Nordgren and Doherty Qualify for World Cup Pursuit in France

By Bill Kellick | Dec. 19, 2019, 10:46 a.m. (ET)


Leif Nordgren races in the men's 10km sprint on Dec. 19, 2019, at the BMW IBU World Cup in Annecy Le Grand Bornand, France. (photo by NordicFocus)

ANNECY LE GRAND BORNAND, France (Dec. 19, 2019) – Team USA qualified two athletes for Saturday's men's pursuit at the BMW IBU World Cup in Annecy Le Grand Bornand as Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt.) and Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.) both finished within the top-60 cutoff during Thursday's 10-kilometer sprint. Nordgren, with just one penalty in standing, placed 38th, 1 minute 36.4 seconds off the lead, while Doherty was close behind in 40th position, with a single prone penalty, 1:37.6 back of the winning time.

"I'm pretty happy with the race from today," Nordgren said. "I think I had a decent performance in both shooting and skiing, and best of all there is another chance in the pursuit on Saturday. This is a pretty fast track here. We've had crazy warm temperatures the last few days and with the salt they put on the track today conditions were pretty good. It makes it really important to shoot well and give every second on the track because the time gaps can be so small. We had great skis today though which helps a lot. Looking forward to the pursuit on Saturday and closing out this first trimester with a good result."

Just missing the top-60 pursuit qualifying by less than four seconds was Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn.) in 61st place. Brown had two penalties at the range, one in prone and one in standing to clock in at 2:15 off the lead. Also with two penalties and finishing 79th was Alex Howe (Gilford, N.H.), 2:46 behind.

Germany's Benedikt Doll went 10-for-10 on the range to pick up the first World Cup win of his career, claiming the men's sprint in 23:22.1. Norway's Tarjei Boe also shot clean to finish second, 9.4 seconds back. Third place went to Quentin Fillon Maillet of France, also shooting clean, 11.4 seconds behind Doll.

Competition in Annecy Le Grand Bornand continues Friday with the women's 7.5km sprint featuring Americans Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.), Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt.) and Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.).

For broadcast coverage of this week's BMW IBU World Cup, check the listing on the U.S. Biathlon Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Biathlon.TeamUSA

Men’s 10km sprint results

1.

Benedikt Doll (GER)

23:22.1/+0

2.

Tarjei Boe (NOR)

+9.4/+0

3.

Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA)

+11.3/+0

38.

Leif Nordgren (Hinesburg, Vt.))

+1:36.4/+1
40.  Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.) +1:37.6/+1
61. Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn.) +2:15.0/+2
79. Alex Howe (Gilford, N.H.) +2:46.0/+2
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