News: Winter 2007 - 2008

27 May 08 - LONDON TO NICE CYCLE RIDE

Less than 2 weeks to go for Nicky Walker to start the cycle ride from London to Nice (Followed by an Ironman Challenge). Her training is going well and so far she has raised £ 6243.01 from sponsorship.

She will be joined en-route by British Biathlon Team Members Simon Allanson, Rob Chudley, Lee Jackson, Marcel Laponder and Coach Jason Sklenar.

One third of all donations are earmarked to support British Biathlon! We would like to encourage everyone to donate with some sponsorship, however large or small the amount is, every £1 helps. You can donate by following the link below.

There will be up-to-date route map on www.nice-tri-nicky.co.uk and a blog page that Nicky is going to update every day after the days cycle ride.

22 Mar 08 - FAREWELL & THANK YOU!

22 Mar 08 - END OF SEASON FOR GBR

Most of the athletes have moved to Les Saisies FRA for a "wind-down" and ski technique fortnight under the watchful eye of new Head Coach Walter PICHLER GER.

Walter takes up his appointment on 28 Apr when the Senior Men & Women Squads assemble in Ruhpolding GER. In Les Saisies (scene of Mike DIXON's 12th place in the 1992 Olympic 20 km Individual) he was joined by assistant coaches Jason SKLENAR and Marc WALKER and Stuart LAING of the Olympic Medical Institute. The snow and weather has been good so far; perhaps this is an omen for better things to come, as we can not pretend that GBR has advanced this season.

There have been some highlights: a fantastic start to the season by Lee JACKSON; overall improvement by Adele WALKER and Kevin KANE; a determined return from illness by Simon ALLANSON; the emergence of a new talent in Alanda SCOTT, and the first ever GBR women's relay team. But, a number of athletes have "stood still", whilst some of the new talent has not shown the hoped for improvement. The final Nations Cup points show a demotion for both the Men and the Women.

Nations Cup:   Men   Women

22 Mar 08 - WORLD CUP ENDS HOLMENKOLLEN ERA

The World famous Holmenkollen Stadium in Oslo will be closed for the next 18 months whilst it is reconstructed, including having a staggering EUR 120 million spent on the Ski Jump! Fantastic sunny weather, which was a complete contrast to that of just 4 days previously, marked the final WC races of the season. And what races!  Kati WILHEM GER recorded a flawless 0-0-0-0 to win the Mass Start by a minute but in the men's event it took a photo finish to confirm the first ever WC victory of Michal Slesingr CZE.

The GBR athletes ended the season with mixed results, Adele WALKER (1-2) continued her recent progress to claim (on percentages) the #1 GBR women's slot. Lee JACKSON (2-3) failed to live up to his dynamic start to the season and finished the Sprint in a dismal 91st spot. GBR Results:

Sprint:   Men     Women  

World Cup IBU Points:   Men   Women

Full IBU Stories and overall World Cup places

"Britain's Biathlon Doomsday" was the verdict of EC Coach Marc Walker when illness, injury and a broken stock all contributed to a rather sad Sprint to close the Men's EC season in San Sicario ITA (races having been switched from Valromey FRA). Adele SCOTT scored another WC qualifier but generally the athletes were pleased the season was over! Results:

Sprint:   Men   Junior Men   Women   Junior Women

Pursuit:   Men   Junior Men  Women   Junior Women

European Cup Points:   Men   Junior Men   Women   Junior Women

After training in Obertilliach AUT and San Sicario ITA the GBR Team has resumed racing and had mixed results in the Sprints at OEC 7 at San Sicario yesterday. Adele WALKER achieved another PB to finish 15th whilst Alanda SCOTT hit her third World Qualifier in just 4 International Races. Simon ALLANSON confirmed his World Cup qualification behind Lee JACKSON, who was again "Best of the Brits". It was a severe step up to Senior Races for both Pete BEYER and Amanda LIGHTFOOT who failed to impress on the difficult tracks that were last used for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

Sunday's Pursuits saw average results on a windy day from the GBR athletes. Marcel LAPONDER, Paul WHIBLEY and Andy McCANN all missed San Sicario due to illness / injury.

