January 5, 2007 (Oberhof, Germany) -The Canadian Men’s Biathlon Team followed the trail set out by their female teammates yesterday to crack the top-15 in the Biathlon World Cup relay event in Oberhof, Germany on Thursday.

Battling through gusting wind and wet snow, the four-man Canadian contingent, led by two-time Olympian, Robin Clegg, of Ottawa, David Leoni, of Camrose, Alta., François Leboeuf of Val Belair, Que., and Nathan Smith, of Canmore, Alta., crossed the line in 14th place, just under nine minutes behind the leading team from Russia.

“We had a really great race today,” said Leoni. “Robin skied an unbelievable first leg, and really put his experience to good use. We tagged off in fifth place and held that position until the final two legs. The atmosphere was amazing, but with almost 25,000 fans in the stadium, it made it a bit challenging to maintain composure.”

Although the team was unable to maintain their top-five position, the result is a great stepping stone for the newly-formed team who were participating in their first race of the season.

“We are a young team, and François and Nathan are both rookies on the World Cup circuit,” said Leoni. “Even though we didn’t hold onto our top-10 position, we are extremely pleased with the way our team performed today.”

The day belonged to the Russians, who finished the race in one hour 26 minutes and 9.89 seconds, with no penalty laps and only eight misses. Germany’s Michael Greis skied an impressive final leg, but it was not enough to catch the Russians, settling instead for the silver medal, +41.8 seconds off the pace. The bronze medal went to Norway, who logged four penalties and 15 misses, finishing +2:45.2 behind the leaders.

Canada’s women’s team looks to build on their great result from Wednesday’s relay, in the individual sprint event Friday.

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 Five Results:

1. Russia, 1:26:09.89
2. Germany, +41.8
3. Norway, +2:45.2
4. Austria, +4:48.7
5. Czech Republic, +4:48.8

Canadian Results:
14. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, David Leoni, Camrose, Alta., François Leboeuf of Val Belair, Que., Nathan Smith, Canmore, Alta., +8:57.5

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan
Media and Public Relations
Biathlon Canada
T: 403-247-5423

Katie Henderson
Media and Public Relations
Biathlon Canada
T: 403-247-5601