The two women form the Maine Winter Sports Center won the Youth and Junior categories. They were the only repeat winners today, as both Leif Nordgren (Marine-on–St. Croix, MN) in the Youth Men and Wynn Roberts (Battle Lake, MN) in the Junior Men were edged out of first place by small margins.

With their victories today, McNamee and Toussaint, along with Mark Johnson (Grand Rapids, MN) in the Junior Men’s category have now locked up positions on the Junior World Championships squad. Roberts, Nordgren, and Laura Spector (Lenox, MA) pre-qualified for the Championships.

Meagan Toussaint had the best performance of the day in the Junior Women’s 10K, with only two penalties, one in each of the two final standing stages. Her winning time of 38:52 put her 4:21 ahead of second place finisher, Brynden Manbeck (Grand Rapids, MN). Manbeck who is recovering from a hamstring injury had ten penalties. Third place went to Ellen Anderson (Grand Rapids, MN) with six penalties, 7:20 back.

Toussaint’s teammate, Hilary McNamee was equally convincing in her win over Addie Byrne (Bovey, MN) in the Youth Women 7.5K, scoring a 31:40 to 33:45 victory. McNamee had five penalties to Byrne’s six. Third went to Grace Boutot (Fort Kent, ME) also with six penalties, 3:48 back, while Jessica Caron (Fort Kent, ME), with four penalties was a mere 10 seconds behind Boutot.

With familiar winners in the women’s categories, different athletes from yesterday stood on top of the awards podium today in the two men’s categories.

Mark Johnson who earned his fifth consecutive trip to the World Championships bested Wynn Roberts 39:04 to 39:14 today. Solid shooting fueled Johnson’s victory, as he had only four penalties to Roberts’ seven. Coach Vladimir Cervenka commented, “Yesterday was Mark’s first biathlon competition of the year. He is in college fulltime back east now. But he raced very smart today and was cautious on the shooting range.” Three extra penalties pushed Roberts into second place, despite having a faster ski time than Johnson. Third today went to Newt Rogers (Fort Kent, ME), with eight penalties, 2:06 back, while Travis Mann-Gow (Burlington, VT), with five penalties was an additional 20 seconds behind Rogers.

After a disastrous day in the sprint competition yesterday, Ethan Dreissigacker who competes for the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club in Jericho, VT, won the Youth Men’s 10K today. Dreissigacker yesterday cross-fired and missed some penalty loops resulting in six minutes of time added to his finish, pushing him down to 14th place. He made up for that today with only three penalties to gain an 18-second margin of victory over Leif Nordgren. Nordgren, battling flu symptoms all week, had seven penalties. Third and fourth places went to Preston Butler and Raleigh Goessling (Duluth, MN), each with nine penalties, 2:25, and 2:34 back, respectively.

Although there were some changes at the top of the results list today, Coach Cervenka was again pleased with the performances in general. “Today was a little bit harder than yesterday for some athletes. The wind was shifting on the shooting range and some athletes had problems adjusting. Still, Meagan, Ethan, Hilary, and Mark all had good performances in these conditions.”

Competitions conclude with the Relay Format Sprint and Team announcement tomorrow.

Complete results are posted at www.USBiathlon.org.

The website also has an RSS feed, available by clicking the RSS logo on our homepage to get the address and all of the latest biathlon news.

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 US Biathlon Association supports the US 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. Lapua, adidas®, and Exel Ski Poles are supporting sponsors of the US Biathlon Team.

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | McNamee and Toussaint Two-for-Two at Youth/Junior Trials

The EB approved the recommendations of the Disciplinary Commission (DC) set up by the IOC in February 2006 and composed of Dr Thomas Bach (chairman), Denis Oswald and Sergey Bubka.

