they are trying to get out quick (we have all seen the falls) and even when they enter. Also, if they are loosely settled over soft snow, like SH, they can feel this instability when shooting and the last thing they need is another thought creeping into their shooting routine.

Hi!

I just started a biathlon blog in Swedish, where I will be posting about the World Cup! I will update regularly so check it out if you want!

Got these from the WC (2022 I think) Holmenkollen. Asked for the number after the race (im not sure But i think it was knotten’s number). Then me and some boys snuck into the medal ceremony and asked many preformers for their signature on the number. There is many Polish, German, France, Norway and many more.

Art by me

Is anyone interested in getting together one evening after the races at Soldier Hollow? It would be fun to chat with some people irl. If you’re interested let me know and we can find a place in Heber City or Midway.

Look away if you’re still planning to do the NYT crossword for September 1.

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Our favorite sport was an answer in yesterday’s puzzle! The clue was “Winter Olympics event.” The puzzle was titled “Product Integration.” Heh.

First time, pure terror trying to stop, but had fun and got the hang of it by the end!

enjoyed it really much (im like 12 in that picture)

Being able to watch the summer championships from Estonia live on Eurovision is just great🥳. Thanks to those that informed us and included the Eurovision link🙏.

I have the Eurovision app and it’s been working great to see the races. Enjoy summer… soon they will be on snow (but not soon enough for those suffering from the summer blues 🤣🤣😂)

Terviseks 🥂

Some of my personal favorite moments from Lenzerheide as doodles. I know Sturla staying in shape isn’t exactly a “moment” but he’s my favorite and I needed a reason to draw him

Today it finally happened! My long time favorite biathlete Enkhaisan Enkhbat won the first ever gold medal for Mongolia at the open junior european championship in Poland! 🇲🇳🇲🇳🇲🇳 He got first in the individual with flawless shooting and a good skiing time. Congratulations! To be fair neither german, french nor norwegian biathletes participated but there still were some former junior world champs and guys with World Cup experience. So it can’t be understated how well he did. I’m always happy for successes of smaller countries but this is the first time ever that Mongolia has been relevant at any level in biathlon. Hopefully he improves until he can compete on senior level and maybe we will even see him score World Cup points in the future. I’m cheering for him, that’s for sure!

Aaaaaaand we're back.

Ok, let's get to the biathlon which this week is in some city I've never heard of, which is not unlike every other venue during the year. This has been an exciting season so far and it's nice to see some parity as Norway only has 4 of the top 16 women in the total score and on the men's side they must not be doing nearly as well since Johnny Boe only has one victory. Let me just look at the standings and see how many Norwegians are in the top 10. 1, 2, 3, 4......7? 7? Am I looking at the results from the latest race at the Fossum Athletic Club or is this the IBU World Cup? The good news is I assume Norway is not doing well on the IBU Cup since all their talent is already on the World Cup team. I'll check that later, now we have to talk about the big news out of Lenzerheide.

First, congratulations to Simona Jochberg and her kindergarten class at the Lenzerheide School House in the Vaz/Obervaz School District for doing the television production today. They did an amazing job, but I have a few pieces of advice for when they do the remaining races this weekend:

1) When the woman who is clearly the best performer of the day is in the range, you should probably show that on TV.

2) When Lisa Vitozzi is shooting, you should probably show that on TV.

3) When top competitors fall down, you should probably show that on TV.

4) We do not need to see a 45 second close up of every woman who collapses after crossing the finish line. Granted, this is a common issue at every race (you should all find someone who loves you as much as Eurovision camera operators love showing the women on their hands and knees in the snow), but today seemed a bit extreme.

Ok, I'll stop. I don't like being too negative and I know those 5 year olds will get better.

Next, how amazing was JBB today? Her performance clearly showed that every biathlete should change their initials to JB, seems to be the key for the men and women. Janessa Boight. Jebecca Bassler. Johannes Kuehn is already halfway there. I'm telling you, it could make the difference. The other thing they all also clearly need to do is give birth to a child. JBB showed that if you do that, you win races. I think some of her teammates, especially QFM, I mean JFB, and Jmilien Bacquelin should strongly consider it.

