February 13, 2015 (Oslo, Norway) – Canada’s Nathan Smith posted a strong 12th-place finish on Thursday in the Men’s 20km individual event at the IBU World Cup in Oslo, Norway, earning the top North American result in what has been a breakthrough season for the Calgarian.

Nathan Smith (Can) finished 12th in the 20k IBU World Cup in Oslo. ©Nordic Focus

“It actually wasn’t an easy day on the skis. The snow conditions were some of the most difficult I’ve experienced. I felt kind of tired, and not as strong as last weekend,” said Smith. “The snow was breaking apart and getting very deep and sugary, which made it quite the grunt.  Overall though. I’m really happy with another top result. I’m sure my skiing will pick up a little for the weekend.

My confidence is high in the shooting department. I was careful on the range and that resulted in a career best 19/20 shooting for an individual, as well as my best result in the 20 kilometre.”

All three medal winners were perfect on the range on Thursday. Martin Fourcade (FRA) won the race with a time of 51:26.8. Evgeniy Garanichev (RUS) clocked a silver-medal time of 51:41.0. Sergey Semenov (UKR) ounded out the podium in third at 52:15.6.

Men's podium © Nordic Focus

The best result for Team USA came from Leif Nordgren (USA) with a solid 20th place. Nordgren built off of his successful World Cup last week in the Czech Republic by hitting 19 of 20 targets and skiing to a time of 54:32.1. His only miss came on his opening shot in the first prone stage, and he finished less than one second from 19th place.

“Today was nearly a perfect race for me,” Nordgren said. “A lot of things came together. It was a shame to miss that first shot in prone, but I had a split bullet in the second prone that barely turned the target white, so luck goes both ways, I guess.”

Nordgren also credited his equipment and the right game plan suited for the conditions he faced in Oslo.

“I had pretty killer skis again today, and that was a big bonus in the conditions we had. It’s been really warm here in Oslo the past few days and today the track was no different. There were some parts that were OK, where the snow was sticking together and still pretty hard packed, but other places on course, especially some of the hills that get more sun, were quite deep and mushy. Talking to my coach, Per, before the race, we came up with a good plan, to ski a little more conservative and focus on good gliding in the mushy parts, then use the hard pack sections to really push the pace and attack. I think that worked really well for me, and I think I skied every loop pretty similarly. Now for a little bit of rest. This is the hardest race we do, and today the conditions made sure it was going to be a tough day.”

Other U.S. finishers included Tim Burke (USA) in 47th (56:37.1/+4) and Lowell Bailey (USA) in 62nd (58:15.2/+3).

Canada’s Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T., placed 44th at 5:28.0 (0+1+0+2). Calgary’s Scott Gow was 60th at 57:59.7 (1+1+1+0).

With a goal of peaking at the World Championships later this month, the Canadians are rounding into top form with nearly every athlete on the squad taking their turns posting career best results, while knocking on the door of the World Cup podium with a number of top-five finishes.

“With a lot of Biathlon Canada’s funding riding on World Champs, that’s the place where we would especially like to pull out our best results” added Smith. “Last year at the Olympics the men’s team was really strong.  Personally, my shape has been pretty consistent this year.  I had a couple days with back pain in January, but that has settled now and with accurate shooting I feel I’m starting to reach my potential.”

Competitors will enjoy a rest day on Friday before resuming with the men’s and women’s sprints on Saturday. The women’s 7.5km sprint begins at 5:15 a.m. EST, with the men’s 10km sprint following at 8:15 a.m. EST. Live streaming coverage, as well as replays of both races can be seen here.

Results here.