Lake Placid IBU Cup

The International Biathlon Union Cup happened on American soil!! I raced IBU Cup Finals for US Biathlon March 3-8, 2026 which I believe is the first time they have hosted an IBU Cup. Lake Placid has hosted many major events, to include the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, more recently, the FISU World University Games in 2023, and in the future, the FIS Cross Country World Cup Finals (this weekend! March 20-22, 2026) Cross country skiing and biathlon are growing in a major way here in the US and it is super exciting.

An overwhelming majority of biathlon racing, especially high level racing, happens outside of the United States in Europe. Geographically, it makes sense; most of the countries competing on the IBU and World Cup are European. It is commonplace to expect us to fly overseas, so when the tables turn and the euros fly the other way, it is a little satisfying for them to experience the added logistics, huge travel days, and jet lag we have to experience every time.

The other added treat to the racing being in the United States was the ability to invite friends and family to watch. It is unfair and, frankly, unrealistic of me to ask people to travel that far to watch me race, so I am so grateful to have the opportunity to show up in a more accessible way.

It felt SO good to hear my friends and family cheering my name. Every time I skied one section of the course, I could hear the cheers from a group of high school girls from Albany, New York led by a wonderful woman, Megan, I met through Nordjork. I had the opportunity to catch up with them the next day and talk about what biathlon is, what it means to be a woman in sport, and hopefully share some words of wisdom. They were a very respectful and bright group of young women I hope to cross paths with again!

While cheering for my teammates, a woman next to me asked questions about how the race worked, who was racing, etc. Get this, she heard about biathlon from the Olympic coverage, googled biathlon in the United States, then drove from Ohio to New York to watch the IBU Cup happen in real life!! That is the coolest story ever and I am so glad I got to meet her and help introduce her to the sport. I hope to see her at more events in the future too!

Lake Placid was a success and I would love to see even more spectators at international, high level racing here in North America. I suspect more people would have come to watch if there was increased visibility and awareness of these races happening. And if we convince young people that biathlon is cool ;) I think all youth and junior club within driving distance will show up.

My race performance in and of itself is nothing to be proud of or give much attention too. I did not shoot to my ability and I am frankly embarrassed about it! I can give excuses of course, my rifle was broken and I didn’t have the new part until 6 days before the race, I was rushed given less than 24 hours notice to show up to the race venue, I only had 15 minutes of official training the day before. I was unprepared, yes, but I also can’t help being hard on myself because I KNOW I am capable of better. I got scared to pull the trigger again and I missed too many to have a result I can be proud of.

That being said, I objectively PRd, placing higher than I did at the IBU Cup last season. I am also happy with how I skied. I had competitive ski times amongst the Americans and had more to give. I am not defeated, rather, excited to toe the line and fight for it again next season. There is a lot of work to be done until then :)

Non-racing, I am delighted by all the new people I got to meet and familiar hello’s to those I got to see again, I really enjoy trading gear with the other athletes and got some pretty cool new clothes from other countries, and finally getting to show off my Nordjork Disco Leopard Neckie on the international stage! There are still a few left from the restock, go get one!

The season is not over yet with cross country Super Tour Finals in Craftsbury, VT and US Biathlon Nationals in Soldier Hollow, UT next week (never mind, just saw it was canceled!), but I have decided to call my season early due to accepting a full time job. The job is covering a maternity leave so it is not forever, but something good for now.

And, lastly, I have postcards to mail! If you want one, drop your mailing address here: