Living my rock and roll dreams this afternoon - playing a gig at our local Christmas market! So I won’t be online for the Pursuits but I’ll catch up with you all later 😀 Allez Les Bleues / Bleus!! #biathlon

A display of dominance from the Norwegian men: they’re likely to get 5 in the top 10 in today’s sprint, with and other 1-2 for Botn and Uldal. They’ve always had the deepest squad but to have that level of performance? Amazing! #biathln

Stars and Stripes have been replaced by a blue and white cross on a red background- it’s a lot of 🇳🇴 right now. Botn 10/10 and fast once again. Wow! Uldal and Christiansen also 10/10; Laegreid 9/10 but fast… #biathlon

So much going on… Wright and Germain have missed in their standing shoot. But are so fast they could still end the day well. QFM, Laegreid , Samuelson 5/5… OMG, Botn has gone 10/10!!! #biathlon

It’s all gone Stars and Stripes in Ostersund - Germain and Wright both 5/5 and leading the way at this point. Wright is burning it up! #biathlon

Chapeau to Viktor Brandt - skiing hard and managed 10/10! 🇸🇪 He’s going to set a great early benchmark from bib 1. Behind him, tough shooting but Isak Frey is 5/5 and Philip Horn is 5/5 - both skiing really well #biathlon

Viktor Brandt 🇸🇪 the first to hit 5/6 in the prone, delighting the home crowd. #biathlon

And the Men’s Sprint is under way in Ostersund. Snow falling, wind blowing, a proper Ostersund day, by the look of it! I’m looking out today for Germain and Wright of the USA, Frey 🇳🇴 and the unpredictable but wonderful French duo of QFM and Jacquelin. #biathlon

Suvi and the winning smile! Absolute joy! #biathlon

Suvi: I’m really happy and proud of how I did it today. It was hard to get the focus right on performing and not thinking about the results. I think it’s crazy! Going out first in the Pursuit is something new but if I have the yellow (bib), that’s amazing! #biathlon

And the Women’s Sprint give us a whole bunch of surprises! 1. Suvi Minkinnen 🇫🇮 in the run-up to her birthday 2. Anna Magnusson 🇸🇪 - determined, accurate and fast 3. Oceane Michelon 🇫🇷 - the biggest smile when her targets fell Flowers for Hauser, Elvira and Jakiela!! #biathlon

Good news for Team GB though - Shawna Pendry has hit 10/10! She’s in 66th right now 😀 #biathlon

Oh no, poor Chloe DuPont - we didn’t see it but her standing shoot was a 0. Maybe shooting across lanes? That’s such a shame. The prone was a great platform for next time though… #biathlon

Update from Ostersund: the podium as it stands is brought to you by the letter M: Minkkinen 🇫🇮 Magnusson 🇸🇪 Michelon 🇫🇷 #biathlon

Here we go with Minkkinen and she looks so steady - and hits 10/10!!! She’s her 14 seconds on Magnusson. We know that Anna skied like a demon on that final lap (Oceane hit 10/10 but is not making up time)… This could be Suvi vs Anna for the win #biathlon

ANNA!!!!! Magnusson 🇸🇪 crosses the line with a lead of 30 seconds. Amazing performance. She knows how to sprint! #biathlon

Anna Magnusson 🇸🇪 is on a burn right now. She’s hit 10:19 and is storming around the tracks. Lotte Lie 🇧🇪 and Joanna Jakiela 🇵🇱 also clean and moving up the rankings. Oh and Ella Halvarsson just hit 10/10 🇸🇪 #biathlon

Camille Bened has nerves of steel. Our first 10/10 with the world watching and she leads after two shoots. Lisa V, with two misses, is only 9 seconds back, which gives a sense of Lisa’s speed… #biathlpn

A lot of 5/5s already I the prone, including Lehtonen 🇫🇮, Charvatova 🇨🇿, Hettich-Walz 🇩🇪 Can Lehtonen spring another surprise for Finland after Leinamo’s podium earlier this week? #biathlon

Gandler in Bib 1 hits her 5/5 but there a miss for Vittozzi behind her and she’ll head out onto the penalty loop. Nerves maybe? Maya Cloetens and Polona Klemencic both hit 5/5, as does Skottheim 🇸🇪 to the cheers of the crowd! #biathlon

The first ten are out on track and it’s Lisa Vittozzi setting the initial benchmark after 1.3km, 3 seconds up on Anna Gandler If you haven’t seen Lisa before, she is the most efficient person in terms of movement, both on skis and on the range. Elegant and controlled. #biathlon

Speaking of LISAAAAA, Lisa Vittozzi is under way in Ostersund, wearing bib 2 and with a good chance to make a difference today. So lovely to have her back in World Cup after missing last year through injury… #biathon

About five minutes to go before the Women’s Sprint in Ostersund. Tune in live at www.biathlonworld.com (free tho you’ll need to register). And follow along with me and @penaltyloop.bsky.social as we try to make sense of 100+ competitors in a time trial! #biathlon

Snow is falling in Ostersund as we get ready for the Women’s Sprint. 2 shoots and 7.5km of lung-busting, lactic-boiling cross-country skiing… It’s a time trial, so live posting can get a bit chaotic, but we’ll do our best! #biathlon

