February 12, 2005 – Cesana San Sicario-Canada’s Zina Kocher kicked things into high gear, speeding around the new Olympic track to a season best 16th-place finish at the biathlon World Cup in Cesana San Sicario, Italy on Saturday.

The 22-year-old exploded out of the start to make her way around the technically challenging course loaded with numerous uphill climbs and intense downhill sections to cross the finish line with a time of twenty-seven minutes 09.0 seconds.

“I was very excited when I realized that my name was in the top-20,” said Kocher, who executed a near perfect shooting score, hitting nine of ten targets. “I did, unfortunately miss the last target of my standing bout which cost me seventh or eighth place, but it shows what I am capable of and what I can do when I am relaxed and on my game.”

The Red Deer, Alta., native, who trains with the Canadian team in Canmore, Alta., at the base of the Rocky Mountains, achieved a top-10 result last year in her rookie season on the World Cup circuit. Kocher’s 16th place finish on Saturday, marks her second-best international result to date.

“I guess I’ve always known that I’ve had it in me to be back in the top-30,” said Kocher, who was plagued by illness during the first half of the World Cup season. “Now that I’m healthy and feeling strong I am looking forward to having more successful races. I think it is a great accomplishment to get this far.”

Germany’s Kati Wilhelm set the time to beat during the 7.5 kilometre sprint at 26:09.5 to take home the gold medal with two shooting errors. Poland’s Magdalena Gwizdon narrowly slid into second place just +4.2 behind Wilhelm to grab the silver medal at 26:13.7, while Xianying Liu of China rounded out third to take the bronze medal at 26:35.5. Both Gwizdon and Liu executed clean shooting scores.

Calgary’s Sandra Keith was the next best Canuck, finishing Saturday’s race in 76th spot with a time of 31:01.0, hitting eight of ten targets. Marie-Pierre Parent, Ancienne Lorette, Que., crossed the finish line in 83rd place at 31:29.0, with one shooting error, while Rimouski, Que., native Martine Albert ended the day in 86th position with 32:06.5 and two shooting errors. There were 107 of biathlon’s elite in Saturday’s sprint.

World Cup competition will continue on Sunday in Cesana San Sicario with the relay events.