RUHPOLDING, Germany (March 4, 2012) - Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) led Team USA with a 20th place performance today at the 2012 IBU World Championship 12.5K Pursuit in Ruhpolding, Germany. Posting a time of 35:38.2 (0+0+1+2), Bailey, also starting in 20th, finished 1:48.8 back from Martin Fourcade (FRA) winning today’s Pursuit with a time of 33:39.4 (1+1+0+2). Carl Johan Bergman (SWE) took second (33:44.6/0+1+1+0), and Anton Shipulin was third (34:01.5/1+0+0+0). Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) finished 28th, from a start in 10th, with a time of 35:47.7 (1+1+2+1).
“Today's race was pretty exciting from the start. I had a good prone shooting and was able to move up into the top ten for the middle of the race,” said Bailey. “By the time I got to last shooting, I was in the top ten and shooting for a top position. Everything was going well until the last two shots. As a biathlete, it always hurts a little bit more to get so close and then miss in the last two. But that's also why we train. We want to be in these situations. We have trained for this our whole careers. Now it's time to put this race behind me and get ready for the Individual on Tuesday!”
“I am definitely disappointed with my race today,” said Burke. “I had hoped to move up from my10th place start but was held back with poor shooting. The good news is that I felt a lot better on the skis today and I feel like my shape is getting better with each race. Now I am looking forward to my next opportunity on Tuesday with the Individual race.”
Extended results from the Men’s Pursuit are available here
Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT) had the top finish for Team USA’s women in the 10K Pursuit. Posting a time of 34:22.4 (0+1+2+0), Dunklee finished 36th, up from her start in 55th place. Darya Domracheva (BLR) won today’s Pursuit with a time of 29:39.6 (0+1+1+0), World Cup leader Magdalena Neuner (GER) was 2nd with 30:04.7/0+1+0+2, and Olga Vilukhina (RUS) took 3rd (30:55.0/0+0+1+0).
“Today's race went much as I hoped it would,” said Dunklee. “The tracks were much firmer today and I was able to work with many different skiers to move up each loop. I had one of those rare days where the shooting felt natural and the targets wanted to fall. This was my first experience moving forwards (rather than backwards) in a pursuit race and it was exciting to catch so many people.
Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) finished 41st, from a start in 50th position, with a time of 34:56.4 and clean shooting.“Today was a mixed bag for me,” said Studebaker. “My skiing was just ok, but the shooting was great. I was psyched to clean, for sure. It was the first 4-stage World Cup race I've cleaned and it gives me good confidence going into the Individual.”
“Today’s Pursuit was a step-up from yesterday, and it was especially good to see Susan’s strong skiing. Having only two penalties in a World Championship Pursuit is not bad as well as scoring points, so it’s nice to see Susan continue to have the good season she has,” said U.S. Biathlon Women’s Head Coach Jonne Kahkonen. “Sara did not have the best skiing today, but she had solid shooting, which is important as we look ahead to the Individual competition,” he added.
Extended results from the women’s Pursuit are available here
IBU World Championship competition continues Tuesday, March 6th, with the Men’s 20K Individual (15:15/CET). The event will be webcast live at http://www5.biathlonworld.com/en/. Please visit here
for a link to the complete 2012 IBU World Championship schedule and results.