February 05, 2011 (Presque Isle, ME) – Here are some more photos from the IBU World Cup Sprints in Presque Isle, Maine. Helena Ekholm (SWE) took top honours in the women’s 7.5km event, while Arnd Peiffer (GER) grabbed gold in the 10km men’s race. Sara Studebaker (USA) scored a personal best 14th place finish in front of her home country fans, while Lowell Bailey (USA) was the top North American man in 25th.

Click HERE for women’s story and results.
Click HERE for men’s story and results.

February 02, 2011 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Italy’s Dorothea Wierer won her third race of the Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships, finishing off her successful competition with a gold medal in the Junior Women’s 12.5km Individual event in a time of 40:56.8 and with only two missed shots. Olga Galich (RUS) received only one shooting penalty to grab the silver medal, 25.4s behind the dominant Italian. Florie Vigneron (FRA) also scored nearly perfect on her shooting, missing only one shot. She earned herself a bronze medal, finishing 1:14.7 back.

Canada’s Audrey Vaillancourt just missed the top 10, receiving only one shot on the final round of shooting. She finished 11th at 4:03.0 behind the winner. Team mate Yolaine Oddou (CAN) was just behind in lucky 13th, while Grace Boutot (USA) led her team mates with a 39th-place finish. Emma Lunder (CAN) wound up 52nd with Corrine Malcolm (USA) in 63rd.

Results HERE.

February 02, 2011 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Simon Desthieux (FRA) won the 15km Individual Junior Men’s race at the Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships in a time of 41:36.6 and with only two missed shots, while Benedikt Doll of Germany missed four shots to finish second and 27s off the pace, followed by Nikolay Yakushov (RUS) in third with only two shooting penalties and 32.4s back.

Canada’s Scott Gow continued his excellent record at this year’s Worlds finishing ninth with only three misses and 1:52.6 off the leader. “I was so happy when I crossed the finish line to see myself in ninth position. I still can’t believe it,” said Gow, who is a rookie on the Canadian Biathlon Team’s senior development squad this year. “My skiing was as strong as its been all week and my shooting was really solid so I’m very happy with my entire performance. I accomplished what I came here to do.”

Eathan Dreissigacher (USA) led Team USA in 38th, with five missed shots and a 5:14.2 deficit. Vincent Blais (CAN) finished 39th, Aaron Neumann (CAN) was 61st, Benjamin Greenwald (USA) was 79th, Raileigh Goessling (USA) took 87th, and David Gregoire (CAN) did not start.

Results HERE.

February 02, 2011 (Erzurum, Turkey) – Canadian athletes resumed competition in curling, alpine skiing, biathlon and snowboarding on Tuesday at the 25th Winter Universiade. In men’s curling, the Queen’s University rink led by skip Jon Beuk of Kingston, Ont., improved to 4-3 with two preliminary matches remaining thanks to a 6-5 win over the United States. Canada scored two points in each of the second, fourth and seventh ends to build what looked like a comfortable 6-2 lead but the Americans refused to quit and scored twice in the eighth and once more in the tenth to make it a one-point affair.

Canada completes round-robin play Wednesday with matches at 2 a.m. ET (9 a.m. local) against South Korea (6-1) and at 12 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local) against Turkey (0-7).

After capturing Universiade gold in 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy, the Canadian men are coming off back-to-back sixth-place finishes in 2007 and 2009.

It was a different day on the ice for the Canadian women, Universiade champions in 2007 and silver medallists in 2009. The University of Regina foursome led by skip Brooklyn Lemon fell to 3-5 with one round-robin match left following losses to Germany, 8-4, and Russia, 4-3.

Against the Germans, Canada led 2-1 after four ends but saw their rivals score seven times over the next five ends, including three points in the fifth and another three in the eighth. The duel with Russia was much closer but despite erasing an early 2-0 deficit, the Canadians came up just short in the end.

Canada (3-5) completes the preliminary round Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET (2 p.m. local) against Turkey (0-8).

In biathlon, the finals of the women’s 7.5 km sprint and men’s 10 km sprint were contested on Tuesday.

Kathryn Stone also of Camrose, Alta., was the top Canadian female finishing 29th in a time of 28:29.2. On the men’s side, Jon Skinstad led the Canadian effort with a time of 33:10.1, good for the 30th position.