IOC sets up Disciplinary Commission (DC)
4 December 2006

DC meets in Kuwait and makes a request to the Italian authorities that the process be fast-tracked in order that the issue may be resolved before the major competitions of the winter sport season commence.
16 January 2007

DC receives a report from the Italian authorities.
9 February 2007

DC calls for a first round of hearings
4-5 April 2007

DC holds first round of hearings
25 April 2007

DC makes first recommendations to the IOC Executive Board
May 2007

DC to hold second round of hearings

DECISIONS BY THE IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION
RE VIOLATIONS OF THE IOC ANTI-DOPING RULES DURING THE TORINO 2006 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

Name of athlete: Roland Diethart, AUT

Sport: Cross Country

Event and result: Men’s 4×10 km Relay

Decision by the IOC Executive Board

- The athlete Mr Roland Diethart:
i. is disqualified from the Men’s 4×10 km Relay;
ii. is permanently ineligible for all future Olympic Games in any capacity.
- The Austrian Men’s 4×10 km Relay team is disqualified.
- The Fédération Internationale de Ski is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly.
- The file is referred to the Fédération Internationale de Ski to consider any further action within its own competence.
- The decision shall enter into force immediately.

Name of athlete: Johannes Eder, AUT

Sport: Cross Country

Event and result: Men’s Team Sprint and Men’s 4×10 km Relay

Decision by the IOC Executive Board:

- The athlete Mr Johannes Eder:
i. is disqualified from the Men’s Team Sprint;
ii. is disqualified from the Men’s 4×10 km Relay; and
iii. is permanently ineligible for all future Olympic Games in any capacity.
- The Austrian Men’s Team Sprint and Men’s 4×10 km Relay teams are disqualified.
- The Fédération Internationale de Ski is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly.
- The file is referred to the Fédération Internationale de Ski to consider any further action within its own competence.
- The decision shall enter into force immediately.

Name of athlete: Juergen Pinter , AUT

Sport: Cross Country

Event and result: Men’s Team Sprint and Men’s 4×10 km Relay

Decision by the IOC Executive Board:

- Mr Juergen Pinter:
i. is disqualified from the Men’s Team Sprint;
ii. is disqualified from the Men’s 4×10 km Relay; and
iii. is permanently ineligible for all future Olympic Games in any capacity.
- The Austrian Men’s Team Sprint and Men’s 4×10 km Relay teams are disqualified.
- The Fédération Internationale de Ski is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly.
- The file is referred to the Fédération Internationale de Ski to consider any further action within its own competence.
- The decision shall enter into force immediately.

Name of athlete: Martin Tauber, AUT

Sport: Cross Country

Event and result: Men’s 30 km Pursuit, Men’s 15 km Classical and Men’s 4×10 km Relay

Decision by the IOC Executive Board:

- The athlete Mr Martin Tauber:
i. is disqualified from the Men’s 30 km Pursuit, in which he placed seventeenth;
ii. is disqualified from the Men’s 15 km Classical, in which he placed eighth, and his diploma is withdrawn;
iii. is disqualified from the Men’s 4×10 km Relay;
iv. is permanently ineligible for all future Olympic Games in any capacity.
- The Austian Men’s 4×10 km Relay teams is disqualified.
- The Fédération Internationale de Ski is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly.
- The file is referred to the Fédération Internationale de Ski to consider any further action within its own competence.
- The Austrian Olympic Committee is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the diploma awarded to the athlete in the Men’s 15 km Classical.
- The decision shall enter into force immediately.

Name of athlete: Christian Hoffmann

Sport: Cross Country

Applied for accreditation but did not take part in the Games

- The charges against Mr Hoffmann are dismissed; and
- The case is transferred to the Fédération Internationale de Ski with a recommendation that it consider whether Mr Hoffman’s absence from the Torino Olympic Games constituted a violation of his obligation to provide accurate whereabouts information.

Name of athlete: Wolfgang Perner, AUT

Sport: Biathlon

Event and result: Men’s 20 km Individual, Men’s 10 km Sprint and Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit

Decision by the IOC Executive Board:

- The athlete Mr Wolfgang Perner:
i. is disqualified from the Men’s 20 km Individual, in which he placed 60th;
ii. is disqualified from the Men’s 10 km Sprint, in which he placed 4th, and his diploma is withdrawn;
iii. is disqualified from the Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit, in which he placed 25th; and
iv. is permanently ineligible for all future Olympic Games in any capacity.
- The International Biathlon Union is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly.
- The file is referred to the International Biathlon Union to consider any further action within its own competence.
- The Austrian Olympic Committee is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the diploma awarded to the athlete in the Men’s 10 km Sprint.
- The decision shall enter into force immediately.

