January 31, 2007 – It was a beautiful day for biathlon racing at the Junior World Championships in Martell-Val Martello, Italy, and the Canadian women’s youth and junior relay team took advantage of the spectacular conditions to post their best results of the week.

Sarah Murphy, Tana Chesham and Megan Tandy took on the world’s best biathletes in the youth women’s 3 x 6 kilometre relay. These young women skied like veterans, combining strong skiing on the course and accuracy on the range, to cross the line in sixth place, five minutes 34.0 seconds behind the winning team from France.

“Our goal was to finish in the top half,” said Murphy. “There were 16 teams in the race, so we achieved our goal. We knew that we could race well today and you definitely get an extra boost when you are racing with your teammates. It makes you push a little bit harder when you know that your teammates are depending on you.”

Murphy and Chesham, both of Canmore, Alta., are rookies on the world stage, this being their first international competition. Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., is the most experienced member of the team, having previously competed in the Junior World Championships in 2006.

“We really wanted to be in the flower ceremony today,” said Murphy. “Our parents are here watching and it meant a lot to be able to stand in front of everyone at the awards presentation.”

Meanwhile, the junior women’s team turned in an equally impressive seventh-place result in their own 3 x 6 kilometre relay. Cindy Clark, Claude Godbout and Megan Imrie had one of the best performances on the range, with no penalty laps and only five misses, to complete the race +4:23.5 off the pace set by the winning team from Germany.

“We had a really strong race today” said Imrie. “Everyone put in their best effort and the end result was great. As a team, we are very proud of our finish and it was a fantastic way to end the competition.”

The Canadian youth and junior men’s relay team suit up Tuesday, for the final day of competition at the 2007 Junior World Championships in Italy. For full schedule information, please visit www.biathlonworld.com

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 website at www.biathloncanada.ca

Youth women relay top-five results:

1. France, 1:02:24.39; 2. Russia, +1:58.9; 3. Norway, +3:00.0; 4. Belarus, +5:05.6; 5. Austria, +5:18.9

Canadian results:

6. Sarah Murphy, Canmore, Alta., Tana Chesham, Canmore, Alta., Megan Tandy, Prince George, B.C., +5:34.0

Junior women relay top-five results:

1. Germany, 1:00:19.44; 2. France, +57.2; 3. Norway, +2:25.5; 4. Russia, +2:39.9; 5. Finland, +3:51.0

Canadian results:

7. Cindy Clark, Canmore, Alta., Claude Godbout, Quebec, Que., Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake, Man., +4:23.5