In alpine skiing, after a one-day delay due to poor weather, competitors were able to complete the first of two runs in the super combined event. Kendall Brown of Toronto was the top Canadian female in the slalom and stands in 26th place thanks to a time of 49.91, while Philippe Rivet of Greenfield Park, Que., crossed the finish line in 48.68 and is 24th after the men’s slalom.

In snowboarding, no Canadians advanced past the elimination round in the men’s parallel giant slalom. Calgary native and University of Calgary student Dylan Riley finished in 22nd place with a time of 1:19.04.

Both the Canadian women’s and men’s hockey teams were off on Tuesday but the women’s squad held a joint practice with Great Britain. The 30 minutes of ice time saw the red-and-white share drills and routines from a skill development perspective.

“We’re going to learn so much from this,” commented British head coach Simon Manning. “This gives our team so much energy as we’ve developed immensely and now these 28 girls have an opportunity to practice and develop with Canada.”

The reigning Universiade champion Canadian women (4-0) wrap up round-robin play Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local) against host Turkey (0-4).

TEAM CANADA RESULTS: Tuesday, February 1

ALPINE SKIING

Women’s Super Combined Slalom (Run 1 of 2)
1. Barbora Lukacova, Slovakia, 45.42

26. Kendall Brown, Toronto, Ont., 49.91
28. Nicole Poleschuk, Winnipeg, Man., 50.33
Maëlle Bergeron, Quebec City, Que., did not finish
Rebecca Nadler, Ottawa, Ont., did not finish
Marie-France Tessier, Montreal, Que., did not finish

Men’s Super Combined Slalom (Run 1 of 2)

1. Calle Lindh, Sweden, 46:18; 24. Philippe Rivet, Greenfield Park, Que., 48.68; 33. Olivier Lacaille, Montreal, Que., 49.27; Simon Mannella, Montreal, Que., 50.54; 48. Braden Long, Clarksburg, Ont., 50.92; Louis Morin, Montreal, Que., did not finish.

BIATHLON

Women’s 7.5km Sprint Final
1. Vita Semerenko, Ukraine, 23:29.5
2. Evgeniya Sedova, Russia, 24:18.7
3. Emilia Yordanova, Bulgaria, 24:27.4

29. Kathryn Stone, Camrose, Alta., 28:29.2
32. Lauren Brookes, Halifax, N.S., 30:20.9
35. Jennifer Paterson, St. Albert, Alta., 32:24.5
36. Elizabeth Mawdsley, Fort Smith, N.W.T., 32:58.2

Men’s 10km Sprint Final

1. Artem Pryma, Ukraine, 28:25
2. Sergii Semenov, Ukraine, 28:31.7
3. Evgeniy Garanichev, Russia, 28:38.9

30. Jon Skinstad, Camrose, Alta., 33:10.1
39. Kai Skinstad, Camrose, Alta., 35:15.8
40. Johnny Forward, Corner Brook, Nfld., 35:16.2
43. Jaime Robb, Hay River, N.W.T., 37:01.4

CURLING

Women’s Preliminary Round

Game 7 of 9

Germany 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 3 1 X – 8
Canada 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 X – 4

Game 8 of 9

Russia 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 X – 4
Canada 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 X – 3

Canada (3-5) completes the preliminary round Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET against Turkey (0-8).

Men’s Preliminary Round

Game 7 of 9

Canada 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 – 6
USA 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 – 5

Canada (4-3) completes the preliminary round Wednesday with matches at 2 a.m. ET against South Korea (6-1) and at 12 p.m. ET against Turkey (0-7).

SNOWBOARDING

Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Elimination
1. Sebastian Kislinger, Austria, 1:14.14

22. Dylan Riley, Calgary, Alta., 1:19.04, did not advance
26. Frédéric Laurin-Lalonde, Montreal, Que., 1:30.46, did not advance
30. Mackenzie Carter, Maryhill, Ont., 1:25.63, did not advance
38. Antoine Laurin-Lalonde, Montreal, Que., 45.37, did not advance

Team Canada website HERE.
2011 Winter Universiade website HERE.

February 01, 2011 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Canada’s Scott Gow led the North American charge for the second straight day at the Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships posting back-to-back 16th-place finishes.

Maxim Tsvetkov (RUS) earned the world title in the youth men’s 7.5km pursuit over Norway’s Vetle Sjastad Christansen in second while Tsvetkov’s team mate Alexandr Loginov was third. Johannes Kuhn (GER) seized the victory in the junior men’s 10km race,  with Ludwig Ehrhart (FRA) second and Tom Barth (GER) third.

