Biathlon Firsts!!
If you read my most recent blog post “My First IBU Cup Race” you know that I was sick and did terribly. But biathlon is all about resilience, and in my second IBU Cup race, in Ridnaun, Italy, I hit every single one of my targets! That was an awesome first!
I had never hit all my standing targets in a race before, so to do that on a day when I also hit all my prone targets was pretty special. And do to it on a day when I really needed to– for my own sanity as well as my goal to qualify for the World Cup– meant even more. I came in 32nd, struggling to ski fast after being sick last week. But the ski speed will come back sooner or later, and in the meantime I qualified for the pursuit, which was my result goal for the day. I also finished within 15% time back from the leaders, which means I met the IBU’s qualification standard for the World Cup.
L-R Maddie Phaneuf, Me, and Kelsey Dickinson on the way to our race
After Friday’s clean sprint, Italy, I raced in a pursuit on Saturday, and a relay on Sunday. Unfortunately I did not have the same precision on the range, but I felt way better and faster skiing! Looking back on my first IBU Cup experience, there are a ton of things that could have gone better, but I am focussing on the clean shooting biathlon miracle. Here are a couple of pictures from Ridnaun:
A trail of artificial snow in the Val di Ridanna (Ridnaun), Italy
View from the valley
So what now? Based on the results from two weekends of IBU Cup racing, the national team coaches decided to bring both Maddie Phaneuf and me to World Cup 6 in Antholz, Italy. That will be another awesome first for me! We will join US Biathlon Team veterans Susan Dunklee, Hannah Dreissigacker, and Annelies Cook. The US is allowed to start four women in any given race, so Maddie and I will each get one chance to compete. Maddie will race the sprint on Friday, from which the top 60 finishers qualify for the pursuit on Saturday, and then I will race in the relay on Sunday.
R-L: Maddie Phaneuf, Casey Smith and I at Lago Dobbiacco
Maddie and I are the only two female members of the US Biathlon “X Team.” She is one of the top shooters in the US of any age, and one of the best biathletes in the world for her age: last year she placed 4th at World Junior Biathlon Championships. She is only 19 so she is focussing on preparing for another World Junior Championships this year, but she is also getting a taste for the World Cup. After racing well at IBU Cup 4 in Poland, she made her World Cup debut last week at World Cup 5 in Rupholding as a part of the women’s 4x6k relay.
I am keeping super high goals and super low expectations. My outlook for this sport goes beyond this weekend or this season, so every race is good practice for next time. My coaches are putting me on the “fast track”, giving me as much experience as possible at the highest level, and I am just trying to keep up. Of course I am trying to get better as fast as I can, but it just takes time. My first biathlon coach, Algis, said, “How to do you think you get better at standing with a rifle? Standing with a rifle!” People like me, whose lives revolve around trying to do something as fast as possible, are not often patient. Those who are make great biathletes!
My coach, Jean Paquet, and I at Lago Dobbiacco.
Snow and sun in Ridnaun, Italy!