Norway getting 4 of the top 5 today. Insane! Botn, Uldal, Bakken and Laegreid, with only Samuelson getting in the mix. Just incredible! #biathlon

Bakken is 15/15 and currently running in 2nd. Norway, what are you doing to us? The Boe brothers retire and there might be 4 in the top 5?? #biathlon

Johan Olaf Botn! You beast!!!! He waited 8 seconds before his last shot but he now has a 48 second lead and one lap to go! This is amazing! #biathlon

Uldal 20/20!!! He took an age - I thought my internet had frozen… he’s only 9 seconds ahead of Samuelson so it’s about how much energy he has left… And what can Botn do?? #biathon

Every time I start a post something changes… Summary: Samuelson leading and on his last lap (19/20); Laegreid 2nd with same shooting Botn and Uldal both 15/15 with Botn wearing his turbo skis today - 38 seconds faster!?!? #biathlon

Uldal now leading after 3, with a clean shoot all the way! A group with one miss at that stage including Perrot, Giacomel, Laegreid and Samuelson. And Botn has gone 15/15 and has 38 seconds ahead of Uldal. WTF!!?? #biathlon

Fatigue is kicking in and the shooting is getting tougher as the race goes on… Perrot is now 14/15 and fast. Laegreid is also 14/15 but slower by 20 seconds and drops his ski pole too. He’s generally amazing but not perfect today… maybe a bug? #biathlon

Samuelsson and QFM duking it out now: both 10/10 and looking gooood! Uldal going well for Norway - 10/10 and very patient again. #biathlon

Laegreid 🇳🇴 and Perrot 🇫🇷 have both gone 5/5 with Perrot a few seconds faster on the tracks. QFM 🇫🇷 hits 5/5 too. Feels like QFM and Laegreid are skiing comfortably at the moment, saving some fuel for later… #biathlon

Update from the #biathlon! Prone shooting is being kind to people but more struggles in the standing. Early leader through two shoots is Isak Frey 🇳🇴 (favourite of this podcast) Germany looking really good - where was this on relay day?

The German men have come out quickly on skis with Horn and Fratzcsher towards the top after the first split. Meanwhile, on the range, good shooting from the lesser known names like Muellauer and Burkhalter but misses from the more famous guys (Frey, Hofer). Horn 🇩🇪 hits 5/5 bucking that trend maybe

Men’s Individual #biathlon is under way from Ostersund. The range looks less windy than yesterday, but that might change as time goes by… #biathlon

Doro: I wasn’t sure if I would start because I felt a little sick and didn’t sleep all night. I was speaking with my coach and he said concentrate on shooting. I just tried it and it worked out. I didn’t know who was in front and I had so much back pain in the last two loops.

The gap is down to 2 seconds!!! 500m to go… The final straight and DORO HAS DONE IT BY 0.3 SECONDS!!!! And she still looks as cool as anything! #biathlon

Leinamo the Dynamo!!!! Suvi greets her over the line! They’re crying, I’m crying! Oh man. I think only Doro can beat her… but she’s not making up time… #biathlon

So much is happening!!! Bened still holds the lead, from Jeanmonot. But Leinamo 🇫🇮 is skiing for a podium place… and Doro is chasing her down… 🇮🇹 #biathlon

Baserga crosses the line in 3rd, having shot 18/20. Lisa V is apparently tearing it up on the tracks and make challenge Baserga’s time. Still waiting for Lou’s final shoot.., #biathlon

Bened has emptied the tanks, almost stumbled as she entered the final straight, but she has taken the lead, ahead of Cloetens. Jeanmonot looking good with one shoot left. #biathlon

Preuss in for shoot 3. She isn’t enjoying her day - another miss - so she’s 12/15 And here’s Lou for shoot 3: a miss! An adjustment and she hits the other 4. Very composed. #biathlon

Cloetens and Bened both wobble in their final shoots and end up 19/20. That’s so good in these conditions, honestly! They could both be in the top ten today (maybe top 5??) #biathlon

Ouch! Preuss misses 2 in her standing shoot - that’s so unusual for her. She tries to stare the targets down but that doesn’t work… In comes Lou: a lot of wind in her hair but that was astonishing! She’s 10/10! #biathlon

These are proper Ostersund conditions and it’s all about who has control and patience to work with the wind. Camille Bened and Maya Cloetens both 15/15. Tandrevold an awesome 14/15 too. #biathlon

Camille continue! 10/10 and leading the field with 25 athletes through the second shoot. 🇫🇷 #biathlon

Cloetens and Hristova 10/10 after two shoots and leading at that stage. Skottheim joins the 5/5 club. Lisa V in for her prone and it’s 4/5 with a miss on shot 2. She can still win with a miss. #biathlon

Allez Camille!!! 5/5 for Bened 🇫🇷- no nerves! Cloetens and Slettemark also 5/5. A long way still to go! #biathlon

The first few biathletes are through shoot 2. Dmytrenko 🇺🇦 the only one clear so far as turning conditions play a part. Some of the big names getting under way now, Amy Baserga included who could go well today 🇨🇭 #biathlon