December 10, 2011 (Hochfilzen, Austria) – Here’s a selection of photos and quotes from Saturday’s IBU WCup 10/12.5km Pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria where Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen edged out his countryman Tarjei Boe at the line for the win. Switzerland’s Benjamin Weger claimed third while the USA’s Lowell Bailey continued his strong performances as the top North American in 17th.

In the 10km women’s pursuit, Darya Domracheva (BLR) took the win over Olga Zaitseva (RUS) in second with Magdalena Neuner (GER) in third. Canada’s Zina Kocher had her best shooting day of her season so far leading the North American women in 23rd.

Lowell Bailey (USA) – 17th
So close! That about sums it up. Today I felt good about how the race went for the first four loops. I felt comfortable on the course and was able to ski a little better technically than yesterday, and with clean shooting I managed to get in a good position by the last standing. Unfortunately I just missed a couple in the last stage. – US Biathlon

Zina Kocher (CAN) – 23rd
I am physically in great form and know I can turn my shooting around. My ski speed is where I want it and I want to be on that podium again and win. – Biathlon Canada

Brendan Green (CAN) – 34th
It’s been a really roller coaster week for me.  After the last race in Sweden my back flared up quite badly related to a disk herniation that happened in late July I thought I was going to have to fly home, but our support staff worked extra hard to get me back on my feet andthings improved a lot over the last few days.

Although I picked up some misses late in the race during the standing bouts, I had a much stronger ski and was actually able to enjoy the race as apposed to yesterday which physically was a struggle from the get go.  I am satisfied that I was able to maintain my position, and I am hoping I can keep things rolling in the right direction. – Biathlon Canada

Darya Domracheva (Belarus) – 1st
During the race, I thought nothing. I know that anyone can win after the final shooting stage. When I came to the final shooting stage, I could only see my targets in the tunnel. – biathlonworld.com

Magdalena Neuner (Germany) – 3rd
The power was not there today. But as I have previously said, I am not quite in top form yet. However, I am headed in that direction and in a good place now. My running was good today, I finished third and being so close to Darya is not so bad. – biathlonworld.com

Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) – 1st
I was holding back during the whole last loop and was confident. I had a good feeling today. The sprint was closer than I thought. Tarjei has been working on his sprint this year and has more muscles, so it was a hard battle. – biathlonworld.com

Tarjei Boe (NOR) – 2nd
At the start of the season, my shooting was not so fast. I have been working on my speed and relaxation on the shooting range. Today, in an individual start like this, under a lot of pressure, I was really relaxed until that standing stage; then I tried to shoot fast and missed that shot. But only one penalty in two standing stages is still pretty good. – biathlonworld.com

Full results HERE.