Gow, a 20-year-old Calgarian, held his position in the pursuit competition. He missed three shots in his final two of four rounds of shooting at the range to clock a time of 37 minutes 27.7 seconds in the junior men’s 12.5-kilometre race. Fellow Canuck Vincent Blais finished 52nd.

Team USA’s Raileigh Goessling finished 53rd while team mate Eathan Dreissigacher (USA) took 56th.

Tsvetkov Wins Youth Men’s Title
Tsvetkov won the youth men’s 10km pursuit, his second World title. Vetle Sjastad Christiansen (NOR) was 30.3s behind for the silver medal, while Alexandr Loginov (RUS) took the bronze, only 32.7s off the win.

Stuart Harden (CAN) made up 21 spots in the standings with a strong pursuit race and finished 23rd with a time of 32:47.0. Christian Gow (CAN) also put in a solid effort, finishing 27th (33:02.7), while Macx Davies dropped to 29th at 33:06.2. Sean Doherty (USA) finished 37th with team mate Casey Smith (USA) in 54th.

Youth Results HERE.
Junior Results HERE.

February 01, 2011 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Ekaterina Zubova (RUS) won the youth women’s 7.5km pursuit, while the junior women’s 10km pursuit saw Italy’s Dorothea Wierer strike gold ahead of Russia’s Aleksandra Alikina and Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier in second and third, respectively.

Wierer led from start to finish, but the final standing shooting stage came down to the wire with Alikina. Wierer missed one shot, but her Russian competitor missed three, giving Wierer the advantage.

Audrey Vaillancourt (CAN) scored the top North American performance with 32nd place and only two shooting penalties. Canadian team mates Emma Lunder and Yolaine Oddou finished 38th and 39th, respectively. Grace Boutot (USA) took 42nd spot with five shooting penalties, with team mate Corrine Malcolm (USA) not far behind in 46th.

Zubova Tops Youth Podium Again
Zubova was followed by Anais Chevalier (FRA) in second and Elena Badanina (RUS) in third for a carbon-copy podium from yesterday’s sprint competition.

Kelly Kjorlien (USA) only had three shooting faults and logged the best North American result in the youth women’s race, placing 26th. Canada’s Rose-Marie Cote finished 39th with Sarah Beaudry (CAN) right behind in 40th. Julia Ransom (CAN) placed 47th, Danielle Vrielink (CAN) was 51st, Carla Wynn (USA) took 52nd, and Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA) was 57th.

Youth Women’s Results HERE.
Junior Women’s Results HERE.

January 24, 2011 (Antholz, Italy) – Norway’s Tora Berger won her fourth consecutive individual competition on Sunday, netting the top podium spot in the women’s 12.5km Mass Start at the IBU World Cup in Antholz. Berger narrowly edged out Marie Laure Brunet of France to win by a mere .6 seconds after hitting 18 of 20 targets from the range.

“I left the stadium with Kuzmina and was only trying to be third,” Berger told Biathlonworld.com, “Then I was going so fast and saw the other two people in front of me. So I tried to fight the hardest that I could. . . I just fought with all I had at that point. I was strong enough.”

Brunet, who was chasing down her first ever World Cup win before Berger spoiled the party, settled for 2nd place after a one-miss performance. Bulgaria’s Darya Domracheva was the only racer to hit all 20 targets on the day, grabbing the last podium spot with a time of 34:02.1.

“This place seems to be lucky for me. I really like the nature and the tracks,” said Domracheva post race, “I was very happy with my shooting today, after five penalties in the sprint. But I was disappointed in my skiing. I did not have the best skis, as fast as some of the others.”

Laura Spector, the lone North American, finished 29th after a 5-miss performance that gave her a finishing time of 38:33.5.

“I felt so tired today, my legs were really heavy. I can’t believe that I missed the last shot, but that happens,” commented Spector in a US Biathlon report. “It’s really good to have a break now to recover a bit.”

The weather, which has been nothing short of perfect most of the week, continued to create a great environment for the racers. The skies were clear and the course was hard packed and fast.

