United States’ Russell Currier skis during the men’s biathlon 4×7.5K relay at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP File Photo)

Two weeks of men’s Olympic biathlon competition kicks off Sunday at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre at the PyeongChang Games with a 10-kilometer sprint that will not include Maine’s Russell Currier.

A 30-year-old native of Stockholm, Currier is one of five men on a U.S. team allowed four starting berths. Those will go to Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke, Sean Doherty and Leif Nordgren.

Live coverage of the race, scheduled to begin at 6:15 a.m., can be seen at nbcolympics.com and NBCSN. Tape-delayed highlights are also likely to be seen on NBC’s regular coverage between 3 and 6 p.m.

All five U.S. men are holdovers from the Sochi Games of 2014, when Currier placed 61st in sprint and 50th in individual and skied on the men’s relay team that placed 16th.

The sprint competition includes two shooting stages, one prone and one standing, with penalty loops of 150 meters for each missed shot of 10. The top 60 finishers qualify for Monday’s 12.5k pursuit, and start in their respective order of finish.

Currier and Nordgren were the final two selections to the U.S. team, announced in late January.

Advertisement

The sprint gold medalist from Sochi, decorated Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, failed to make the Olympic team this cycle. That leaves Sunday’s favorites as fellow Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe, currently ranked second in the world, and Martin Fourcade of France.

Among Americans, Bailey is the reigning world champion in the individual event, which includes four shooting stages and one-minute penalties instead of additional loops.

Barring illness or injury, Currier’s next opportunity to race will be in the Feb. 15 20k individual race.

Sunday, Feb. 11

What to watch: American Mikaela Shiffrin is the best slalom skier in the world – in fact, the best skier in the world period. Defending champion Jamie Anderson and Olympic rookies Julia Marino and Hailey Langland are capable of a U.S. sweep in slopestyle snowboarding.

  • NBC
    • 3-6 p.m. Men’s speedskating, 5,000-meter gold; men’s biathlon, 10km sprint gold; men’s cross-country, skiathlon gold
    • 7-11 p.m. Figure skating, team event, men’s, women’s, dance free skates, gold (LIVE); women’s skiing, giant slalom (LIVE); women’s freestyle skiing, moguls gold; women’s snowboarding, slopestyle gold; men’s luge, singles gold
    • 11:35 p.m.-1 a.m. Women’s skiing, giant slalom gold (LIVE); women’s snowboarding, halfpipe (LIVE)
  • NBCSN
    • 2:40-5 a.m. Women’s hockey, U.S.-Finland (LIVE)
    • 5-9 a.m. Men’s biathlon, 10km sprint gold (LIVE); men’s speedskating, 5,000 gold; men’s cross-country, skiathlon gold
    • 1:30-5:30 p.m. Mixed doubles curling, tiebreaker; men’s luge, singles gold
    • 5:30-8 p.m. Men’s biathlon, 10km sprint gold
    • 8-11:30 p.m. Women’s snowboarding, slopestyle gold (LIVE); mixed doubles curling, semifinal11:30 p.m.-2:40 a.m. Men’s speedskating, 5,000 gold
  • USA
    • 7-9:30 a.m. Women’s hockey, Canada-OAR (LIVE)

Monday, Feb. 12

What to watch: Snowboarder Chloe Kim makes her Olympic debut at age 17. Four years ago, she qualified for the Sochi Games but was under the age requirement. She has some talented teammates in Maddie Mastro and three-time Olympic medalist Kelly Clark. At the speedskating oval, expect a friendly duel in the women’s 1,500 between Heather Bergsma – the world champion and world record-holder – and teammate Brittany Bowe, who won at the Olympic trials.

  • NBC
    • 3-5 p.m. Men’s freestyle skiing, moguls gold; women’s ski jumping, normal hill gold; women’s luge, singles
    • 8-11:30 p.m. Men’s skiing, combined downhill (LIVE); women’s snowboarding, halfpipe gold (LIVE); men’s snowboarding, halfpipe (LIVE); women’s speedskating, 1,500 gold
    • 12:05-2 a.m. Men’s skiing, combined slalom gold (LIVE); men’s snowboarding, halfpipe (LIVE)
  • NBCSN
    • 2:40-5:10 a.m. Women’s hockey, Switzerland-Japan (LIVE)
    • 5:10-7 a.m. Women’s luge, singles (LIVE); women’s biathlon, pursuit gold (LIVE)
    • 7-11 a.m. Men’s freestyle skiing, moguls gold; women’s hockey, Sweden-Koreas (LIVE); women’s luge, singles
    • 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Women’s ski jumping, normal hill gold; men’s biathlon, pursuit gold; women’s speedskating, 1,500 gold
    • 11:30 p.m.-2:40 a.m. Men’s snowboarding, halfpipe (LIVE); mixed doubles curling, bronze
  • CNBC
    • 5-8 p.m. Mixed doubles curling, semifinal

(There is a 14-hour time difference. Events listed here are those shown on that particular day in Eastern Standard Time. Events in the TV listings are tape-delayed unless indicated as LIVE. OAR is Olympic Athletes from Russia.)

Comments are no longer available on this story

filed under: