January 28, 2006 – With the last biathlon World Cup series before the 2006 Olympic Winter Games now complete, Biathlon Canada announced that seven athletes have met the criteria to join the world’s best high-performance winter athletes in Torino next month.

Leading the young team, whose average age is 24 years, is 28-year-old Robin Clegg, the only biathlete with Olympic experience. “This is a very young team, but they’ve all shown that they can compete with the world’s best,” said Biathlon Canada Technical Director and Olympic Team Leader Roger Archambault. “The Olympic Winter Games are like no other competition. It’s important for these young athletes to build their experience and their confidence as part of their development – they’ve shown they’re competitive at the World Cup level, now it’s time to show it at the Olympic Games. Robin was a late qualifier for the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, but will be able to share that experience with the younger athletes so they know what to expect from such a high-profile event.”

Canada’s biathlon Olympic qualifiers are: Robin Clegg (Ottawa, Ont.) – an Ottawa native who now resides in Canmore, Alberta, Clegg is a 10-time Canadian champion who recorded a 28th-place finish at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in 2002, and an 18th-place finish at the 2004 World Championships. Zina Kocher (Red Deer, Alta.) – the 23-year-old has posted numerous personal-best results in World Cup action this season, including 5th-place and 13th-place finishes in the Sprint events.

Martine Albert (Rimouski, Que.) – the 32-year-old will be competing at her first Olympics, having qualified for the Games shortly after her return to competition following a two-year hiatus from the sport, Albert recently placed 24th at the Austrian World Cup in December. Sandra Keith (Canmore, Alta.) – Keith, 25, broke into the top-30 for the first time in her career this season, finishing 26th in a 15 km Individual competition last December. David Leoni (Camrose, Alta.) – the 23-year-old Leoni has registered consistent results in World Cup action this season, and has stated he’s looking to use the experience in Torino to build towards his podium goals for Vancouver 2010. Marie-Pierre Parent (St-Paul de Joliette, Que.) – Parent, 23, came to the sport of biathlon in 1998 after training as a cross-country ski racer, and earned her first national biathlon championship title in 2005.

Jean-Philippe LeGuellec (Shannon, Que.) – the youngest member to qualify for the Olympics, LeGuellec is a multiple medalist at the World Youth and Junior Championship who registered the highest shooting accuracy (+92%) by a rookie Canadian male in recent history in the opening World Cup events this season.

Joining the team in Italy will be Archambault, who is acting as team leader, along with national team coaches Richard Boruta (men’s head coach) and Daniel Lefebvre (women’s head coach), ski technicians, and a sport psychologist.

While these athletes have met qualifying criteria and have been nominated by Biathlon Canada, it is the Canadian Olympic Committee that officially names the Canadian Olympic Team.