Results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Tora Berger, NOR (0+1+0+1) 33:56.3
2. Laure Marie Brunet, FRA (0+0+0+1) 33:56.9
3. Darya Domracheva, BLR (0+0+0+0) 34:02.1

29. Laura Spector, USA (1+1+1+2)

January 14, 2011 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – Norway’s Lars Berger took no prisoners as he raced to victory Friday in the 10km Sprint at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding. Berger, who topped the podium for the first time since 2008, earned the third no-miss race of his career to finish with a time of 23:55.1.

“It is too bad that it does not happen so often, but I had a really good feeling in the 20K the other day,” Berger told Biathlonworld.com referring to the gap in his victories, “I felt very much in control today – I shot fast but felt secure.”

France’s star competitor, Martin Fourcade, claimed 2nd, posting the same result in Wednesday’s Individual 20km competition. The 22-year-old Frenchman also had a clean shooting day, finishing 21.7 seconds behind Berger. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS) grabbed the ninth bronze of his World Cup career with a no-miss performance that left him with a time of 24:18.9.

Canada’s Marc-Andre Bedard posted the top North American result with a 44th-place finish. The former Olympian shot clean for a time of 25:59.6 while team mate Brenden Green finished close behind, hitting 9 of 10 targets to finish 48th. Scott Perras took 54th place with two misses and a time of 26:21.5, and Jean-Phillipe Le Guellec missed a pair of targets in the final lap to finish 74th.

Lowell Bailey lead the US team again making 7 of his 10 shots to finish 50th, less than two minutes out of a podium spot. Tim Burke, a Lake Placid native who is still struggling to regain his form from last season, missed four shots and finished with a time of 26:22.6, putting him in 56th. Three-time Olympian Jeremy Teela took 58th place after hitting 7 of 10, and Leif Nordgren missed a pair of shots in each stage to finish 64th with a time of 26:34.5.

The conditions on Friday at Ruhpolding’s new arena were an improvement on Thursday’s rain trodden course, though the warm temperature hovered around 10˚C, making the course slow once again for the racers.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)
1. Lars Berger, NOR (0+0) 23:55.1
2. Martin Fourcade, FRA (0+0) 24:16.8
3. Ivan Tcherezov, RUS (0+0) 24:18.9

44. Marc-Andre Bedard, CAN (0+0) 25:59.6
48. Brenden Green, CAN (0+1) 26:08.6
50. Lowell Bailey, USA (1+2) 26:09.6
54. Scott Perras, CAN (1+1) 26:21.5
56. Tim Burke, USA (1+3) 26:22.6
58. Jeremy Teela, USA (1+2) 26:29
64. Leif Nordgren, USA (2+2) 26:34.5
74. Jean-Phillipe LeGuellec, CAN (0+2) 27:00.9

January 13, 2011 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – Russia’s Olga Zaitseva battled through torrential rain and sloppy racing conditions on Thursday to win the women’s 15km Individual race at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding. Zaitseva, who was one of only three racers to shoot clean on the day, grabbing the ninth win of her career, and first of the season, in a time of 41:46.1.

“I felt very good today, [I] had a good performance today both on the shooting range and skiing,” said Zaitseva in an IBU report, “Starting early was a big help. It maybe was a little bit easier for me than some of the athletes who started later. I also had good skis for this kind of weather.”

The rain, which began early in the morning and persisted throughout the competition, made the snow incredibly slushy, namely on the downhill portion of the course.

“The downhill was not the best part of my race today,” said Andrea Henkel of Germany, “In the final loop, I went out with 6 seconds to make up. By the top of the hill, it was 5 seconds; I knew when I left the shooting range that if I did not have the lead by the top of the hill I would never have it.”

Henkel grabbed her second silver medal of the season, shooting clean in all four stages for a time of 42:00.6, and Sweden’s Helena Ekholm took the last podium spot also with clean shooting and a time of 42:23.5.

Megan Imrie of Canada posted the top North American result placing 35th – a career-best for the 24 year-old Alberta native who missed just one shot on her way to a finishing time of 47:17. “I knew shooting would be critical because of the difficulty of the course and the insane amount of water dumping from the sky,” said Imrie who hails from Falcon Lake. Man. in a Biathlon Canada release, “Shooting is always the difference for me. Finally today I realized I don’t have to think about each target, but I just have to see every target and it worked out.”

Melanie Schultz, also from Canada, placed 70th after a 2-miss performance, and Zina Kocher hit 11 of 20 to finish 82nd.

