March 28, 2009 (Valcartier, Que.) – Canada’s Megan Imrie and Scott Perras captured their first gold medals of the week at the North American and Canadian Mazda Biathlon Championships in Valcartier, Que. on Saturday. Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., who won a silver medal in the women’s individual start competition earlier in the week, handily won the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition after posting a time of 31 minutes 07.0 seconds. The 23-year old missed just one shot in her two trips to the range.

The sprint event consists of athletes racing three times around the 2.5-kilometre track. Athletes enter the shooting range for a set of shots in the prone position, then one set standing before the final sprint to the finish. Athletes must ski a 150-metre penalty loop immediately after shooting if they miss a target.

Imrie was the lone Canadian in the top-11 as the Americans grabbed the next 10 spots in the standings. Lanny Barnes finished more than one minute off the pace in second spot at 32:18.0, while Laura Spector was third at 32:28.0.

Meanwhile, Regina’s Scott Perras fired his way onto the podium for the first time at the national dance in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition. Perras clocked a time of 28:42.0. Perras missed three shots in his two trips to the range. Marc-André Bédard, of Valcartier, Que., thrilled the hometown crowd with a silver-medal victory on Saturday after clocking-in at 29:20.0. Edmonton’s Jaime Robb, who won a bronze medal at an IBU Cup event earlier this month, finished third at 29:41.0.

Leif Nordgren, of the United States, won the junior men’s sprint competition at 30:03.0, while Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., captured her second national crown of the week in the junior women’s category after setting the time to beat at 31:30.0.

The North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships wrap up on Sunday in Valcartier, Quebec. For the North American and Canadian Mazda Biathlon Championships web site click here.

Results

Women
1. Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake. Man., (0+1), 31:07.0
2. Lanny Barnes, (0+0), 32:18.0
3. Laura Spector, USA, (1+0), 32:28.0
4. Haley Johnson, USA, (0+1), 32:43.0
5. Tracy Barnes, USA, (1+1), 33:20.0.

Men
1. Scott Perras, Regina, (2+1), 28:42.0
2. Marc-André Bédard, Valcartier, Que., (1+3), 29:20.0
3. Jaime Robb, Edmonton, (1+4), 29:41.0
4. Nathan Smith, Calgary, (2+2), 29:56.0
5. Brendan Green, Hay River, N.W.T., 29:59.0.