Name of athlete: Wolfgang Rottmann, AUT

Sport: Biathlon

Event and result: Men’s 10 km Sprint Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit

Decision by the IOC Executive Board:

- The athlete Mr Wolfgang Rottman:
i. is disqualified from the Men’s 10 km Sprint, in which he placed 27th;
ii. is disqualified from the Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit, in which he placed 21st; and
iii. is permanently ineligible for all future Olympic Games in any capacity.
- The International Biathlon Union is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly.
- The file is referred to the International Biathlon Union to consider any further action within its own competence.
- The decision shall enter into force immediately.

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | Torino 2006: Six Austrian Athletes Declared Permanently Ineligible

January 25, 1924

It was held in France, 83 years ago!

But, of course, they didn’t know what it was while it was going on. The IOC just named it as such afterwards. Originally, the competition was called International Sports Week 1924.

Trivia: First event to be decided on was the men’s 500m speed skating where Charles Jewtraw (US) won the first gold.

There were 258 athletes (11 women, 247 men) of 16 nations competed in 16 events of 6 sports (Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Skating and Skiing).

Source: www.olympic.org

Post from: EveryJoe

When was the 1st Winter Olympic Games Held?

The president of the Austrian ski federation revealed that two athletes “may have used illegal methods” at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.

Federation president Peter Schroecksnadel told reporters Tuesday that Wolfgang Perner and Wolfgang Rottman, both of whom fled Italy when the team’s Olympic residences were raided by local police last Sunday evening, confessed to sports director Markus Gandler.

Schroecksnadel did not elaborate, noting only that the skiers have been kicked off the national team and that a commission is being set up to investigate.

“Team Austria is a small group and we live in close proximity to each other,” said biathlete Ludwig Gredler, who has competed in five Olympics. “But naturally, I cannot know what happens in other rooms.

“I know I am clean and have taken nothing. But I cannot speak for my teammates.”

Police reportedly seized 100 syringes, unlabelled medicine bottles, boxes of prescription drugs, and even a blood-transfusion machine in the anti-doping raid, the first on athletes in Olympic history.

[...more...]

Post from: EveryJoe

Austrians admit to ‘illegal methods’

Last Updated: Sun Feb 19 19:58:21 EST 2006
CBC Sports

Walter Mayer, the man whose appearance at the Torino Winter Olympic Games set off a raid by Italian police on the Austrian nordic ski team, has been taken into custody by Italian police after he allegedly took them on a chase through the mountains that ended with a crash into a police barrier.

Italian police took Mayer into protective custody after he allegedly tried to run a one-car road block while heading for the Austrian border.

Police earlier in the evening had approached a car in which a man was sleeping. The occupant, identified as Mayer by authorities, drove off, hitting and slightly injuring an officer, and authorities gave chase.

Mayer, himself, was reported to be slightly injured in the later incident, in which a car rammed an unoccupied police cruiser set up to block a road in the town of Paternion, in the province of Carinthia, about 24 kilometres from the Italian frontier, and 400 km from Turin.

He refused to take a sobriety test requested by the officers.

It was not known on Sunday evening if Mayer would face charges, or if a search was done of the vehicle. His license was provisionally suspended.

He was apparently returning to his home country, some hours after Italian authorities had launched their raid on the Austrian biathlon and cross-country team quarters, looking for banned substances and equipment.

Italian authorities said they had seized blood analysis equipment, as well as syringes, vials of distilled water, asthma medication and other substances, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency.

ANSA also reported that one athlete had thrown a bag out of a window of the residence during the raid that contained needles and medicines.

Mayer had been living in a house next door to the Austrian team’s residence in the hamlet of San Sicario, said CBC News, on Sunday night. A BBC News report also said that Austrian officials had admitted Mayer was staying with the group.

Meanwhile, the Austrian Ski Federation said Sunday night it had ended its relationship with Mayer, giving the accident as the reason.

There was no indication as to why the Austrian federation had any kind of relationship in the first place with Mayer, who was on the the international ski federation’s (FIS) banned list to 2015, and had been banned from the Torino and Vancouver 2010 Games by the IOC.

