March 20, 2005 – The Canadian men muscled their way onto the podium, taking home the bronze medal in the relay event at the biathlon junior world championships in Kontiolahti, Finland on Sunday.

The Canadian quartet, consisting of Jaime Robb, Edmonton, Patrick Côté, Grand Falls, N.B., Nathan Smith, Calgary, and Jean-Philippe LeGuellec, Shannon, Que., crossed the finish line a minute 45.3 seconds off the leading country for a combined time of one hour 27 minutes 30.3 seconds and taking 10 extra bullets to down all their targets.

Today’s bronze medal win marks Canada’s second consecutive relay medal at the junior and youth world championships. On Saturday Canada’s youth men grabbed the silver medal after executing an explosive performance on the cross-country ski course.

The German quartet of Norbert Schiller, Jens Zimmer, Steve Renner and Christoph Knie handedly took home the gold after crossing the finish line with a time of 1:25:45.0, using 15 spare bullets to hit all targets. France’s Tanguy Roche, Vincent Porret, Jay Vincent and Simon Fourcade slid into second place for the silver medal despite suffering two penalty loops with a time of 1:27:14.2. There were 20 teams competing for gold in Sunday’s race.

Canada finished the day in 16th spot in the women’s 3 x 6 kilometre relay. Joanie Haché, Stoke, Que., Nicole Pacas, Canmore, Alta., and Lindsey Bolivar, Yellowknife, N.W.T., crossed the finish line with a time of 1:10:22.0, using eight spare bullets and suffering one penalty loop.

Russia’s Maria Kossinova, Anastasia Shipulina and Anna Bulygina claimed the top spot in Sunday’s race, finishing almost three minutes ahead of Germany with a time of 59:20.6 and using just four spare bullets. Germany’s Katrin Hitzer, Magdalena Neuner and Anne Preussler slipped into second place for the silver medal at 1:02:15.9, with one penalty error, while Tagne Tähe, Eveli Saue and Sirli Hanni of Estonia grabbed the bronze medal at 1:03:28.5, using three extra bullets.