The top US biathlete of the the competition was Sara Studebaker, who made 17 of her 20 shots to finish 55th. Fellow American Haley Johnson finished 62nd with 4 misses and a time of 50:21.2, and Laura Spector, who is coming off a record performance in the previous world cup, placed 67th after hitting 15 of 20 in the range.

Full Results HERE.

Results (Brief)

1. Olga Zaitseva, RUS (0+0+0+0) 41:46.1
2. Andrea Henkel, GER (0+0+0+0) 42:00.6
3. Helena Ekholm, SWE (0+0+0+0) 42:23.5

35. Megan Imrie, CAN (0+1+0+0) 47:17.0
55. Sara Studebaker, USA (0+2+1+0) 49:14.7
62. Haley Johnson, USA (1+0+1+2) 50:21.2
67. Laura Spector, USA (1+2+0+1) 50:49.4
70. Melanie Schultz, CAN (1+0+0+1) 51:02.1
82. Zina Kocher, CAN (3+2+2+2) 54:27.6

January 10, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – Laura Spector continued her solid showing at the Oberhof World Cup by placing 25th in Sunday’s 12.5km mass start. Spector became the first US woman ever to compete in a mass start at the IBU World Cup, which features the top 30 biathletes from the sprint .

“Laura really made a strong impression today, especially in the first half of the race,” said U.S. Biathlon Head Coach Per Nilsson in US Biathlon release. “Two clean shootings at prone were really good in a race like that.”

Spector ended the day with just two misses in four shooting stages, finishing with a time of 43:28.8.

Helena Ekholm (SWE) grabbed her second win of the season adding to her World Cup pursuit victory in Hochfilzen. The Swedish biathlete shot clean for the day, finishing with a time of 39:22.9.

Ekholm said after the race that her plan was to simply shoot well and then let everything else fall into place. “I tried to stay back shoot well and then attack,” Ekholm told IBU, “Andrea [Henkel] and Svetlana [Sleptsova] were skiing well in the final loop, and I just stayed behind them. When we came up the final hill before the finishing straight, I felt that I had more power, attacked at that point, and it worked out.”

Henkel of Germany continued her solid showing in Oberhof by posting a 2nd place finish with a pair of misses, finishing just 1.6 seconds behind Ekholm. Russia’s Sleptsova was just one of two racers, including Henkel, to shoot clean on the day, grabbing the third place finish with a time of 39:28.1.

No Canadian women qualified to compete in Sunday’s mass start event. Spector’s result puts her 36th overall in the overall IBU World Cup standings.

Full results HERE.

Results (Brief)

1. Helena Ekholm, SWE (0+0+0+0) 39:22.9
2. Andrea Henkel, GER (0+1+1+0) 39:24.5
3. Svetlana Sleptsova, RUS (0+0+0+0) 39:28.1
4. Maria Laure Brunet, FRA (0+0+0+1) 39:43.2
5. Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland, NOR (0+0+1+0) 39:49.6

25. Laura Spector, USA (0+0+2+2) 43:28.8

January 10, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – Canada’s Jean-Philippe Le Guellec followed up his 16th place effort in Friday’s sprint by placing 20th in the men’s 15km Mass Start on Sunday, the final event of IBU WCup round #4 in Oberhof, Germany, won by Norway’s Tarjei Boe.

Le Guellec, a two-time Olympian, had a day to remember in the shooting range, coming away with just one miss in four trips through the stadium. “That was one heck of a hard race. The conditions were super soft and the snow was wet in places,” said Le Guellec in a Biathlon Canada release, “I had nothing left in my legs, but it was a great day for shooting. I established a tactic in training yesterday that worked well today.”

Canadian teammate Brendan Green also followed up a strong sprint race with a 25th place effort on Sunday, finishing with a time of 42:11.1 after missing a pair of targets. No Americans qualified for the men’s mass start as only the top 30 skiers advanced from the previous races.

Norway placed two skiers on the podium with Boe scoring his fourth race of the season, and Emile Hegle Svedsen capturing second with 3 misses and a time of 35:55.4. Ivan Tcherezov of Russia rounded out the top three with a pair of misses on his way to finishing with a time of 39:55.4.

Boe, who also won this week’s sprint competition, helped to strengthen his grip on the yellow leader’s bib, awarded to the best biathlete in the world. The 23 year-old Norwegian showed poise on the final lap, after missing a shot in the last shooting stage of the day.

