February 19, 2015 (Minsk-Raubichi, Belarus) – Sarah Beaudry (CAN) was the top Canuck in 15th spot to mark the opening day of the Biathlon Junior World Championships in Minsk-Raubichi, Belarus on Thursday, while the USA’s Sean Doherty logged the best North American junior men’s result in 16th.

Sarah Beaudry (CAN) © Nordic Focus

The 20-year-old Beaudry, who hails from Prince George, B.C., had a solid outing as the lone Canadian in the women’s 12.5km individual race where she posted a time of 41:14.8. Beaudry, who has made a number of World Cup starts this year, missed one shot in each of her last three rounds of shooting.

Madeleine Phaneuf (USA) was the top US Biathlon woman in 39th while Mikaela Paluszek placed 59th. “Overall, I was happy with my race this morning,” said Phaneuf. “The prone shooting was perfect and the skiing felt really strong. My standing shooting could have been better, but there are a few more races to improve that percentage. I’m getting excited for Saturday’s sprint.”

Sean Doherty (USA) © Nordic Focus

Yuliya Zhuravok, of the Ukraine, shot clean to win the women’s race with a time of 37:54.1. Poland’s Kinga Mitoraj was also clean en route to winning the silver medal with a time of 37:54.3, while Galina Vishnevskaya, of Kazakhstan, rounded out the podium in third at 38:24.2 (0+1+0+0).

Meanwhile, Carsen Campbell of Central Bedeque, P.E.I., was the top Canadian in the men’s 15-kilometre individual race. Campbell, 20, placed 22nd at 44:10.4 (0+1+1+0).

The top three junior men all shot clean. Aristide Begue, of France, captured the first junior crown with a time of 39:12.0. Russia’s Aleksandr Dediukhin was second at 39:15.8, while Norway’s Vemund Gurigard claimed the bronze medal with a time of 40:39.1

“It was a solid start to the Worlds for both Sarah and Carsen,” said Chris Lindsay, high-performance director, Biathlon Canada. “We have some big expectations at these World Championships, and we are confident we’ll build as the week goes on and have some stronger results in the sprint.”

Calgary’s Stuart Harden finished 38th at 46:05.6 (0+2+1+1); Matthew Strum, of Canmore, Alta., was 46th with a time of 47:13.9 (0+1+1+2); while Aidan Millar, of Canmore, Alta., skied to 66th at 50:03.8 (1+2+4+2). Other US finishers were Jakob Ellingson (Minnetonka, Minn.) in 55th, and Brian Halligan (Gansevoort, N.Y.) in 70th.

The Youth and Junior World Championships continue on Friday in Belarus with the youth sprint races.

Junior Women here
Junior Men here