February 28, 2008 (Pyeong Chang, Korea) – Canada will suit up three men and women for the World Cup pursuit competitions after Scott Perras, Sandra Keith and Zina Kocher all qualified in the top-60 in the sprint events over the last two days in Pyeong Chang, Korea.

Regina’s World Cup rookie, Scott Perras, will hit the start line for his first ever pursuit after finishing in 43rd spot in the men’s 12.5-kilometre sprint competition. Perras skied a strong race, but fell several spots in the final standings after missing just two shots standing on the range, and crossed the line two minutes 50.1 seconds behind the leader.

While Perras will be the lone Canuck in the men’s competition, the two leaders of the Canadian biathlon program, Sandra Keith and Zina Kocher, both advanced to the women’s pursuit after finishing 49th and 52nd respectively in the women’s 10-kilometre sprint.

Calgary’s Keith, who posted her best ever World Cup finish this year with an 11th-place result, stopped the clock 3:17.6 after missing three shots on the range. Zocher, of Red Deer, Alta., finished 3:23.3 off the pace after miss-firing on four shots.

“The positives are we had some strong ski performances and Scott qualified for the pursuit on the heels of good skiing and shooting so hopefully we can bring it up another notch and climb up the standings,” said Roger Archambeault, head coach, Canadian Biathlon Team. “This is a very hard course over here and one of the toughest we have ever seen on the World Cup.”

The Canadians, who will start time behind the leaders in the pursuit, will have some serious time to make up to edge closer to the top of the standings.

Emil Hegle Svendsen, of Norway, won the men’s competition with a time of 25:57.4, while his teammate, Halvard Hanevold, finished 29.9 seconds off the leading mark. Austria’s Friedrich Pinter crossed the line 30.2 seconds back to claim the bronze medal.

On the women’s podium it was Germany’s Magdalena Neuner who made her way to the top step with a winning time of 20:32.1 despite missing two shots on the range. Sandrine Bailly, of France, finished second 14.3 seconds back, while Italy’s Michela Ponza rounded out the podium after stopping the clock +22.3.

Biathlon Canada, the governing body for biathlon in the country, oversees the Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and the 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 Web site at www.biathloncanada.ca.

For complete results, please visit www.biathlonworld.com.