After a delayed start to the race weekend in Oberhof, Germany, with rain and strong winds creating challenging conditions for the athletes, the U.S. Biathlon Team was able to pull off clean shooting, pursuit qualifications and strong relay performances.

In the opening sprint race in Oberhof, Chloe Levins of Rutland, Vermont impressed with clean shooting in her first race of the World Cup season. Deedra Irwin of Pulaski, Wisconsin skied to 46th after three misses in the standing shoot to qualify for the 10-kilometer pursuit. Irwin finished 49th in the pursuit, hitting 16 of 20 targets.

The highlight of the weekend came this past Sunday, with the team of Jackie Garso of Lake Clear, Kelsey Dickinson of Winthrop, Washington, Irwin and Levins fighting for a top 10 in the women’s relay. Each athlete put in an impressive leg to finish in 11th and is eagerly looking towards the opening relay in Ruhpolding.

The men’s team qualified three athletes in the pursuit for the second straight World Cup. In the 10K sprint, Jake Brown of St. Paul, Minnesota, led the group in 46th, with Sean Doherty of Center Conway, New Hampshire, and Campbell Wright of Wanaka, New Zealand, following in 54th and 58th. Wright made up the most ground in the pursuit, jumping 21 spots to finish 37th with two missed shots. Doherty followed suit, gaining 11 places to cross the line in 43rd, with Brown rounding out the bunch in 55th.

The team’s focus now turns to this weekend’s races in Ruhpolding, Germany, which kicked off with the women’s relay on Wednesday, followed by the men’s relay, sprint and pursuit races, spread over five days.