Results - Sprint:   Men    Women
               Pursuit: Men    Women

The Course Joining Instructions for the three NDS Course this summer and initial Biathlon Academy have been published. The Academy assembles on 01 Apr and courses run 14 - 25 Apr; 05 - 16 May; 02 -13 Jun.

To date only 5 of the 33 athletes have contacted the BBU, as requested below (17 Feb), to confirm availability or provide information! These courses are run and partly paid for for YOUR Benefit and because YOU want them! So please get a grip guys.  Check the names below (17 Feb) and contact the BBU asap.

Apologies to Rob CHUDLEY who is WC qualified and was omitted from the masthead! Congratulations to Alanda SCOTT who has now joined him. It takes a fair amount of (unpaid) time to produce this, son there will be an update at the end of the season!

Commiserations to still qualified but retired athletes Si BURKE, Carl CARRIER, Lance HODGKINS and Marc WALKER who will not feature on the update!

Alas, not in a race! But the first ever appearance of a GBR Women's Relay team in any International Race (the European Champs in Nove Mesto CZE today).  It was not the result we wanted, but at least Emma FOWLER returned to form when she was joined by Adele WALKER, Alanda SCOTT and Amanda LIGHTFOOT for this historic race.

Although three of the Men's World Championship team competed today they struggled in the warm soft snow, but at least had a clear shoot, although Steve HILL, Lee JACKSON, Shane CLASH and Kevin KANE used rather more spare rounds than Manager for the week Roger ROBERTS would have liked.

Results:   Men   Women

On a memorable day for GBR the BBU Office moved back in record time and is re-open! More significantly, for the first time in a very long time there were 2 GBR men in the Men's Pursuit and for the first time ever 3 GBR women. Lee JACKSON, Kevin KANE, Emma FOWLER and Alanda SCOTT all improved their start positions. Adele WALKER would have recorded another career best had she not been awarded a disputed 2 minute penalty!

Results:  Men   Women.

The relays are LIVE on Eurosport tomorrow Sunday (Men 09:00 GMT, Women 11:15 GMT).

23 Feb 08 - NOVE MESTO SPRINTS

For the first time GBR athletes competed in all age categories in a Championships or WC / EC event in the Sprint yesterday. Amanda LIGHTFOOT showed few signs of nerves in her debut Championships race whilst Adele WALKER continued her impressive form with a career best.

Results:   Men   Junior Men   Women   Junior Women

The final day of the RLC Championships saw the Team Slalom and Patrol Race. After 10 days of unbroken sunshine and good snow it rained of course for the Patrol race! For all photos and results click to link to the AWSA website.

A mixed day in the office with a return to form from Lee JACKSON, another PB from Adele WALKER and an impressive first GBR race for Alanda SCOTT. But, a couple of disappointments as well.

Indiv Men    Indiv Junior Men    Indiv Women

21 Feb 08 - CROSS COUNTRY SUCCESS

Many competitors at the British Championships in recent years will have witnessed the growing success of the GBR XC Development Squad - some of whom have progressed to Senior level and now compete in FIS races. One of their early alumni Olwen THORN has in fact been selected for training with the GBR Biathlon Women's Squad this summer.

It is particularly satisfying to see the results of the recent Austrian Champs where our youthful XC compatriots recorded some great performances - none less than young Andrew YOUNG. Congratulations. More

Many Congratulations to Charlie & Jason SKLENAR on the arrival yesterday of Olivia. She weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz and both her and Mother are doing well. As for Jason ... "nervous wreck" springs to mind after 5 days waiting in the hospital!

Many thanks to Matthew Rees of the MJR Consultancy for his innovative montage above of the current World Cup qualified athletes and World Junior Champ athlete Pete Beyer!

