Jan 10

Lanny Barnes 18th in Individual

Altenberg, Germany – The weather forecast called for another beautiful day for the Sachsen region of Northeast Germany.  What the weatherman forgot to mention was the morning snowfall and the afternoon fog.  Mother Nature brought out a few tricks of her own keeping the athletes, staff and organizing committee guessing all day.
 
Mark Johnson (Grand Rapids, MN) led the U.S. Men hitting 16 of 20 targets to place 48th in a time of 1:03:12.  Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME) turned in a very fast ski time, but 8 penalties left him in 54th place in a time of 1:04:01.  Zach Hall (Nikiska, AK) in his first international competition finished 79th with 7 penalties.  Another large field started today’s race with 125 men on the start list.  Norway’s Frode Andresen missed just one shot in his first stage, but was perfect after that on his way to claiming the gold in a time of 53:39.  Sergey Balandin of Russia was 2nd with 1 penalty, 1 minute and 22 seconds back followed by Germany’s Norbert Schiller 2 minutes 19 seconds back with 2 penalties.
 
In the Women’s Individual, Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) led the U.S. Women with an 18th place finish despite 3 penalties in gusting wind.  With only 1 penalty after her second shooting bout, the announcers had Barnes in 3rd place.  Carolyn Bramante (Duluth, MN) took some time off from Medical School to join the Team and finished in 32nd place with 5 penalties.  Bramante cleaned both prone stages taking all of her misses in standing.  Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT) finished 40th with 8 penalties, followed by Tracy Barnes (Durango, CO) in 42nd also with 8 penalties, Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) in 43 with 7 penalties, and Laura Spector (Lenox, MA) with 10 penalties.  “Shooting conditions were tough today.  Lanny put a good race together and Susan had a good showing considering this was her first international competition.  I think she was just a little nervous last night,” commented National Team Coach Gary Colliander with a smile.  Germany took the top two spots with local hometown girls Romy Beer and Anne Preussler.  Winning in a time of 46:56 Beer won by 22 seconds over Preussler, each having 3 penalties.  Lyudmyla Pysarenko of Ukraine was 3rd with 1 penalty, 29 seconds back.
 
The United States Biathlon Association is the National Governing Body for the sport of biathlon in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Biathlon Union.  The U.S. Biathlon Association supports the U.S. Biathlon Team and development of the sport on all levels within the United States.
 
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.
 
Full results available at www.biathlonworld.com