October 2, 2007 (Canmore, Alta.) – If summer training and competition results are any indication of the kind of season Canada’s Jean Philippe LeGuellec is going to have then the national biathlon team must be eager to begin World Cup competition this winter.

The 22-year-old LeGuellec, who hails from Quebec City, won a bronze medal at the Subaru Biathlon Summer Tour roller ski event in France over the weekend.

Competing against many of the world’s top biathletes, LeGuellec posted a time of 35 minutes 40.8 seconds, just under a minute behind the frontrunner and 2006 Olympic gold medal winner in the 12.5 km pursuit, Vincent Defrasne, of France, (34:42.0). Lois Hebert finished second at 35:29.4.

An athlete targeted by Own the Podium, LeGuellec has had a stellar training session this summer, and has posted some of his strongest testing results.
Earlier this September, the emerging leader of the men’s biathlon team captured the top step of the podium in both of the men’s roller ski trials events in Canmore, Alta.

While many of LeGuellec’s teammates are currently training at altitude in Austria on the Dachstein Glacier, LeGuellec remained in France to continue his training. He was joined by Canada’s Marc Andre Bedard and Maxime Leboeuf, who finished 10th and 17th respectively.

Biathlon Canada, the governing body for biathlon in the country, oversees the Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and North American Cups held in Canada. The organization’s mandate is to provide national level programs for the continuous development of biathlon athletes from the grassroots to the elite level.

For more information on Biathlon Canada, please visit their Web site at
www.biathloncanada.ca on the Internet.