January 29, 2012 (Cable, WI) – Variable winds, sometimes gusting up to 15-mi/22.5km per hour, added another element of drama to the first day of the biathlon competition during the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Nordic Skiing World Cup at the Telemark Resort in Cable, Wisconsin.

The big Canadian result of the day came from a strong bronze medal win by Mark Arendz  in the 7.5km biathlon event, won by Nils-Erik Ulset of Norway, with Russia’s Vladislav Lekometcev just 5.5 seconds ahead of  Arendz for the silver.

USA Paralympic veteran Kelly Underkofler (St. Paul, Minn.) had the best U.S. finish of the day. She finished fifth in the women’s standing division with 9 for 10 shooting. Maija Jarvela of Finland took the gold in 24:23.

“Kelly had a near perfect day on the range with 9-10 in tough windy conditions.  Her only miss came during a big gust that pushed her shot just out of the ring,” USA High Performance Director John Farra told SkiTrax.

“There was a lateral wind that made shooting tricky,” said Sarah Edwards (Winter Park, Colo.), who hit seven of her 10 targets to finish sixth in the women’s sit-ski division. Edwards, who was recruited off the downhill ski slopes a year earlier, completed the 6 kilometer course in 47 minutes, 31 seconds.

For each missed target, athletes had to ski a 150-meter penalty loop, which added to their times. Women’s sit-ski winner Svetlana Konovalova of Russia shot cleanly to win in 27:52.

The U.S. men, who skied 7.5 kilometers, were led by sit-skiers Dan Cnossen (Jamestown, Mich.) and Sean Halsted (Ephrata, Wash.), who placed 12th and 13th, respectively, in 32:01 and 32:54. Cnossen, who had finished 10th two days earlier in the 15km distance race, went 6 for 10 in shooting.

“Cnossen was on pace for a strong day with only 1 miss in the first shooting stage, but missed 3 shots in the second stage which pushed him out of the top 10,” commented Farra.

Meanwhile Halsted went 5 for 10. “I struggled adjusting to the wind, but everyone was dealing with the same conditions,” Halsted said. “That’s the game of biathlon.”

The top three finishers in the men’s sit-ski division shot a combined 29 out of 30. Russia’s Roman Petushkov won in 25:10. Enzo Masiello of Italy, who had the only missed shot, was second in 27:09. Japan’s Kozo Kubo was third in 27:25.

In the visually-impaired division, Russians claimed the top four spots in impressive fashion, led by Mikhalina Lysova in 22:41. Visually-impaired athletes shoot with specialized guns fitted with lasers on their sites that emit an audio signal as the shooter’s aim closes in on the target.

Russian Nikolay Polukhin was the victor the men’s visually-impaired division in 22:52. Nils-Erik Ulset of Norway won the men’s standing division in 22:49.

The competition continues on Sunday with th Middle Distance biathlon competitions.

Full results HERE.

With files from USOC and CCC.