February 15, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – Canada’s Scott Gow led the North American charge at his Olympic debut with a stellar 14th place finish with only one missed target at 2:02.5 behind winner Johannes Thingnes Boe who brought Norway its first biathlon gold medal of these Olympic Winter Games despite two penalties.

Silver medalist Jakov Fak of Slovenia made a late run with clean shooting and a gritty last loop, but finished at 5.5 seconds back. Dominik Landertinger of Austria, also with clean shooting, captured the bronze medal at 14.2 seconds behind Boe.

Brendan Green also delivered a stellar day on the range with only one penalty as well to finish strong in 22nd at 2:26 behind with  Canadian Christian Gow in 26th with two penalties also showing.

“Nerves weren’t too bad today. I didn’t feel like there was any pressure on me to perform, so I was able to focus completely on my race plan and its execution,” said Scott Gow.

“The race course is very challenging. There are lots of long, steep climbs throughout the entire 4km’s which makes it challenging to know exactly how to pace the skiing. Thankfully the snow conditions are excellent and the snow is holding up very well, so there is no course breakdown at all from start to finish. Our wax techs gave us great skis today. They were gliding very well against other nations’ skis and I would put our skis in the top 5,” he shared.

“With being a later starter in the race I was able to get good splits throughout the competition, with continuous updates as the race progressed. I knew headed into my last shooting round that a clean bout would result in an exceptional result. The last shooting was difficult. There was a lot running through my head in the lead up to the range, and I tried to stay process focused as much as possible. I missed my second shot and then forced myself to regroup and take a few extra breaths before shooting the next three bullets. The last shot was the toughest,” explained Green.

“The goal at each Olympics I’ve been to has been the same. Focusing on executing the best race I can on each given day and then letting the result take care of itself. If my preparation has gone well and my shape is there, I know I can achieve a top result. I’m getting older now and I am forced to face the fact that I’m not as fast as I used to be. A couple of years ago with the race I had yesterday, I would have crossed the finish line somewhat unsatisfied and knowing more was possible, but today, given this point in my career and the ups and downs over the last couple of seasons, I am very happy with my result and how I performed yesterday,” he added.

Christain Gow also posted a great debut performance at the Games. “I was a bit more nervous than normal for the shooting today.  It has been so windy here for the past two weeks and it has made it really difficult to shoot well in training or racing.  I think that shook my confidence a bit so I didn’t feel as comfortable in the range as I normally do.  However, I treated each bout with focus and did my best to trust my training; I think it worked pretty well,” said Christian.

Disappointment was evident on the faces of the U.S. men’s team following the 20k individual which took place after the women’s competition. None of the four American had fewer than three penalties with Tim Burke turning in the top finish in 41st place, with four penalties.

Results here.