At the 11th AGM of the BBU, held in Obertilliach AUT on Mon 28 Jan André OSZMANN was elected to the Board whilst David CRANSTON and William (Bill) LAURENCE were re-elected. André is the Managing Director International Division Skandia UK. David was a founder Board Member in 1996 and Bill was first elected to the Board in 2005. Click for AGM Minutes

17 Feb 08 - NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SQUAD (NDS)

The following athletes have been confirmed as members of the NDS for summer 2008 at East  Grange Biathlon Centre (EGBC) near Kinloss, Forres Scotland. An admin instruction will be sent to parent Units shortly. The first course is expected to be held towards the end of April.

Athletes who do not wish to attend NDS should inform the BBU asap by Email, and all other athletes should send their Email address and mobile phone# to the BBU.

17 Feb 08 - RESULTS ROUND UP - OBERHOF TO ÖSTERSUND

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Östersund SWE

(Germany top the medal table)

Men:  Sprint (Simon ALLANSON back in the team after a year!)  Individual (Kevin KANE leads GBR)  Relay (Slick shooting from Steve HILL and ALLANSON) 

World Cup Relay Points  Nations Cup

Women: (Adele WALKER & Emma FOWLER share honours)  Sprint   Individual

Nations Cup

World Cup 6 - Antholz ITA - Men: Sprint   IBU Pts  Women:   Sprint   IBU Pts

World Cup 5 - Ruhpolding GER  (Which saw an inaugural visit from Skandia to the World Cup and crowds of 25,000).  Men: Sprint   Relay (Carl CARRIER's last WC)    Women:   Sprint

World Cup 4 - Oberhof GER   Men: Sprint   Relay  (Marcel LAPONDER's WC debut).  Women:   Sprint

European Cup 5 Langdorf GER  Men:  Sprint   Individual  

European Cup 6  Osrblie SVK  Men:  Sprint   Pursuit (Kevin KANE's Perfect 0-0-0-0)  Relay

Men IBU OEC Pts     Women   IBU OEC Pts

Junior World Champs  - Ruhpolding GER  (Pete BEYER races for GBR)  Sprint   Pursuit   Individual

All the Results and a Triple for the RLC.

01 Feb 08 - WORLD & EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION - Obertilliach

The GBR Selection Committee met into the small hours to finalise the teams for the forthcoming World Championships in Ostersund SWE 08 -17 Feb 08 and European Championships Nove Mesteo CZE 20 -25 Feb 08.

We have now completed all of the Biathlon Races in Obertilliach AUT and are about to move to Ruhpolding GER to finish off with the Cross Country. At the half way stage 1 LSR RLC are in a strong position in the Team event whilst all the GBR team athletes have been in good, and close form, which has given the Selectors a tough call in choosing the World & European Championships teams.

We would like to give a big thanks to the Obertilliach Organising Committee who have given us great support here. It is a fantastic venue for both Biathlon & Cross Country.

Results

We now have a New Athlete Profile section which includes biography details on all the team and photos. Click here to see.

We are please to announce that we now have our 2008 Photo Gallery of the British Biathlon Championships up and running. To view photos please click to the British Champs Page and select which day of photos you want to view.

Congratulations go to Pete BEYER (28 Engr Regt) who achieved an inaugural British milestone when qualifying for Sunday's Pursuit with a 60th place (0-3) in the Sprint at the Junior World Championships in Ruhpolding GER this morning. Results 

02 Jan 08 - SKANDIA GO GREEN

The BBU is pleased to unveil its new 2008 logo which features the new green colours of our sponsor Skandia. The new Skandia green logo will be rolled out during 2008, but remember - you saw it here first!

From one of the all time greats!

"What matters isn't how well you play when you're playing well. What matters is how well you play when you're playing badly." Martina Navratilova

15 Dec 07 Poklujka SLO - ILLNESS HITS GBR RELAY HOPES

Marcel LAPONDER will have to wait a little longer to make his GBR debut as he has gone down with a virus and misses tomorrow's Relay. Fortunately Steve HILL is recovering fast, so GBR should still be able to field a team, thus allowing Si BURKE to make his WC debut. Fingers crossed!

