Most of the teams are now in Canada training or about to head there. Although most National Olympic Committees announced their official teams a week or so ago, a few official announcements came in the past couple of days.

 Ustyugov Leads Russian Men’s Team

On Wednesday, the Russian National Olympic Committee officially announced their Vancouver roster. The twelve biathletes on the team have all been regulars on the World Cup circuit this season. The roster includes: (men) Maxim Tchoudov, Ivan Tcherezov, Nikolai Kruglov, Evegeny Ustyugov, Anton Shipulin, Viktor Vasiliev; (women) Olga Zaitseva, Olga Medvedtseva, Svetlana Sleptsova, Anna Boulygina, Iana Romanova, Anna Bogaliy-Titovets. Four of the Russian Women and five of the men are ranked in the top 20 in the Overall World Cup, with Ustyugov ranked number two currently behind Simon Fourcade of France. The women rank number one in the Relay, while the men rank number three.

 100,000 Dollars

Earlier in the week, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko announced that Russian Gold medal winners in Vancouver will be rewarded with 100,000 dollars, along with a luxury car courtesy of the Olympic Athletes Support Organization, along with an additional cash bonus from the athlete’s sports federation. Silver medalists will receive 60,000 dollars and Bronze medalists, a 40,000 dollar prize.

 Six Austrian Men

Austria announced an 81-member team for Vancouver that includes six biathletes. Making the trip to Vancouver are the following Austrian men: Tobias Eberhard, Simon Eder, Dominik Landertinger, Daniel Mesotitsch, Fritz Pinter, and Christoph Sumann. The small, but powerful Austrian biathletes currently have four men ranked in the top 20, led by third place Christoph Sumann, while they lead the Nations Cup score.

 Domracheva Medal Hope                                                                

Last Friday Belarusian Deputy Sports Minister Dmitry Shachko said that his country is targeting medals in two sports, freestyle skiing and biathlon. He said, "We are counting on our top biathlete Darya Domracheva, who comes into the Olympics in her top form." The 23-year-old Domracheva has been on the podium four times this season. she possibly missed her first World Cup victory when she cross-fired during the first standing stage of the Mass Start in Oberhof, losing a substantial lead and eventually finishing ninth.

Young Team                                                                                                   

The French men’s team in Vancouver may be one of the youngest squads with medal potential competing at Whistler Olympic Park, with an average age of 24.3 years old. Of course this is skewed by the “grandfather” of the team, 32-year-old Torino gold medalist Vincent Defrasne. The average age, of the other five men is 22.8 years. The French team includes two 21-year olds, Martin Fourcade and Jean Guillaume Beatrix. Fourcade is ranked 10^th in the Overall World Cup, which is led by his brother, 25-year-old Simon Fourcade. The French men are ranked third in the Nations Cup score.

Junior Medalists

Three prominent 20-year-old athletes who have World Junior Championships medals will compete in Vancouver. Most prominent is Lukas Hofer of Italy who won the Sprint/Pursuit combination last year in Canmore, Canada and has been in the top 20 three times this season in World Cup competitions. Benjamin Weger of Switzerland won Silver behind Hofer in the Sprint last season at Canmore. More recently, Reka Ferencz of Romania won the Junior Individual last week in Torsby and earned a spot on her country’s Olympic Team. There is no question that a new generation of biathletes will be well represented in this year’s Olympic Winter Games.

TIME Video                                                                                                

TIME, the US weekly news magazine is not known for its sports coverage. However, they have produced a series of “How They Train” videos relating to these upcoming Olympic Winter Games. The final one video of the series, about biathlon made its debut on Monday at TIME.com. Tim Burke of the USA, who was in the Yellow Bib twice this season, is featured in the piece, which offers good perspective on biathlon training. The reporter, Sean Gregory even tries to hit a prone target using Burke’s rifle, propped up on a box, and realizes just how challenging biathlon really is.

Watch the video below.