With files from Associated Press

[Source]

Post from: EveryJoe

Austrian coach crashes roadblock

Italian law enforcement authorities raided the Olympic residences of Austria’s biathlon and cross-country teams early Sunday, but found no evidence of doping. It marked the first anti-doping police raid on athletes in Olympic history.

…….”They checked every drink, every food, and they took a lot of stuff with them,” Austrian spokesman Eric Wagner claimed. “They came around 9 and stayed until 12 and then took the athletes away to be tested.” Austria finished dead last in Sunday’s 4×10-kilometre relay. “They absolutely ruined the race,” Austrian skier Martin Tauber said. “I was already a little bit tired yesterday.”

…… Italian police were acting on a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency, an organization headed by Canadian lawyer Dick Pound. Pound told the Associated Press on Saturday that doping control officers went to Austria to test athletes and, while they did not find who they were looking for, they did find blood doping equipment linked to Walter Mayer, a former nordic coach banned for suspicion of performing blood transfusions on athletes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

[... more ...]

What do you think? Isn’t drug testing of our athletes enough? Can’t the raids wait until after the Olympics or at Customs trying to leave the country?

*shrugs*

Post from: EveryJoe

Austrians Angry Over Police Raid

Italian law enforcement authorities raided the residences of some staff members of the Austrian biathlon and cross-country teams early Sunday morning, apparently searching for banned substances, said two separate news reports.

The International Olympic Committee also confirmed it has conducted out-of-competition doping tests on “a number of Austrian cross-country and biathlon athletes,” according to Reuters and Associated Press.

[..more..]

Post from: EveryJoe

Police raid Austrian Ski Team

Vincent Defrasne’s chance of even stepping onto the podium seemed over when he stumbled on top of a hill after an ardous climb.

But the tenacious Frenchman quickly recovered, and made a mad dash to overtake Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen less than a hundred meters before the finish line. Talk about a nail-biter.

Defrasne sprinting after the leader (Source: NBC)

Sven Fischer of Germany, who several days ago won the 10km Sprint Biathlon event, took the bronze at 15.6 seconds behind the leader. This is the second time in 4 days Bjoerndalen has been denied the Gold.

Defrasne started fifth in the event (43 seconds behind the leader) and missed two targets. Starting position in the 12.5km Pursuit is based on the athlete’s standing in the 10km Sprint event.

Read: Bjoerndalen denied again as Defrasne wins pursuit

Read: Photo Finish for Fischer (GER)

Post from: EveryJoe

France’s Defrasne finishes first!

Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva, the silver medallist in Monday’s 15-kilometre race, tested positive for a banned substance at the Torino Olympics.

[..more..]

Olga was scheduled to race in today’s Ladies Biathlon 7.5 km Sprint race … Here are the final results for that

Rank / NOC / Result / Behind

1 – FRA – Florence Baverel-Robert (22:31.4)
2 – SWE – Anna Carin (22:33.8 / +2.4)
3 – UKR – Lilia Efremova (22:38.0 / +6.6)

Results of Canadian Athletes

62 – CAN – Zina Kocher (26:11.1 / +3:39.7)
66 – CAN – Sandra Keith (26:20.7) / +3:49.7)
73 – CAN – Martine Albert (27:04.4 / +4:33.0)
76 – CAN – Marie Pierre Parent (27:31.1 / +4:59.7)

Post from: EveryJoe

Biathlon medallist fails drug test

Fischer finished the 10km sprint in 26 minutes 11.6 seconds. His closest rival, Silver Medalist Halvard Hanevold of Norway, was 8.2 seconds behind.

Fischer elevated (Source: International Olympic Committee)

Brash American Biathlete, Jay Hakkinen, who earlier predicted a medal for the U.S. had to put his foot in his mouth when his missed all 5 prone shots and skied 6 penalty laps instead of the required 5.

Like the Nordic Combined, Biathlon is a two-component sport. The Biathletes have to trek across a 10km course on skis while stopping intermittently to shoot at targets. The sport has its roots in winter hunting, where the hunter had to trek through snow to hunt for prey.

The shooting component of Bianthlon
(Source: International Olympic Committee)

Read: Favorites falter as Germany wins second biathlon gold

Post from: EveryJoe

Photo Finish for Fischer (GER)