But, whatever, you will need to get the result from the IBU Live Results as the BBU office is now closed until Wed 19 Dec.

There was a Poklujka "lucky dip" today in the Sprint as the wind was not at all favourable to the athletes, but Ole Einar BJOERNDALEN NOR (0-1), who else? coped, and was victorious in the Men's race where Lee JACKSON, with a 1-3 shoot could only finish 86th, albeit with an 18%. This gives him 93rd place on the IBU Points list which means he is not in the "Top 85" of athletes who automatically qualify for the next three World Cups. However after Nations' quotas are checked out, he could still be in the Top 85 of right; if not GBR will have a "wild card" start place in the next round of WC beginning in Oberhof GER on 03 Jan 08.

Men:  Result     Nations Cup   IBU Pts

Adele WALKER (0-3) was 84th today and finished the pre-season rankings in 113 place, with Emma FOWLER in 106. This also means that the GBR women will continue to have a "wild card" after Christmas.

Women:  Result     Nations Cup   IBU Pts

In a wonderful piece of self promotion for UK Sport, the Chair Sue Campbell, has announced "Mission 2012 and the Creation of Champions" .

It must be the time of year, because the announcement claims that the Government has doubled the UK Sport Budget after 2005 -  Mission 2012 claims to be "an approach which seeks to ensure that the sports in which we invest are on the right track by examining how they are doing in three dimensions: athlete performance; systems and leadership; and the overall ‘climate’ of the performance programme".

Note the words "in which we invest". As as been reported here before, they do not invest in Biathlon which still receives £ 0 (other than a few hundred Pounds to support attendance at IBU Congress!). We would love to be able to support the three dimensions - even the "overall climate", if we knew what that implied. Oh, and winter sports is mentioned in this announcement, or at least the dates 2014 and 2018 are; once!

As we say, it must be that time of year.

At long last the UK will have a NADO which is truly independent of UK Sport. This is a move that many NGBs have been pressing for many years, and which is fully supported by the BOA. It is promised that "more details on the new NADO will follow in the New Year, with it being fully operational well before 2012."

In truth UK Sport have been leaders in many procedural anti doping matters, but their role in anti doping as well as funding UK Sport (but not to biathlon!) has long been questioned

UK Sport Announcement     WADA & BOA Comment

Lee JACKSON (0-2-2-2) and Emma FOWLER (0-1-1-2) struggled in the high altitude and cold weather of the beautiful Slovenian venue of Poklujka today. There were surprise winners in both events after the long term leaders (Bjoerndalen and Neuner) missed 4, thus clear shots Emil Hegle Svendsen NOR in the men's race and Russia's Ekaterina Iourieva scored first career victories today.

We owe Emma an apology for originally listing her (below, 20 Nov) as a Cpl; she is of course a Sergeant!

Men:    Indiv   Women:   Indiv

Photos today from Poklujka of Emma & Jacko supplied by Archie Gemmell - many thanks!

Marcel LAPONDER from 35 Engr Regt has had a few months to remember. Granted a British Passport in August, the 29 year old South African born soldier has followed  this with selection for the World Cup Relay this Sunday in Poklujka, after just three European Cups. 

Almost as impressive is the late call up of 37 year old Si BURKE to replace Steve HILL who is ill and unable to race until after Christmas. BURKE who only made his international debut in the European Championships in February said "I know it is December, but it really is Christmas coming true!".

Ironically his mentor and friend "JC" McBride is now serving in South Africa, but we bet he finds a Eurosport TV somewhere to watch the Relay on Sunday at 10:00 GMT. (That's if the snooker which was shown on British Eurosport today instead of the Women's Sprint does not take priority!). The UK schedules show some more Live Biathlon this week, but there seem to be some gaps. All races will be shown LIVE on European Eurosport (which is still available via analogue satellite in the UK!)

