February 23, 2015 (Minsk-Raubichi, Belarus) – A day after his bronze medal in the junior men’s sprint, Sean Doherty (USA) had the top North American performance in Sunday’s pursuit races with an 11th-place finish in the junior men’s 12.5-kilometer event at the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Belarus. Doherty crossed the line in 37:17.4 minutes, with seven penalties, while Aidan Millar (Can) scored the best Canadian result in a strong 14th place.

Sean Doherty (USA) © US Biathlon

Russia claimed two of the top-three spots on the podium with Eduard Latypov taking the win in 35:02.8, with two penalties, while teammate Alexander Povarnitsyn came in third (35:30.9/+5). Norway’s Vemund Gurigard slipped in between the Russians for the silver medal (35:27.2/+2).

Other Canadian results include Carson Campbell (Can) in 48th, followed by Matthew Strum (Can) in 49th.

In the junior women’s 10k pursuit, Maddie Phaneuf (USA) hit 18 of 20 targets to move up from her starting position of 33rd to finish in 22nd place. Phaneuf went clean at three of the four shooting stages, missing her only two targets in the first standing stage.

“I believe that this was one of the best races in my career,” said Phaneuf. “The shooting was almost perfect, and I felt smooth and strong skiing. Moving up 11 spots and seeing that my ski speed was in the top 25 for this field is a huge confidence booster.”

Sarah Beaudry (Can) logged the best Canuck result in 40th. Team USA’s Mikaela Paluszek (USA) finished 55th.

Marie Heinrich of Germany won the junior women’s pursuit, shooting clean and posting a time of 27:58.3. Galina Vishnevskaya (KAZ) finished second, 15.4 seconds back with two penalties, while Ukraine’s Yuliya Zhuravok placed third with clean shooting, 20.7 seconds behind Heinrich.

Youth Pursuit Races

Megan Bankes (Can) placed 27th in the youth women’s 7.5km pursuit to earn the best North American placing with three penalties and a time of 27:47.2. Four athletes represented the U.S. in the youth women’s 7.5k pursuit on Sunday. Siena Ellingson (USA) was the top Team USA finisher in 39th place (29:56.3/+6), followed by Chloe Levins (USA) in 42nd (30:07.5/+9), Amanda Kautzer (USA) in 46th (30:28.9/+7), and Hannah Streinz (USA in 50th (31:48.6/+6). For the Canadians, Bryn Robertson (Can) was 40th.

Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold continued her strong showings this week by taking the win with a time of 23:26.9, with two penalties. She was joined on the podium by a pair of Austrians: Julie Schwaiger, 44.3 seconds back, with two penalties, and Simone Kupfner, 55.5 seconds behind, with three penalties.

Pearce Hanna (Can) powered to a solid 13th place in the youth men’s 10km pursuit to secure the best North American result, finishing only +2:43.0 off the pace with three penalties. Paul Thomas Everett (USA) was the lone American in the youth men’s 10k pursuit where he finished 43rd with a time of 33:21.9, with five penalties.

The race was won by Austria’s Felix Leitner with a time of 28:12.3, with two penalties. Russia’s Kirill Streltsov was second, three seconds back with two penalties, and Norway’s Mattis Haug finished third, 11 seconds back, also with two penalties.

Results

Youth Men’s 10km Pursuit here.
Youth Women’s 7.5km Pursuit here.
Junior Men’s 12.5km Pursuit here.
Junior Women’s 10km Pursuit here.