January 14, 2007 (Rupholding, Germany) – Canada’s Zina Kocher put the country on her shoulders, and battled the world’s top-30 biathletes at the World Cup in Rupholding, Germany, on Sunday.

Qualifying for Sunday’s 12.5-kilometre mass start race by virtue of her position in the top-30 on the international standings, the 24-year-old Red Deer, Alta. native, finished 16th after stopping the clock at 46 minutes 35.8 seconds, just over two minutes behind the frontrunner.

“This was a great race for Zina and her best mass start result ever so we are very happy with her performance,” said Paul Dorotich, team leader, Canadian Biathlon Team. “Zina was very strong on her skis all day, and ran into a couple of problems in her first set of shots, so overall the day went very well.”

Kocher, who now sits 16th on the World Cup standings, fell back to 27th spot in the race after missing her first shots low, but was able to climb back to the top-half of the pack with some strong skiing. The Canadian, who is enjoying a breakthrough season on the World Cup, posted the 10th-fastest ski time of the day on the soft snow due to the drizzling rain which plagued the Rupholding layout.

Sweden’s Anna Carin Olofsson overcame four penalties from missed shots on the range, and a final lap duel with Germany’s Kati Whilhelm, to claim her second World Cup victory of the season. Olofsson set the time to beat at 44:32.01. Wilhelm was 20 seconds behind in the silver medal position when all was said and done, while Norway’s Linda Grubben finished third, 37.3 seconds behind the leader.

Meanwhile, Canada’s next generation of biathletes were taking on the world in a men’s 10-kilometre sprint at the 2006 Olympic site in Cesana, Italy. Edmonton’s Jaime Robb led the Canadian charge with a 14th-place finish (28:04.4). Robb skied a strong race, but struggled in the shooting range. Other Canadian results included: François Leboeuf, of Val Belair, Que., in 29th (28:40.6); Calgary’s Nathan Smith in 42nd (29:22.0); Patrick Côté, of Grand-Sault, N.B., in 43rd (29:24.7); and Scott Perras, of Regina, in 74th (32:09.3).

Canada’s elite biathlon athletes will now head to Pokljuka, Slovenia where the World Cup continues, January 17-21, 2007.

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.

Results

1. Anna Carin Olofsson, SWE, 44:32.01
2. Kati Wilhelm, GER, 20.0
3. Linda Grubben, NOR, +37.3
4. Teja Gregarin, SLO, +53.1
5. Florence Bauerel-Robert, FRA, +1:02.0.

16. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., +2:03.7

Complete Results at www.biathlonworld.com