“Usually, you do not win a mass start with a penalty in the final stage. But I had a strategy going into that stage,” said Boe, according to the IBU report, “I knew I had to shoot fast, so that if I missed one I could get around the loop before the others. I missed the first shot and just went on. The last one took some mental strength, because I knew the victory depended on hitting it.”

Full results HERE.

Results (Brief)

1. Tarjei Boe, NOR (0+1+0+1) 39:51.3
2. Emile Hegle Svedsen, NOR (1+0+2+0) 39:53.7
3. Ivan Tcherezov, RUS (0+0+1+1) 39:55.4
4. Martin Fourcade, FRA (0+1+0+1) 40:05.6
5. Michael Greis, GER (1+0+1+1) 40:10.4

20. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, CAN (0+0+0+1) 41:41.7
25. Brenden Green, CAN (0+1+1+0) 42:11.1

January 07, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – Sweden took advantage of key shooting, despite heavy rain and high winds, on the final two legs of the 4x6km Women’s Relay held yesterday to execute a come-from-behind victory at Oberhof’s World Cup venue. Sweden’s team of Jenny Jonnson, Anna Carlin Zidek, Anna Maria Nilsson and Helena Ekholm suffered only one penalty, while utilizing eight spare rounds, to finish 52.3 seconds ahead of second place France, who compiled three penalites and nine spare rounds respectively. Belarus rounded out the top three with a time of 1:19:24.5.

Sweden’s team got off to a slow start, despite a solid shooting performance from Jonnson, and found themselves in fourth place after the first leg. Trailing the likes of Slovakia, Ukraine, and Finland, the second leg was no change in fortune for the team, as they remained in fourth after Zideck passed off to Nilsson.

Sweden’s third leg proved to be a spark for the team as they moved up to second placed behind Nilsson’s three spare round performance, and Ekholm brought home the victory with a no-miss final lap.

Thursday’s harsh weather conditions were undoubtedly a factor in determining the champions, as there were 84 penalties and 263 spare rounds used across all of the 21 teams who competed. The heavy rain and powerful winds made shooting no easy task for the world-class athletes.

Canada’s relay squad consisting of Zina Kocher, Megan Imrie, Rosanna Crawford, and Melanie Schultz, North America’s lone representative, was among an astounding nine teams who were disqualified as a result of being lapped in the challenging conditions.

The United States, although present in Oberhof, did not field a team on Thursday due to a lack of available racers.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Sweden (1+8) 1:17:53.1
2. France (3+9) 1: 18:45.4
3. Belarus (1+13) 1:19:24.5
4. Ukraine (5+12) 1:20:46.3
5. Russia (8+16) 1:20:59.2

LPD Canada (4+14)

January 06, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – The IBU World Cup resumed in Oberhof, Germany on Wednesday with the men’s 4×7.5km relay that saw the home team take off with the early lead and stay ahead, winning their first men’s relay since 2006 in a time of 1:23:53.0. While the Germans lead consistently all race, the battle for the next two podium steps was dynamic, changing at each shooting stage. In the end, the Czech Republic edged out Norway for second, finishing with a time of 1:26:15.8 over the Norwegians in third at 1:26.17.0.

The top North American result was an 11th place finish by the Canadian men’s team at 1:27:25.8 represented by Marc-André Bedard, Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Scott Perras and Brendan Green. The American team of Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke, Leif Nordgren, and Russell Currier placed 16th in a time of 1:28:41.4.

The men were beset by hostile weather conditions with howling winds blasting through the stadium making shooting difficult and no team shot clean. Competitors, who collected ten times the typical number of penalties and used more than three times the number of spare rounds expected, were resigned to doing penalty laps.

“The winds were so strong that it made standing shooting extremely difficult because it was gusting so bad,” said Le Guellec. “It was best not to fight the wind today but take your penalties, do the laps, and make up your time that way. We had fast skis so was a good day for our team.”

The result is a promising performance from the newly formed young Canadian relay team lead by two-time Olympian, 25 year-old Le Guellec.

“This is the first time us four have raced together. We have a really young team that is young and I believe is going to be very good for a long time,” added Le Guellec. “Everyone on the team has had some good results before Christmas so I think we will be strong in year’s to come. You can’t approach the relay any different. You have to focus on your individual performance and we did that today.”

Full results HERE.