Although there is still one Open European Cup event before Christmas (in Bansko BUL), the GBR athletes will not be competing and are staying in Obertilliach to train. Conditions are good and it is also an excellent chance to thoroughly get to know the courses before the British & Army Championships, which start there on 26 Jan 08.

Pete BEYER (28 Engr Regt) reinforced his claim for selection for the World Junior Championships, which means he would miss the British Champs, whilst Marcel LAPONDER (35 Engr Regt) led the way for the Senior Men. Amanda LIGHTFOOT (AGC) continued to impress in the Junior Women's competition.

Men:   Indiv   Sprint   OEC Pts    Junior Men:   Indiv   Sprint   OEC Pts

Women:   Sprint    OEC Pts    Junior Women:   Sprint   OEC Pts

Paul WHIBLEY (0-1) from 28 Engr Regt made a long awaited World Cup debut in the Relay at Hochfilzen on Sunday; it was probably one he would prefer to forget. As the snow thickened and the wind blew harder he set off in last place  and, sadly never looked like pulling it back. Lee JACKSON (0-0) came out of the first shoot in 8th place, only to hand over to Kevin KANE (0-0) in 20th. By the time Steve HILL (0-1),  started GBR was down to 22nd and Whibs stayed there.

After a great Sprint the week before, Lee JACKSON (1-1) finished outside the Pursuit starters in 85th, but his excellent percentage of 12.11% gives an indication of just how hard it is to keep in the Top 60. Emma FOWLER (1-2) was just a shade off the pace for an Olympic Qualifier at 20.14%.

Men Sprint    Men Relay    Women Sprint 

Just 800 days left until the Opening of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Will you be in Whistler (centre for Biathlon) as an athlete or supporter?!

Ole Einar BJOERNDALEN NOR (0-0) stormed the 72nd victory of his career in the opening Sprint, but for GBR the hero was Lee JACKSON (also 0-0) who finished  55th , just 9% behind and who will be the first British male to start in the Pursuit (tomorrow) since marc WALKER in 2005. Jacko also became the first British athlete to gain a BOA Olympic Qualifier in 2 season. Alas, this winter is does not count for Vancouver, but is the corner being turned?

Good shooting from Kevin KANE and Steve HILL helped GBR to jump 80 points ahead of Kazakhstan in the Nations Cup, thus holding on to last season's 22nd place.

Results   Pursuit

Sprint    Nations Cup after 2 events    IBU World Cup Points  for the NQS (The "Top 90")

Nothing spectacular at Torsby today where the GBR athletes learnt a bit more about the realities of back to back international racing in the first Pursuits of the season.

Results:  

Junior Women     Junior Women OEC Pts     Women    Women OEC Pts   

Junior Men   Junior Men OEC Pts   Men   Men OEC Pts

GBR's Emma FOWLER confirmed her No 1 slot in the GBR team when she finished 88th in the WC 1 Sprint  this afternoon. Shooting 0-1 she was under 15% behind the winner, but such is the quality of the field that although a few years ago this would have meant a top half of the field placing, she was only 88th. Under the new IBU WC Points System this gave her 19 points to add to the 11 from yesterday's Individual. Alas this puts her into 97th place, which means that she misses out on an automatic  start place for WC 2 & 3. However as Adele WALKER is also below the magic 90th position (currently lying in 104th place with 10 points), Emma will be the GBR "Wild Card" at next week's World Cup in Hochfilzen AUT.

IBU World Cup Points Women for the NQS (The "Top 90")

Our favourite German athlete Martina GLAGOW made it a double for Germany as she followed her victory in yesterday's 15 km Individual with a second victory today in the 10 km Sprint. She was just 0.3 secs ahead of team mate Kati WILHELM who was the same distance ahead of Tora BERGER NOR. With 5 athletes in the Top 9, the German women have struck a rich vein of form, but none so rich as Martina whose father Martin is once again the GBR wax technician. Emma FOWLER came 88th and Adele WALKER 101 for GBR.

