The Penalty Loop Podcast

July 2024 Biathlon Round Up

It is truly a quiet time in the world of biathlon but we still found a few things to chat about including:
- It's wedding season!
- RJ's EXTENSIVE breakdown of Emilien Jacquelin's shooting which is now published: https://biathlonanalytics.com/would-changing-high-risk-high-reward-strategy-pay-off-for-emilien-jacquelin/
- A preview of Jordan's Ultimate Biathlon Timeline which will be up very soon.
- Biathlon story time: Have You Ever Heard of Kari Swenson? 

Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 106 - Logan Pletz

This one is for the rifle nerds out there! We had on Logan Pletz and after a short discussion on his background in biathlon it turned into a deep deep deeeeeeeeep dive on rifle construction, particularly with 3D printing. Logan was so generous sharing his adventures in rifle construction including the not so successful trials. Even if you're not a rifle nerd, any biathlon fan is really going to have fun with this one! Then we close with a short bit about what next season is going to look like for Canadian biathlon. Enjoy!

Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 105 - Tara Geraghty-Moats Interview

We were so fortunate to be joined by the author of one of the truly unique stories in biathlon: Tara Geraghty-Moats. Sure, you might know that she was once a Nordic Combiner, but what else do you know about her journey? We discuss her start in Nordic sports at a very young age and the winding path that has brought her here to the IBU Biathlon World Cup. 
We also learn about how passionate she is about truly improving the experience of athletes including her work for Nordic Combined. We have a truly enlightening and gratifying discussion about healthcare for athletes and recovery from injury and illness.
We discuss her ability to strategize for her races and how that has impacted her ability to race her best on the biggest stages. 
If you love biathlon and the biathlon family you're going to love this. 

Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 104 - May 2024 Catch Up #2!

Surprise! We are back after just 1 week! This was actually a surprise for us as well as we didn't know we were recording it until we started. Today we discuss:
- RJ's recent deep dive on if any national wax teams or ski brands were particularly successful in this most recent season
- Coaching carousel including the Ricco Gross update, the Swiss coaching restructure, and a few other changes
- The Italian team set their roster
- Congratulations to Sebbe Samuelsson!

May Biathlon Catch Up

It's time to catch up on all of the biathlon news from May 2024 including:
- Dorothea Wierer continues through 2026 Olympics
- Stina Nilsson back to XC skiing
- Discussion of Rico Gross going to the Bulgarian team (this was recorded just hours before it was announced that he's not going to the Bulgarian team)
- Czech team coaching changes
- Early reactions to team announcements from a few nations including Germany, Canada, Austria, and USA
- Summer biathlon schedule for North America announced
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Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 102 - National Championships and Breakthrough Seasons

It's time to talk more biathlon! Let be honest it's always time to talk more biathlon. We reconvened to discuss:
- French, Swiss, Swedish, and Norwegian national championships
- A little bit of biathlon news
- Was there a connection between ski brand and ski speed this season
- Jordan's connection with Tarjei Boe
- A preview/overview of some breakthroughs this season 

Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 101 - 2023-2024 Season Recap Pt 2 Women

It's time to recap the 2023-2024 Biathlon World Cup season! Here in part 2 we discuss the women including:
- Lou Jeanmonnot announcing herself as a contender now and in the future
- Lisa Vittozzi finishing off one of the most remarkable career comebacks in biathlon history
- Lena Haecki-Gross in year 10 of her career becomes the best Swiss woman in biathlon history
- Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold just misses out on the Globe
- Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon are in it for the long haul
- What happened to Hanna and Elvira this season?
- And much more!

Penalty Loop Biathlon Podcast Episode 100!!!

It's our 100th Episode! We recap our journey of where we started and everything that has happened over the last 100 episodes. A big THANK YOU! To everybody who has listened and joined us along the way!
We also cover 2 pieces of big news:
1) Christian Gow, Biathlon Canada mainstay, announced his retirement
2) Tarjei Boe is back! Please check out my very personal thoughts on this here: https://penaltyloop.com/2024/04/08/tarjei-boe-my-living-memory/

Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 99 - 2023-2024 Season Recap Pt 1 Men

It's time to recap the 2023-2024 Biathlon World Cup season! We broke our recap up in 2 parts rather than giving you one massive nearly 3 hour podcast. Here in part 1 we discuss the men including:
- JT Boe's 5th Overall title was better than you may have thought
- Some young men showing off including Eric Perrot, Tommaso Giacomel, and Campbell Wright
- Tarjei Boe completes the 2nd best season of his illustrious career
- Emilien Jacquelin finds himself
- Sturla Holm Laegreid with the year's most "interesting" season
- The German men were...actually good?
- Where is QFM heading
- And much more!

Penalty Loop Podcast Episode 98 Canmore Recap with RJ's Interviews

We head back to Canmore for one more episode! This time around we do our normal discussion about the racing but this time we have interviews! We discuss:
- Exhausted athletes
- JT Boe winning the Globe in style
- Anna Gandler continues to shine
- The French and Italians close out the season very strong
- Lisa Vittozzi and Lou Jeanmonnot giving us a preview of next season?
- Late season redemption for Hanna Oeberg and Marketa Davidova
- And More!