He noted two particular challenges as a coach. The first, he said, is finding talent. The second, he said, has to do with training biathletes to be in their best form throughout the long season from November to March. He used the German biathlon team's performance in last year's IBU World Cup competition as an example. He said that because of the coaching, the German team peaked in performance in December and steadily declined through the following months.
Time is everything in the biathlon, since the biathlete with the best time wins.
Each athlete gets five shots at five targets. Every missed target means a time penalty. In pursuit, the fastest biathletes from each country pursue each other in an attempt to pass the leader. Since each biathlete is handicapped according to her speed, the start times for the first and last runner can be significant. The Ukrainians found their way to Sun Valley mostly through the efforts of Laryssa Temple, a Ukrainian married to an American.