December 4, 2006 —The Norwegian flag made it to the top of the men’s and women’s podiums in the pursuit races at the Biathlon World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden on Sunday. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen captured the men’s 12.5 kilometre race, while Linda Grubben won the women’s event.

Two Canadian athletes qualified to race amongst the top-60 athletes on Sunday. Zina Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta., finished 44th in the women’s race, while Ottawa’s Robin Clegg had to settle for 48th position after crossing the line three minutes 51.6 seconds off the leading pace. It was the end of a historic week for Canada’s biathlon troops. Zina Kocher, who finished more than five minutes behind the leader on Sunday, kicked off the week winning the team’s first World Cup bronze medal in nearly 12 years, while Clegg continued to work his way into top racing form with the best in the world.

It was a brilliant start to the season for Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen who made his way to the top step of the podium all three times he hit the start line. Bjoerndalen set the mark to beat at 34:33.23 in the men’s pursuit. Russia’s Dmitri Iaronchenko was on the Norwegian’s tale for the second straight day, winning the silver medal after stopping the clock just 19.7 seconds behind Bjoerndalen. France’s Raphael Poiree was third 29.2 seconds behind.

Norway’s Linda Grubben won the women’s event in a time of 31:07.47. Sweden’s Anna Carin Olofsson pleased the hometown crowd with a silver medal just 23.3 seconds behind the leader, while Poland’s Magdalena Gwizdon rounded out the women’s podium finishing third 59.7 seconds off the leading mark.

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 Web site at www.biathloncanada.ca on the Internet.

Top-5 Men:

1. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, NOR, 34:33.23; 2. Dmitri Iarochenko, RUS, +19.7; 3. Raphael Poiree, FRA, +29.2; 4. Emil Hegle Svendsen, NOR, +53.4; 5. Ricco Gross, GER, +59.8.

Canadian Results:

48. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, +3:51.6.



Top-5 Women:

1. Linda Grubben, NOR, 31:07.47; 2. Anna Carin Olofsson, SWE, +23.3; 3. Magdalena Gwizdon, POL, +59.7; 4. Kati Wilhelm, GER, +1:00.8; 5. Martina Glagow, GER, +1:29.5.

Canadian Results:

44. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., +5:17.4