Jan 12

Lanny Barnes 15th in Altenberg Sprint

Altenberg, Germany – Clear skies and wind flags hanging still were clear signs of perfect shooting conditions today.  Working out the nerves and travel through yesterday’s Individual race the U.S. Team was ready to attack the course and improve on their performances.
 
Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) again came through with another strong performance today in the Sprint race at the IBU Cup.  Barnes who spent Christmas with relatives in Germany so she could compete in front of 51,000 screaming fans at the Biathlon Grand Prix in the German soccer stadium for the Schalke 04 Team has been riding a high with her confidence as of late.  Cleaning her prone with 5 solid hits Barnes’ only mistake would come in her standing stage.  National Team Coach Gary Colliander commented, “Lanny had another strong race today.  Former German National Team member Katja Beer was announcing the past two days and she was happy to announce Lanny was in 5th place after her prone stage today.”  Barnes finished 1 minute 32 seconds behind winner Juliane Doll of Germany who also had 1 penalty and a winning time of 22:01.  Natalia Sokolova of Russia was 2nd with 2 penalties, 26.2 seconds back and Latvia’s Madara Liduma was 3rd with 2 penalties, 26.7 seconds back.  Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) made a strong jump today  hitting 8 of 10 targets to claim 28th place.  She was followed by Laura Spector (Lenox, MA) in 30th with 3 penalties, Tracy Barnes (Durango, CO) in 36th with 2 penalties, Susan Dunklee (Barton, VT) in 38th with 3 penalties, and Carolyn Bramante (Duluth, MN) in 39th with 2 penalties.
 
In the Men’s race Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME) led the U.S. squad with strong skiing to place 45th.  Currier hit 8 of 10 to finish in a time of 26:03, 2 minutes 24 seconds behind winner Artem Gusev of Russia who hit all 10 targets.  Mattia Cola of Italy like Gusev also hit all 10 targets finishing 32 seconds back.  A strong performance by Germany’s Florian Graf, who is still a Junior (under the age of 21) placed 3rd with 1 penalty, 41 seconds back.  Mark Johnson (Grand Rapids, MN) placed 54th with 2 penalties and Zach Hall (Nikiska, AK) placed 61st also with 2 penalties.  “I’m happy with the overall efforts by everyone today,” commented Colliander.  “Everyone left the start gate today looking for that extra gear and whether or not they found it they tried to find it and that’s a good sign.  Shooting conditions today were perfect with no wind so that kept the results very tight.  Good signs for us as we head to Nove Mesto, Czech Republic next week.”
 
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.