NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine (Dec. 21, 2020) -- The U.S. Biathlon International Competition Committee has named 10 athletes and two alternates to the roster for the January IBU Cups and IBU Open European Championships. An additional athlete from each gender will be added to the roster from the IBU World Cup Team prior to the first IBU Cup competition and one more athlete from the World Cup team will join the roster before the start of the IBU Open European Championships.
"In a year where many athletes will experience limited racing opportunities, we are excited to name our biggest IBU Cup Team to date," said U.S. Biathlon Director of Athlete Development Tim Burke. "This team is a good mix of veterans and up-and-comers, and we look forward to watching them build on the success of last year's historic IBU Cup results."
Named to the women's roster were Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt.), Hallie Grossman (Craftsbury, Vt.), Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash.), Lucy Hochschartner (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and Jackie Garso (Lake Clear, N.Y.), with Helen Wilson (Eagle River, Alaska) serving as alternate.
The men's IBU Cup squad consists of Vasek Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Raleigh Goessling (Duluth, Minn.), Lars Hammernes Leopold (Truckee, Calif.), Garrett Beckrich (Grand Rapids, Minn.) and Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, Utah). Luke Brown (Saint Paul, Minn.) will serve as alternate.
The first two IBU Cup competitions will be held in Arber, Germany, Jan. 14-17 and Jan. 20-23. The team will then travel to Duszniki Zdroj, Poland, for the IBU Open European Championships taking place Jan. 27-31.
In the picture below, Lucy (#12) gets ready for a regional time trial this past fall in West Yellowstone. Normally, in August and October (on roller skis) as well as November and early December there would have been a series of national trial races to pick World Cup and IBU Cup teams. Because of the pandemic these races were turned into Multiple regional affairs, and a discretionary committee reviewed results as well as athlete national rankings to determine the teams. (Five women were named to the World Cup roster, and six were named to the IBU cup circuit which is akin to the AAA baseball league.)
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