Results   Nations Cup

3 Graduates from the National Development Squad and the British Biathlon Academy run by Gordon Seaton at East Grange Biathlon Centre made their international debut today in the 7.5 km Sprint in less than favourable snow conditions at OEC 2 in Torsby SWE.

Amanda LIGHTFOOT (1-2) came a very promising 31st in the Junior Women's race. This is only her second season on snow, and she is the first Junior female to represent GBR since Gillian SOWDEN in 2001.

Although Leah COXON (1-2) and Anna BARKER (1-3) filled the last two slots, their percentage behind the winner of 25% was better than average for a first race and amazingly they were only 90 seconds short of a World Cup Qualifier. Well done!

Results:  Junior Women   Women   IBU Points:  Junior Women   Women

Shooting a 0-1 in today's Sprint allowed Marcel LAPONDER to become the leading GBR male in the rather indifferent conditions at Torsby. He finished 60th, seven ahead of Si BURKE (0-2) as the pair of them recorded another World Cup Qualifier. Had Rob CHUDLEY not missed 5 he would almost certainly have joined the qualifiers, but he is edging ever closer.

Pete BEYER reverted to the Junior race and with a 0-3 finished 31st. Andy McCANN had a bit of a reality check on the range after his good shooting last week, as did Shane CLASH in the Senior race.

Results:  Junior Men   Men    IBU Points:  Junior Men   Men

Familiar names took the honours at the season's opening World Cup in Kontiolahti today. Triple Olympic Silver Medallist Martina GLAGOW GER shot clear to take the Women's 15 km and Olympic Pursuit Champion Vincent DEFRANSE FRA did the same in the Men's 20 km. The Russians look like they will give anyone a run for their money this season whilst the Chinese men have shot up the results list from 18th last year to 6th place in the Nation's Cup.

GBR kept their 22nd place as debutant Steve HILL missed only 3 targets in his first ever 20 km to finish 111, two ahead of Kevin KANE who had a disappointing final shoot.  Star of the show for GBR was Lee JACKSON (0-2-0-1) who put a mixed summer behind him to finish in 83rd out of the 120 starters.

Results   Nations Cup

The IBU has introduced a New Qualifying System (NQS) from the start of this season. It has certainly not met with universal approval and will be reviewed at the end of the Season, and at at the IBU Congress in Prague in Sep 08.

The original draft proposed in May 07 was, quite frankly, ridiculous and GBR led the way in protesting against it. The final version of Sep 07 is better, but not much. GBR proposed a number of further amendments and as a result of our efforts Nations that do not have a WC qualifier can race one "Wild Card" per race, and the number of start places in the EC has risen to 7.

The main points of the NQS are:

• After WC 1 the Top 90 athletes based on a new IBU Points system scored on the results of the Individual & Sprint will be qualified to race in WC 2 & 3.
• Any Nation with no athlete in the Top 90 will be entitled to race a "Wild Card".
• After WC 3 the Top 85 WC athletes based on IBU points remain on the WC start list for the next three WCs. The European Cup, re-named "Open European Cup" (OEC) will also have a points system and the top 8 athletes will be promoted to WC - subject to their Nation not having more athletes starting in WC than allowed by their quota. (This is based on the previous season's Nations Cup. GBR has a quota of 3 men and 2 women.) This means that an athlete in the "middle" of the OEC rankings could be promoted to WC, however the Wild Card remains.
• After WC 6 only the Top 80 athletes in the WC remain with a further 3 promoted from OEC, regardless of quota. The Wild Card remains.
• The best athletes will now start towards the end of the field in Group 3, which should make for far better viewing for both TV and the live audience at the venue.
• The NQS applies to both Men & Women

More detail appears in a News Release on the IBU website, but it has lost some clarity its translation from Norwegian to German to English!

