GRP Biathletes Post Strong Results in Europe

Susan (left) and Clare (middle) in the finishing pen after the pursuit in Ruhpolding. Far right is GRP training partner and Estonian National Team member Johanna Taliharm (photo: NordicFocus/USBA).

This past week and weekend saw the full GRP biathlon squad racing in Europe on the World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany and on the IBU Cup in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia.

World Cup:

The Ruhpolding World Cup kicked off with a sprint in which Susan Dunklee posted the top US women’s result of the day in 25th with only one standing miss. She was closely followed by Clare Egan in 28th who also only had one standing miss. Hallie Grossman finished 93rd. For the men, Jake Brown placed 58th with two standing misses.

Next up were men’s and women’s relays. In the women’s race, Susan and Clare were joined by USBA teammates Joanne Reid and Deedra Irwin. Susan scrambled for the team and shot clean only using one standing spare. She tagged off to Clare who also had a strong leg shooting clean with one standing spare. The team placed 10th with one penalty and 9 spares. For the men, Jake was joined by USBA teammates Leif Nordgren, Sean Doherty, and Paul Schommer. Jake anchored for the team using one prone spare and two standing spares. The men placed 10th with no penalties and 9 spares.

In the pursuit, Susan and Clare both had strong races marking one of the best days for the US women’s team. Susan moved up from 25th to 10th with three misses while Clare moved up from 28th to 16th with two misses. In the men’s race, Jake moved up from 58th to 56th. World Cup racing action continues next week in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

IBU Cup:

The IBU Cup in Brezno-Osrblie opened with a single mixed relay in which Emily Dreissigacker was joined by USBA teammate Max Durtschi. The team placed 9th with no penalties and 12 spares. In the mixed relay, Alex Howe and Kelsey Dickinson were joined by USBA teammates Travis Cooper and Maddie Phaneuf. Alex scrambled for the team and Kelsey anchored shooting clean with no spares. The team placed 12th and used a total of 8 spares.

The next race on the docket was a sprint in which Emily finished 46th. She was followed by Kelsey in 51st. For the men, Alex finished 29th with Raleigh in 47th.

The final race of the weekend was a pursuit in which Emily finished 51st. In the men’s event, Alex placed 36th and Raleigh finished 48th. The next stop on the IBU Cup will be Arber, Germany.

More information and results can be found at biathlonworld.com. Thanks for following!