OBERHOF, Germany (January 6, 2012) – Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT) continued her impressive World Cup debut season today placing 35th in today’s 7.5km Sprint at the E.ON IBU World Cup in Oberhof. Posting a time of 25:25.2 (1+1), Dunklee finished in a tie for 35th place with Fuyuko Suzuki (JPN). Dunklee was 2.47 minutes back from today’s winner Magdalena Neuner (GER) who finished with a time of 22:27.6 and clean shooting.
“ I really enjoyed racing in front of such an energizing crowd. The fans here help carry you up the Bergsteig,” said Dunklee. “ My shooting was solid today, although I struggled with a jammed bullet in prone. Coming off a long break, I'm satisfied with this result as a launching off place for the next phase of the season.”
Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) finished 56th today, posting 26:25.8 (1+2). “Today was a tough one for me,” said Studebaker. “We were lucky with the conditions being better than the last few days, but the snow was pretty soft which makes this course especially difficult. It's always a little hard to be 100% physically and mentally after a little break from racing, but I feel fresh and ready after being home for the holidays. It was also really fun to race in Oberhof. The fans here are so loud and supportive. It's very cool to race in front of so many people and be able to feed off that energy.”
Annalies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY) finished 76th today with a time of 27:43.3 (2+3), facing windy conditions at the range.
“Both coaches and athletes were expecting a little bit more, but then again there were some really good elements today. I have the feeling that they needed this race to get back there, and hopefully we can push it up a couple of more steps for the next races,” said U.S. Biathlon National Women’s Team Coach Jonne Kahkonen.
Extended results from today’s race are available at http://services.biathlonresults.com/results.aspx?RaceId=BT1112SWRLCP04SWSP.
Racing continues tomorrow in Oberhof with the men’s 10km Sprint. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) will start 34th, Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) starts at 43rd, Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) at 73rd, and Leif Nordgren (Marine, MN) at 82nd. The men look to improve tomorrow following a difficult relay on Thursday, finishing 11th (1:36:02.3/2+8 2+7) facing challenging weather and course conditions. Italy won the men’s relay with a time of 1:30:49.1 (0+1 0+4). For a complete list of the relay results please visit http://services.biathlonresults.com/results.aspx?RaceId=BT1112SWRLCP04SMRL
The men’s 10km Sprint begins at 14:30 (CET). The race wil be webcast live at http://www3.biathlonworld.com/en/