January 26, 2007 – Val Martello, ITA – Canada’s women’s biathletes had fast skis and sharp shooting, which led to a number of impressive results at the Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships, in Martell-Val Martello, Italy, on Thursday.

Building on the momentum from their male teammates, who posted three top-15 finishes in the opening day of competition, Megan Imrie and Megan Tandy led the Canadian squad into the top-15 in the women’s junior and youth individual event.

Imrie, who hails from Falcon Lake, Man., had a strong performance, both on her skis and on the range, taking 10th-place in the junior women’s 12.5-kilometre race, three minutes 19.0 seconds behind the winner Evgenyia Sedova, from Russia. For the 19-year-old, today marks the best result of her young career.

“Today was the perfect race day,” said Imrie. “The sun was shining, the wax technicians had my skis in perfect condition, and my legs felt snappy and light. I did miss two targets in the first standing section, which made me a bit nervous, but I knew that I was skiing well, so focused in on shooting, and shot clean the rest of the race. This is by far my best result at such a high level, and I am really excited to see what I can do in the sprint on Saturday.”

Joining Imrie in the top-30 was Cindy Clark, of Canmore, Alta., who finished 24th, +6:25, behind the leader. Rounding out the junior women was Claude Godbout, of Quebec, who finished the race in 44th, +9:57.0.

In the youth women’s 10-kilometre race, 18-year-old Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., was top Canadian, with a combination of smart shooting and strong skiing landing her in 13th-place, +4:33.8 off the leading pace set by Laure Bosc, of France. Teammate Tana Chesham, of Canmore, Alta., was 23rd, +6:22.5. Sarah Murphy, also of Canmore, was 49th, +9:59.0, and Jessica Sedlock, of Victoria, was 70th, +15:50.0.

The full Canadian contingent will rest tomorrow and have a chance to re-charge before the sprint race on Saturday. 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 top-five results:

1. Laure Bosc, FRA, 38:13.1; 2. Ksenia Kulikova, RUS, +44.5; 3. Marie Laure Brunet, FRA, +1;51.4; 4. Frida Schneider, NOR, +2:32.2; 5. Tamara Baric, SLO, +2:37.5

Canadian results:

13. Megan Tandy, Prince George, B.C., +4:33.8; 23. Tana Chesham, Canmore, Alta., +6:22.5; 49. Sarah Murphy, Canmore, Alta., +9:59.0; 70. Jessica Sedlock, Victoria, +15:50.0