March 12, 2014 (Sochi, Russia) – Canada’s Mark Arendz battled through brutal race conditions to win the bronze medal in the men’s 12.5-kilometre standing category on Day Four at the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia on Tuesday.

With rain pelting down and dense fog socked into the Laura Nordic Stadium, the 24-year-old took advantage of the weather he grew up with in Hartsville, Prince Edward Island to grab his second medal of the week. Arendz clocked a time of 30:31.0.

(l-r) Ulset (NOR) 2nd, Karachurin (RUS) 1st, Arendz (CAN) 3rd © Scott Grant/Canadian Paralympic Committee

“To get a medal is awesome and that was the goal,” said Arendz. “There were mistakes out there both in shooting and on the course so it was not a perfect race, but anytime you are on the podium I have to be happy because this is strong field.”

In a race that puts a premium on shooting, the soft-spoken Canuck rattled off 19 of 20 shots in his four rounds on the range. The miss in this third bout of shooting sent Arendz to do one150-metre penalty loop.

“The warm up was tough today, and it was hard to see the targets early (because of the fog),” said Arendz. “It was the same conditions for everyone. I wasn’t perfect in shooting so I know there are still mistakes that need to be cleaned up.”

Arendz was in a dogfight for the gold with two of his closest rivals, Russia’s Azat Karachurin and Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset. Karachurin also missed just one target en route to winning the gold medal with a time of 29:30.0 (0+0+0+1). Missing two shots in his final stop at the range, Ulset hammered his way around the course on the skinny skis to edge Arendz for the silver medal with a time of 30:24.6.

“I felt a little tired today, and I just didn’t have quite the snap that I had on the first day,” added Arendz, who had a lightening quick final lap. “The conditions stayed hard so I was able to put down the power I had. Everything is there. I just need to put it all together.

Earlier this week, Arendz became the first Canadian ever to win a silver medal in biathlon at the Paralympic Winter Games. Brian McKeever, guided by his brother, Arendz’s coach Robin, were the only other Canadians to win a Para-Biathlon medal when they captured the bronze in 2006.

The two-medal week now makes Arendz the most successful Canadian biathlete at the Paralympics. Recognizing the bright future ahead of him, four years ago the wide-eyed Canadian walked into his first Paralympic Stadium in 2010. His goal was take in the Paralympic experience. This time around things are different.

“This time it is strictly business,” said Arendz. “I have had four years of experience and feel that I am strong in all race distances. I want to be on the podium every time. It was not a perfect race today. I still haven’t been perfect shooting, and I don’t want to leave Sochi until I do that.”

Andrew Soule © file photo Pam Doyle

Meanwhile American sit skier Andy Soule (San Antonio, Texas) posted the best finish of the day for Team USA, placing fifth in the 12.5-kilometer sitting biathlon after putting together another virtually mistake-free race that included a perfect 20-for-20 on the shooting range.

Russia swept the podium as Roman Petushkov furthered his winning streak by taking his third gold in as many events clocking in at 34:48.8. Petushkov’s teammates, Alexey Bychenok (35:29.7) and Grigory Murygin (35:59.6), took silver and bronze to complete an all-Russian podium.

Soule, an Army veteran, finished with a time of 37:04.7 on a cold and rainy day at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center where fog blanketed the area and temperatures did not rise above 35 degrees. This was in stark contrast to yesterday where most skiers raced in short-sleeves and battled with temperatures that rose to the mid-60s by early afternoon.

“These are always fun days when it’s challenging and visibility is limited along with wind and rain. It makes for interesting races, I love competing on days like this. Today went well and I am very happy with it,” said Soule.

Soule has now finished in the top-5 of every Nordic skiing event he has competed in at these Games, and is skiing some of the best races of his career. “Overall I think I have had three of the best days of racing ever in these Games,” said Soule.

In today’s race Soule once again hovered near the top of the pack, thanks in part to a perfect day in all four shooting stages. Soule has yet to miss a shot in any biathlon events in Sochi and admits that he has certainly been in a groove during each of his shooting stages thus far.

“Everything feels very solid. I am having a really good period with shooting right now and everything that we have practiced all year has come together,” noted Soule.

Soule has now posted two fifth place finishes and one fourth place finish in these Games. But despite just missing the podium in each of his three races Soule could not be happier with how he has performed thus far in the Games.

“Every day that I come out and put together a good performance is another shot for me. There are only so many things I can control and honestly these guys I am competing against are really good…I am just really happy to be pressing them,” admitted Soule.

The 36-year-old Petushkov has quickly become the host nation’s face of Sochi 2014 after having entered these Games with eight world titles, but no Paralympic titles. “Today I spoke to the guys and told them that we would share the podium,” said Petushkov. “It was a joke, but now it’s true. I don’t think that the weather is bad. It’s Russian weather, especially for biathlon. We are like soldiers and can race in any weather, it doesn’t matter.”

In addition to Soule, several other Americans competed today. Teammates Lt Cmdr Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kan.) and retired Senior Airman Sean Halsted (Spokane, Wash.) were not far behind Soule. Both finished just outside the top ten in 11th and 12th, respectively. Army veteran Jeremy Wagner (Nanakuli, Hawaii) finished the race in 16th overall with a time of 40:51.1 and Augusto Perez (East Syracuse, N.Y.) placed 19th.

Germany’s 22-year-old Anja Wicker won her first career Paralympic gold, taking first place in the women’s 10km sitting biathlon in 32:54.4.  “We played some billiards yesterday to relax. Apparently, I wasn’t too good at it so I saved that for today,” Wicker said after the race.

“I need some time to realise what just happened. I kept looking at the results board in the stadium but I couldn’t believe that it was my name up there in first position.

“I kept thinking there has to be someone else who will finish ahead of me. To be honest, I didn’t even expect a medal today, let alone the golden one.”

Russia’s Svetlana Konovalova (33:36.7) picked up her third medal of Sochi 2014 and second silver, and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Pavlenko (34:22.6) took home the bronze. That left the race favourite, Ukraine’s seven-time biathlon world champion Olena Iurkovksa (34:49.2), in fourth place.

The women’s 10km standing title went to Russia’s Alena Kaufman (29:57.1), who now has two golds in Sochi, while Ukraine’s Oleksandara Kononova (30:33.7) took silver and another Russian, Natalia Bratiuk (30:57.6), finished in bronze-medal position.

“I can’t believe I won,” Kaufman said. “It’s my second gold medal and it’s great because it’s a home Paralympic Games. I always feel doubt, but everybody tells me I can do it. I hope I will win gold in another race.”

Caroline Bisson (CAN) © Matthew Murnaghan/Canadian Paralympic Committee

Ottawa’s Caroline Bisson suited up in the women’s 10-kilometre standing race and finished in 11th spot with a time of 39:53.9 (2+0+1+0).