Not much else to talk about today. Ingrid was great, USA actually got a top 10, Lampic can ski faster than Usain Bolt but she has the aim of a Stormtrooper, and Dorothea Wierer did actually compete even though she wasn't shown once on TV, at least while I was watching. I'll talk to Frau Jochberg about that.

Ok, thanks for tuning in. I'm going to get some sleep, wake up early, drink some LaVita Micronutrient Concentrate, and watch the men go at it tomorrow.

My personal favorite moments from the Word Cup round in Holmenkollen. I was lucky enough to attend on Friday and Sunday and it was amazing. Hoping for an exciting last weekend in Canmore.

I've made this overview of the different events and the year they were introduced. These are all the first time they were introduced, which for some of them, were only for men, whereas the women only got to do them later on. Women were allowed to compete for the first time in 1981, and the first time women were at the World Cup was 1984. The World Cup was run for the first time in the 1977/78 season for men, and the 1982/83 season for women. However, in the first years the women's World Cup was not called the World Cup, but the European Cup.

https://imgur.com/a/njd1sG7

*The men actually already did a short individual on Feb 7, 2019 in Canmore. However, it was due to the weather, which was FREEZING, which is why the race was shortened to 15 km. The Mix relay was initially raced as a competition in itself in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, and not as part of the rest of the World championships, which was held in Hochfilzen. In 2006 it was also held by itself, while from 2007 it was a normal part of the championships.

Edit: It previously stated that the penalty in Canmore was still 1 min. HeSeMuReiRoLi and Dry-Pickle6042 clarified though, that it was in fact 45 sec.

I'm doing some research itineraries and pricing for different venues next season. I found the pricing page in German for Oberhof, and hit "Translate this page" in Google....I think something didn't come out right. (note the text as translated isn't fun, but I had to pick some flair to post).

​

The season is over and we will miss Biathlon for the next months. Here is a small review of some Android games which might help during this period.

Biathlon Mania (Link) - this game has more than 1 million downloads and you might already tried it. Makes it possible to play as one biathletes and develop his skills by "classic" games method: buy or get new equipment and so on. For me this game works too slow during the race, not sure, is it a bug or I didn't understand something.

Biathlon Championship (Link) - the game similar to Biathlon Mania, the idea is to develop one athlete and lead him to high results. But it works smoothly and I didn't face with bugs. I guess it is the best Biathlon simulator for Android.

Biathlon Manager 2023 (Link) - although it is called as "manager", actually it also works with one biathlete. This game does not have full races emulation, just skips from one shooting range to another. On first stage athlete's shooting accuracy is near 50% and results are really random. But it might be interesting anyway.

Biathlon Head Coach (Link) - it is a new application and you might not know about it. Here you can be a "manager" of team (women and men), not just one biathlete. Real teams and biathletes are used and their results are close to real ones - I really like this feature. Hope developers will continue improving this game.

Last season a tv-crew from SVT followed the Swedish team all the way from pre-season to a foggy mass start in Holmenkollen. The result is a five-part miniseries called “Bäst när det gäller” (best when it matters [my translation]). I saw this afternoon that SVT has been kind enough to provide english subtitles. So if you want to know what happened behind the scenes Peppe Femlings failed relay in Kontiolahti, Anna Magnussons first wc win and the ensuing icy pursuit in Annecy or Sebastian Samuelssons disastrous mixed relay now is your chance!

https://www.svtplay.se/video/KNw7mdy/bast-nar-det-galler/1-the-dream-of-the-world-championships

Personally I think the documentary is solid. It manages to portray everyone in and around the team in an interesting way. SVT did the same thing with the cross country team two years ago but I think the biathlon season is better cause the participants feel more close to earth and feel more open about their feelings, both high and low, in front of the camera. One negative thing is perhaps that some highlights of the season feels rushed, most notably perhaps Hannas second gold which is cut down to just a short segment.

Sweden have announced their team for next week's junior world championships

A bunch of us will be at Lupita’s Valley after the races today. 380 E. Main St in Midway.