Racing resumed after the Christmas break Friday on the BMW IBU World Cup biathlon circuit in Oberhof, Germany and Sarah Beaudry of Prince George made sure to maximize her racing pleasure this weekend.
The 26-year-old Caledonia Nordic Ski Club alumni cracked the top-60 in Friday’s 7.5-kilometre sprint, posting a 51st place result, right on the heels of Emma Lunder of Vernon, who finished 48th.
Beaudry was perfect in two shooting bouts crossed the finish 2:33.1 behind gold medalist Tiril Eckhoff of Norway, who topped the field of 104 racers with a time of 23:54. Lunder missed one prone and one standing target and stopped the clock 2:30.1 off the winning pace.
Hanna Oeberg of Sweden (0+0, +29.6) and Lisa Theresa Hauser of Austria (0+1, +40.2) also made the medal podium.
In other Canadian results, Megan Bankes of Calgary placed 64th (0+2, +2:58.3) and Nadia Moser of Whitehorse, Yukon was 79th (2+1, +3:43.2). Both missed the cut for Saturday’s 10 km women's pursuit.
In the men’s 10 km sprint Friday, the Gow brothers of Canmore each qualified for the pursuit. Christian Gow finished 29th (1+0, +1:46.3) and Scott Gow was 48th (0+2, +2:12.6).
Norway swept the medal podium. Johannes Thingnes Boe captured gold with just one standing miss, outpacing the other 105 racers with a time of 25:12, finishing 10.8 seconds quicker than his brother Tarjei, who shot clean and won silver. Sturla Holm Laegreid claimed bronze (0+0, +21.6).
Adam Runnalls of Calgary was 81st (0+2, 3:30.6) and Trevor Kiers of Welland, Ont., in his first World Cup start of the season, was 89th (2+0, +4:05).
The men’s pursuit follows the women’s race on Saturday. A mixed relay and single mixed relay are on the Sunday schedule in Oberhof. The same course will be used next week for sprint, men’s and women’s team relays and mass start races.
Beaudry’s blog
Sarah Beaudry has posted an update on her website sarahbeaudry.ca which is look back at her two-week experience in December racing World Cup events in Hochfilzen, Austria.
“Last week started with a busy travel day and then went into an intense weekend of three races in a row. This week started with a nice relaxing Monday where I got to really enjoy Hotel Rupertus’s great breakfast selection. I have chatted with many other athletes and friends the last couple of days and we all came to the same conclusion that we very much enjoy spending two weeks in the same location. The change that was implemented this season to limit travel for COVID reasons has been much enjoyed for many reasons. Not traveling on Monday gave everyone an opportunity to have a relaxing Sunday evening not worrying about packing up. It also gave athletes an opportunity to sleep in on Monday morning and spend the day relaxing and doing chores like laundry and catching up on emails. It also gave all of our staff a bit of a day off, some of our team’s wax techs took the morning to explore the mountains on a short ski tour. The only person who did not get an easier day was our massage therapist who spent the day working on all our bodies getting them ready for the next week of racing. Not traveling every week cuts down on emissions and when talking about the environment every small action counts. Racing again on the same course gives you the opportunity for a redo and redemption if the races did not go how one hoped or a chance to improve on good performances. It is safe to say if the IBU continued to hold back-to-back weekends in the same location I would not be complaining!
“Going into the second week in Hochfilzen I have found that it has been easier to relax. In Finland, with many teams traveling in from various countries and training camps there were some positive tests which kept me on edge and hyper-alert. Now here in Austria with the first round of COVID testing done and all the tests coming back negative it gives us some good peace of mind. Another difference here in Hochfilzen is that the hotels in Austria are only open to for special exceptions like professional sporting events, making it so that all the hotel guests are a part of the World Cup bubble. In a normal World Cup season, I love staying at the big hotels with lots of teams because then I can socialize and play cards with my friends from other nations. This year however I am really enjoying being at smaller hotel this week where we are only with the American team. With no other guests and just Canada and the US it gives us lots of space in the hotel to meet safely with coaches and teammates and spread-out during meals. Even with more space and less people we are still staying diligent with hand washing and sanitizing; especially at meals, wearing masks and staying 2m apart.
“As for the races last week, they started off really well for me. I hit 9/10 in the Sprint and finished 39th, getting my first World Cup points since the 2018/2019 season. Unfortunately, I did not keep the good shooting going and struggled again in the Relay and the Pursuit. I have spent some time working with Pavel (national team coach Lantsov) on my shooting and trying to find some relaxation within my position. I am happy to have another chance to turn it around this weekend before Christmas. It has definitely been hard to start the season and struggle with something that has historically been a strength of mine. Taking some time over the last couple of days to refresh, including a fun evening sledding session with Megan Bankes is hopefully just what I needed.”