There are also changes to the Olympic Qualifying System and the Nations Cup points in the season prior to a Games will no longer be the criteria for the number of athletes allowed per Nation. The total IBU points from all races (less Relay) at the two World Championships prior to the Olympic Winter Games will now be used. However although the Top 20 Nations will still receive 4 start places, this figure is cut to just one for Nations placed 21 - 25th and thereafter starts are allocated on "fill up basis".

There is still a "percentage" qualification criteria set by the IBU and IOC, so even if a Nation has a quota of 4 start places, they may only have 3 athletes qualified! All athletes in relays must be qualified as an individual. The BOA usually sets a far stricter qualifying standard than the IBU and IOC, and that will be discussed during the next 18 months.

In only his second GBR race as a Senior, Stephen HILL (0-1) recorded one of the best British results for some years on the European Cup circuit in second Sprint of the weekend at Geilo. Under 10% behind the winner he has been called up for the World Cup squad currently in Kontiolahti FIN where the first race of the season is the 20 km Individual on Thu 29 Nov. This event is LIVE on Eurosport at 09:30 GMT, as is the Women's 15 km at 12:30 GMT.

Shane CLASH returned to form to finish above Si BURKE for the first time this season. This leaves Rob CHUDLEY and Pete BEYER as non World Cup Qualified, with Pete missing qualification today by just a few seconds.

Results:   Senior Men   Junior Men    IBU Points:   Senior Men   Junior Men

Stephen HILL and, in his first ever race for GBR Marcel LAPONDER, scored a double hit by obtaining World Cup Qualifying Standards in the first European Cup race of the new season. To be accurate this competition is now called the "Open European Cup". It reflects a change in the IBU World Cup qualifying system, and we shall report more on this in a few days.

Pete BEYER made his Senior debut, although has the option of returning to the Juniors, and will be aiming to record the best ever GBR result in the World Junior Championships in Ruhpolding GER in January. Debutant Andy McCANN had a promising start to his International career. However, it could all change in the second sprint of the weekend tomorrow; it usually does!

Results:  Senior Men     Junior Men

Many congratulations go to Kevin KANE (40 Regt RA) who has been chosen as the BBU / BOA  "Athlete of the Year 2007". He follows Tom CLEMENS who won the inaugural Trophy in 2006.  Kevin was selected after making his World Cup debut in WC 1 last season, and then missing only one race in a most promising first season on the demanding World Cup circuit. He also competed in the World Championships in February.

This BOA award is given to each of the 35 Olympic sports and all recipients are invited to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards on Sun 09 Dec. Kevin expects to be competing in the World Cup Relay at Hochfilzen on that day, so will probably have to make do with the video recording!

Lee JACKSON and Emma FOWLER were again victorious in the special GBR 15 & 12.5 km Individual races in Beitostølen today. Stepen HILL pushed Jacko all the way and there was another fine shoot by Paul WHIBLEY. Adele WALKER was just 4 seconds behind Emma, with both only missing a total of 4 targets.

Results:  Men & Women

19 Nov 07 - NEW PRESIDENT FOR WADA AND 4 YEAR BAN FOR DRUGS CHEATS

Former Australian finance minister John Fahey has been elected World Anti-Doping Agency president, taking over from Dick Pound at the end of the year.  More

A doubling of the current period of ban up to 4 years and other new anti doping measures will be introduced in the the next major re-issue of the WADA code on 01 Jan 09.  More

The GBR National Selection Races began today in Beitostølen NOR. Four women and 14 men started in the Sprint at the famous "Beitosprint" Races, and will compete again in a GBR only Individual race on Monday. Not surprisingly both races today were dominated by Norway's star athletes.

The two leading British athletes of last season, Lee JACKSON and Emma FOWLER maintained their Number One slots in today's races, but one swallow does not make a summer, even on snow, so there is a lot still to play for on Monday! Emma shot clear and was joined with a 0-0 by Paul WHIBLEY in the Men's race. The most impressive performance was by 20 year old Pete BEYER (1-0) who was the second GBR athlete home just over a minute behind Jackson.

Men's Result       Women's Result

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