Mount Washington Popular

Teams will make their final preparations in various locations, mostly in Canada. The Swedish team started a 10-day stint at home this week, before heading to Mt, Washington on Vancouver Island. Mt. Washington will surely be one of the most popular training venues for biathlon, with at least seven teams training there at some time. Besides Sweden, the list includes Germany, France, Canada, USA, China, and Czech Republic. Some of the Norwegian team will go to Silverstar, British Columbia. Unlike the many teams that will be spending an extended time in Canada, the Slovenian team will make their final preparations at Pokljuka until heading to Canada on February 4. The Whistler Olympic Park biathlon venue opens for training on February 6.

News from Canada’s Rosanna Crawford

Rosanna Crawford, from Canmore, Alberta was the final woman named to Canada’s Olympic Biathlon team, early in January. The 21-year-old made her World Cup debut last week in Ruhpolding with 77^th in the Sprint, with a single penalty. She had a perfect 10-for-10 day on the shooting range in the Relay.

 Rosanna commented on her first couple of weeks as an Olympian, “After a very enjoyable Christmas break we are now back in Europe getting ready to race the last World Cups before the Olympics. Travel over was long as usual and only a few of our rifles were held hostage at Munich customs! We are only missing one athlete who got sick over Christmas. That was too bad because we were all really looking forward to the relay. Fortunately, another replacement quickly flew over and we completed the last Relay before the Olympics.

Last week in Ruhpolding was my first World Cup. I was excited to finally be racing in the big leagues! The crowd makes the event so crazy, that no matter where you are on course there is always someone cheering for you.

Now we are in Antholz for the final World Cup before Games, loving the sunshine and four-course meals!”

 Rosanna wears bib number 62 in the Women’s 15K Individual today at Antholz.

 Great Britain, France and Norway

Lee Steve Jackson from Stockton-on-Tees will be Great Britain’s single entry in the biathlon competitions at Whistler Olympic Park. Jackson’s best result this season was 70^th in the Oberhof Sprint.

Torino Pursuit Gold medalist Vincent Defrasne of France was recently named to carry his country’s flag in the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver. Defrasne has two Bronze medals in the Relay to go with his Pursuit. At age 32, he has recently been called the “grandfather” of the French team, as most of his teammates are 8-10 years younger than Defrasne.

Norwegian Team Finalized

On Monday, four women were named to the Norwegian Biathlon team for Vancouver. In addition to the previously announced Tora Berger, Liv Kjersti Eikeland, Ann Kristin Flatland, Gro Marit Istad Kristiansen and Solveig Rogstad were added to the team. This group of women has continued to improve in recent weeks as Flatland and Berger were on the podium in Oberhof and the Relay team turned in a strong third place last week in Ruhpolding. Coach Knut Tore Berland was smiling broadly on Tuesday during training, knowing that his team is now set and rounding into form. He said, ‘We hope to continue to go up over the next few weeks. Solveig was sick for three months and now is healthy, which helps our relay. Tora will not compete in the 15K here in Antholz, but will start in the Sprint. Our focus now is on Vancouver.”

 These five women join the previously announced strong Norwegian men’s team that includes Lars Berger, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Tarjei Boe, Halvard Hanevold, Alexander Os, and Emil Hegle Svendsen. It would be a major understatement to say that the Norwegians have medal potential in Vancouver. Bjørndalen owns eight Olympic medals and the 40-year-old Hanevold five. Svendsen is in top form and a favorite, along with Bjørndalen, and both the men’s and women’s Relay teams have podium potential.