The Penalty Loop Biathlon Podcast
Join Jordan Gottschalk and regular guest RJ Weise in a discussion on the world of biathlon
Episodes
World Cup Biathlon is back and so are the weekly recaps! In this case we saw so much fun in the first two days of the season that we couldn't wait to start this next week. We had to start right away! It was a fantastic couple of days so we had a lot to discuss including:
- Our favorite things including great races from our offseason guests!
- Campbell Wright and the spunky Americans
- Nice opening for the Canadians
- Lou is Lou whi...
A week later than intended (solely due to Jordan's very slow editing) our interview with Polish Women's Head Coach Tobias Torgersen is up! This was recorded the week before the season began so it does not cover anything that happened in the first two days of racing in Östersund. But there is still tons of good stuff in this conversation including:
- Review of Geilo races and assessment of team form
- The process of picking rosters
...
We did it! The 2025-2026 biathlon season starts this week! We got together for our first regular weekly episode of the season to get ourselves ready for all of the excitement. We covered:
- Discussing how an Olympic season differs from a regular season
- Discussed the events of the selection races in Idre Fjall, Geilo, Bessans, and Ruhpolding and how they affected team selections for the major squads
- How key athletes looked in th...
Karoline Knotten graciously joined us last week from her training in Livigno before the races took place in Geilo. It was a very friendly visit and we can't wait to have her on again soon! For now we covered:
- Charting her own course outside the national training roster this summer
- Updates on her personal fitness
- Goals for 2025-2026
- Finding joy and training with new friends
- Learning from competitors and personal role model...
Nik Hartweg joins the podcast once again for his first recorded episode with us in two seasons. There has been a LOT that has happened with Nik and biathlon in that period so we had a lot to discuss including:
- Prep, current form, and plans for the 2025-2026 seasons
- Goals and checkpoints for this season leading to the 2026 Olympics
- Memories of the Lenzerheide Worlds and 2022 Olympics
- Avoiding illness
- Surfing
- How he uses ...
The most entertaining man in biathlon - Campbell Wright - returns for another preseason chat! As always he was an absolute blast as we covered a lot in a relatively short period including:
- Loop One - his thoughts on the event and would he do it again?
- Updates on summer training and how he's feeling with now less than 1 month until the 2025-2026 season
- Racing tactics in Pursuits and Mass Starts
- His dream chase pack in a big ...
Justus Strelow joins us again for another wonderful interview! He was coming to us from the team's Martello altitude camp and graciously gave us plenty of time to discuss a bunch of fun topics including:
- Being a dad!
- The new coaching staff and what the feeling in the team is as the 2025-2026 season nears
- Team dynamics and fun with the German men
- The narrow gap between top 20's and top 5's
- Preparations for Antholz and favo...
2025 City Biathlon Champion Lotte Lie comes back for another interview! It's her 3rd interview with us and we had a LOT to catch up on including:
- Her City Biathlon experience and the winning moment!
- Beating her buddy Karoline Knotten
- Summer training schedule and updates. Do the upcoming Olympics change the training plans?
- Belgium's continued biathlon growth and success
- And more!
We are honored to be joined by reigning IBU Cup champion Camille Bened for a wonderful interview. Our graceful guest was kind enough to chat with us about anything and everything including:
- Her IBU Cup winning 2024-2025 season and experiences on the World Cup
- Overcoming injuries from fall 2 seasons ago
- Goals for 2025-2026 season and what she needs to do to accomplish them
- Her home life and her tiny hometown in France
- So m...
We continue checking in with Team Canada with our first interview with up and coming talent Pascale Paradis! This was a true joy as we discussed:
- Her journey in biathlon including her first big success at the 2018 Youth Worlds
- Choosing her college career at University of Alaska vs IBU Cup
- Her first season on the World Cup and what Emma Lunder meant to her and the team
- Prep for the Olympic season
- And a TON more!
Logan Pletz is back for more rifle talk! But before that we have a lot more to discuss:
- In the intro: Ziggy Mazet announces his departure from Norwegian team after this season + Blink Festival action and Lisa Vittozzi's return!
- Logan talks about his 2024-2025 season and what he learned from it
- His summer training and dodging cows
- Olympic hopes and what his aims for this season
- Update on the rifle project including the lau...
Ukaleq and Sondre Slettemark joined us for a delightful conversation about Team Greenland! We discussed A LOT but maybe the most enjoyable aspect of the time we spent together was seeing them interact as brother and sister. In this interview we discussed:
- Reflections on the Lenzerheide Worlds and looking ahead to Antholz 2026
- Their unique skills
- What it takes to be a great shooter like Ukaleq
- Sibling dynamics and racing tog...
We were delighted to be rejoined by recently retired Biathlon Canada star Emma Lunder to catch up on her life since retirement and much more. We covered quite a bit in this friendly conversation including:
- How she came to her decision to retire and enjoying her last weeks on the World Cup
- Her reflections on her years with the Canadian National Team
- Looking ahead to the future of Canadian biathlon
- How she's enjoyed her retir...
In part 2 of our excellent discussion with Canadian national team head coach Andrew Chisholm we touch on:
- Changes he and Co-Head Coach Helene Jorgensen are making to the management of the team
- Their coaching and training philosophies
- Covering more race day responsibilities
- What does success look like for Biathlon Canada in the 2025-2026 season?
Finally! We are interviewing one of the head coaches of the Canadian National Team. It should have happened long ago but we are happy to be joined by Andrew Chisholm for a 2 part interview. In part 1 we discuss:
- Andrew's journey to this position
- The daily responsibilities of a head coach
- Olympic prep and team logistics
- Deeeeeeeeeeeep dive into waxing
Part 2 of our interview with Matthias Ahrens. In this section we discuss:
- Climate Change
- What his athletes can learn from the current World Cup athletes
- Changes in shooting techniques
- The challenge and opportunities with the German women's depth
- The best venue on the World Cup
Our dear friend Matthias Ahrens rejoins us for a wide ranging conversation! We discuss his move from Canada and the Biathlon Alberta Training Center back to his home in Germany where he now works training members of the German Youth/Junior teams. In part 1 we focus extensively on the differences between the two systems (North America vs. Europe primarily) and his adjustments back home.
Just a quick round up of the latest news from the world of biathlon including:
- Coaching change for the Czech women and Austrian teams
- Laegreid changing ski brands
- Roster announcements from many teams including Norway, France, Sweden, and Germany
- General chit chat
- Trivia time for RJ
*Apologies for Jordan's audio. He sounds like he's recording with a tin can. It was a last minute decision to record and he was at work withou...
It's been one month since the thrilling conclusion to the 2024-2025 biathlon season in Oslo so it's the perfect time to catch up on all of the biathlon news of April 2025. We also discuss a couple of projects that we are working on right now and preview a few others. Let's have some fun!
It's our final look back at the 2024-2025 season. We take a look at the big stories, our favorite stories, some athletes that had magnificent seasons, some athletes that had relatively disappointing seasons. 24-25 was one of my favorite full seasons in awhile. Take one last look back with us!
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