Biathlon World Cup – Kontiolahti, Finland

The Biathlon World Cup held some great results for the US on Saturday. Lowell Bailey was the main noisemaker as he was perfect in shooting in the men’s 10km sprint and finished with the bronze! He was only a second back of grabbing the silver. Tim Burke was also strong as he finished 19th, 1:10 back, while Leif Nordgren was 27th, 1:23 back. All three will now be in the men’s 12.5 km pursuit on Sunday with a real chance for another medal as they will all be starting near the front.

In the women’s 7.5km sprint Susan Dunklee was 21 spots better than on Thursday as she finished eighth, within 36 seconds of the winner and 24 seconds of the bronze. Hannah Dreissigacker was 41st with Sara Studebaker in 58th and Annelies Cook in 76th. Dunklee, Dreissigacker, and Studebaker will all be in the women’s 10km pursuit on Sunday with Dunklee in good position to challenge for a medal.

Schedule:

• March 16th
  • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s 12.5km Pursuit
    • Lowell Bailey
    • Tim Burke
    • Leif Nordgren
  • 6:15 AM ET – Women’s 10km Pursuit
    • Hannah Dreissigacker
    • Susan Dunklee
    • Annelies Cook
    • Sara Studebaker

Nordic Combined World Cup – Falun, Sweden

The final team event of the season was supposed to be held at the Nordic Combined World Cup today but plans changed and instead of the team event the individual event was held today with the team event pushed until Sunday. It was no matter for Taylor Fletcher and Bryan Fletcher as they both knew they would be in action today either way. Taylor Fletcher had the better day of the two with a 24th best jump leaving him 54 seconds back and then a 12th best cross-country time that gave him an 11th place finish for the day, one minute behind the winner. Bryan Fletcher was 44th in the ski jumping and a 17th best cross-country time meant he finished 28th overall.

The team event tomorrow will feature both Taylor and Bryan along with Nick Hendrickson and Brett Denney representing the US.

Schedule:

• March 16th
  • 7 AM ET – Team Ski Jumping Round
    • Taylor Fletcher
    • Brett Denney
    • Nick Hendrickson
    • Bryan Fletcher
  • 11:45 AM ET – Team 4x5km Cross-Country Round

Freestyle Skiing World Cup – Ski Cross – Are, Sweden

The first of two ski cross events to wrap up the year were held on Saturday. John Teller and Joe Swensson were competing for the US with both advancing from qualifying. Teller kept up the momentum by winning his 1/8 final while Swensson finished last in his heat and was eliminated. Teller won his quarterfinal as well but finished last in the semifinals to end up in the small final. A second place finish in the small final gave him a final finish of sixth place.

The two will try to improve on their Saturday results when the second event is held on Sunday to wrap up the season.

Schedule:

• March 16th
  • 7 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Qualifying
    • John Teller
    • Joe Swensson
  • 9:20 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Round of 32
  • 9:52 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Quarterfinals
  • 10:12 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Semifinals
  • 10:29 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Final

2014 FIBA World Championship for Women Draw – Turkey

The draw was held today for this year’s FIBA World Championship for Women. The tournament will be held from September 27th through the 5th of October in Turkey. The US was drawn into Group D with Serbia, China, and Angola. The US is currently ranked #1 in the world with China 8th, Angola 20th and Serbia 29th. The US won the event in 2010 with only Australia coming within single digits of the US in nine games played. Serbia and Angola were not part of the event in 2010 with China going 0-3 in the group stage before two wins placed them 13th.

The US will start things off with China on September 27th with Serbia to follow the next day and Angola on the 30th. The top team in the group gets a bye into the quarterfinals while the next two teams will be in the first elimination round. The US is on the same side of the bracket with Australia and assuming both won their groups and quarterfinal games they would meet in the semifinals on October 4th.

Schedule:

• September 27th – USA vs. China – Group D – TBD
• September 28th – USA vs. Serbia – Group D – TBD
• September 30th – USA vs. Angola – Group D – TBD

Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup – Falun, Sweden

Jessica Jerome is the only one representing the US this weekend at the Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup and she had a strong day on Saturday. Jerome had a 7th best first jump score of 100.8 and followed it up with a 12th best second jump score of 100.7 as she totaled 201.5 to finish eighth in the overall standings. She’ll compete again on Sunday in what will be the second to last event of the year.

Schedule:

• March 16th
  • 5 AM ET – First Round/Final Round (Separate Event)
    • Jessica Jerome