March 15, 2007 (Khanty-Mansiysk) – It was a disappointing way to start the final Biathlon World Cup for the small Canadian contingent. Robin Clegg and Zina Kocher were the lone representatives for Canada in the men’s and women’s races in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The pair finished 59th and 49th, respectively, in the sprint event Thursday.

Clegg, a native of Ottawa, put together a solid performance on the range, with only one shooting error, but could not find the necessary speed on the snow to stay with the top group. The 29-year-old finished the race in 29 minutes 20.7 seconds, over two minutes behind the winner, Michael Roesch, of Germany. Two Russians rounded out the podium finishes, with Maxim Tchoudov taking the silver medal and Andrei Makoveev, the bronze.

Red Deer, Alta. native, Zina Kocher, has been struggling of late to find the same form that saw her win a bronze medal at the World Cup, November 29, 2006, in Ostersund, Sweden. The 24-year-old had two shooting errors and finished nearly four minutes behind Germany’s Magdalena Neuner, who was in a league of her own. Neuner completed the race in 22:34.0, +56.0 seconds faster than her closest competitor and teammate, Andrea Henkel, who took the silver. Sweden’s Anna Carin Olofsson came away with the bronze medal, +1.03 out of first.

Both Clegg and Kocher will get another chance to improve on Thursday’s result in the pursuit race. The women’s race takes place Saturday, and the men hit the snow Sunday, on the final day of Biathlon World Cup for the season.

Men
1. Michael Roesch, GER, 27:00.5
2. Maxim Tchoudov, RUS, +8.8
3. Andrei Makoveev, RUS, +13.4
4. Christoph Sumann, AUT, +16.0
5. Friedrich Pinter, AUT, +22.6

59. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, +2:20.7

Women
1. Magdalena Neuner, GER, 22:34.0
2. Andrea Henkel, GER, +56.8
3. Anna Carin Olofsson, SWE, +1:03.0
4. Teja Gergorin, SLO, +1:04.5
5. Oksana Khvostenko, UKR, +1:25.5

49. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., +3:43.6

For full results please visit www.biathlonworld.com. For Biathlon Canada please visit www.biathloncanada.ca