November 29, 2004 – Canada’s Zina Kocher is ready to kick things into sixth-gear after testing her strength among the world’s best in Europa Cup competition in Geilo, Norway.

The 21-year-old Red Deer, Alta. native finished 30th in a pool of 78 athletes at her third Europa Cup race of the week on Saturday. Kocher finished the 7.5-kilometre women’s sprint in a time of 27:24:5, hitting eight of her 10 targets.
“These events are loaded with World Cup athletes and I want to consistently place in the top-30 at the World Cup level so I’m on target,” said Kocher who has been concentrating on her shooting skills all week. “I am a little more satisfied with my shooting, but still need to focus on being perfect – races are won or lost when not shooting accurately.”

The German women continued their dominance on the World Cup stage narrowly missing a podium sweep on Saturday. Russia’s Svetlana Chernousova earned her second medal in Europa Cup competition this season, skiing to the top spot to claim the gold medal with a time of 23:15:6, with one shooting error.

Norway’s Liv Grete Poiree grabbed the silver medal at 23:37:1, hitting nine out of 10 targets. Albina Akhatova rounded out the top three earning bronze with a time of 23:41:3, also missing just one target.
Calgary’s Sandra Keith finished the race in 65th, with a time of 27:24:5, hitting seven of her 10 targets. A total of 78 athletes competed in the women’s competition.
Canada’s top-seeded male biathlon athlete Robin Clegg of Ottawa felt the strain of travel and a busy early season schedule on Saturday, posting a disappointing 39th place result in the men’s 10 kilometre sprint. Clegg finished the race one minute and 57 seconds off the leading pace with a time of 29 minutes 47:2 seconds. Clegg had just one shooting error.

“I didn’t have such a great race today,” said Clegg who is ready for a break before he competes in World Cup racing next Friday. “My biggest problem was just tiredness and energy – sometimes you just need some rest and not necessarily have to work on improving skills.”

Leading the pack in the men’s 10 kilometre sprint loaded with 96 of the world’s top biathlon athletes was Tomasz Sikora of Poland who set the leading mark at 27:50:0, hitting all 10 targets. Sergei Rozhkov of Russia took the silver medal at 27:59:6, with just one shooting error. Magne Thorleiv Ronning of Russia claimed his second medal in Europa Cup action, rounding out the top-three to take the bronze medal, missing just one of his 10 targets at 28:02.4 Ronning took the top spot earning gold in the opening Europa Cup race on Wednesday.

David Leoni of Camrose Alta. was the only other Canadian skier in today’s race, finishing 75th with a time of 31:18:7, missing three of his 10 targets.
The Canadian Biathlon Team will head to Beitostolen Norway, December 2 – 5, for the first leg on the World Cup tour.

Women’s Top-5 and Canadian Results (7.5 kilometre sprint):

1. Svetlana Chernousova, RUS, 23:15:6; 2. Olga Zaitseva, RUS, 23:37:1; 3. Liv Grete Poiree, NOR, 23:41:3; 4. Albina Akhatova, RUS, 23:47:7; 5. Kanae Meguro, JPN, 23:50:0; 30. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., CAN, 25:14:3; 65. Sandra Keith, Calgary, CAN, 27:24:5.
Men’s Top-5 and Canadian Results (10 kilometre sprint):
1. Tomasz Sikora, POL, 27:50:0; 2. Sergei Rozhkov, RUS, 27:59:6; 3. Magne Thorleiv Ronning, NOR, 28:02:4; 4. Dimitri Iarochenko, RUS, 28:07:0; 5. Raphael Poiree, FRA, 28:09:5; 39. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, CAN, 29:47:2; 75, David Leoni, Camrose, Alta., CAN, 31:18:7.