Results

1. Germany (2+16) 1:23:53.0
2. Czech Republic (3+14) 1:26:15.8
3. Norway (6+14) 1:26:17.0
4. Ukraine (5+14) 1:26:37.2
5. Slovenia (5+16) 1:26:48.7

11. Canada (6+14) 1:27:25.8
16. USA (7+11) 1:28:41.4

December 21, 2010 – Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) announced Monday the student-athletes and coaches who will represent Canada in cross country skiing and biathlon at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey. The 24th Winter World University Games will run from January 27 to February 6. The cross country skiing events get under way on Jan. 28, with the biathlon competitions kicking off a day later.

Heading the Canadian cross country skiing delegation in Erzurum will be Mary Waddell, who will act as team leader for the third straight Universiade. The coaching staff is comprised of head coach Mark Tierny and coaches Sara Nielsen and Kirk Potter.

The five-member women’s squad is made up of Carleton University’s Adele Lay, Laval’s Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur, Utah’s Zoe Roy, Laurentian’s Mary Thompson and Alberta Augustana’s Maja Zimmermann.

Pichard-Jolicoeur of St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., and Thompson of Woodstock, Ont., are both veterans of the 2009 Games in Harbin, China. Pichard-Jolicoeur had her best individual showing – a 37th place – in the 15 km mass start and also finished 40th in the 10 km pursuit, 41st in the sprint, 44th in the 5 km freestyle race and 12th in the team relay. Thompson was 44th in the pursuit, 45th in the mass start and 50th in both the sprint and freestyle.

On the men’s side, Canada is also sending five competitors including Laval teammates Benjamin Hébert and Vincent Ruel, Carleton’s Colin Abbott, UBC’s Jesse Heckrodt and Calgary’s Anthony Killick.

Canada won its lone Universiade medal in cross country skiing back in 1985 in Belluno, Italy, when the foursome of Alain Masson, Wayne Dustin, Owen Spence and Benoit Létourneau claimed bronze in the men’s 4×10 km relay.

In biathlon, most of the Canadian roster comes from the University of Alberta’s Augustana campus, including team leader Joan Skinstad and coach Hans Skinstad.

The women set to wear the maple leaf uniform are Augustana’s Lauren Brookes, Elizabeth Mawdsley, Carly Shiell and Kathryn Stone, while their male teammates will be Jonathan Forward, Alex Frost and Jon Skinstad, all of Augustana, as well as UBC’s Jaime Robb.

Stone of Camrose, Alta., and Forward of Corner Brook, Nfld., both have previous Universiade experience. Stone competed in 2009 in China and finished eighth in the mixed relay, 35th in the individual 15 km, 38th in the 10 km pursuit and 39th in the 7.5 km sprint. Forward was 41st in the 12.5 km pursuit and 48th in the 10 km sprint in 2007 in Turin, Italy.

Canada has never medaled at the Universiade in biathlon.

Canada’s participation in the Universiade is managed by the CIS International Programs.

Team Canada website HERE.
2011 Winter Universiade website HERE.

Team Canada XC Skiing Roster and Schedule

Athletes
– Colin Abbott – Carleton University – Whitehorse, Yukon
– Benjamin Hébert – Laval University –
– Jesse Heckrodt – University of British Columbia – Enderby, B.C.
– Anthony Killick – University of Calgary – Fort McMurray, Alta.
– Vincent Ruel – Laval University – Charny, Que.
– Adele Lay – Carleton University – Eden Mills, Ont.
– Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur – Laval University – St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que.
– Zoe Roy – University of Utah – Bracebridge, Ont.
– Mary Thompson – Laurentian University – Woodstock, Ont.
– Maja Zimmermann – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Edmonton, Alta.

Staff
– Team Leader: Mary Waddell, Laurentian University (Wahnapitae, Ont.)
– Head Coach: Mark Tierney (Corner Brook, Nfld.)
– Coach: Sara Nielsen, University of Alaska Anchorage (Whitehorse, Yukon)
– Coach: Kirk Potter (Whitehorse, Yukon)

Schedule (local time)
– Jan. 28 (10:00): Women’s individual 5 km
– Jan. 28 (11:00): Men’s individual 10 km
– Jan. 29 (9:00): Women’s & Men’s sprint (qualifications)
– Jan. 29 (11:00): Women’s & Men’s sprint (finals)
– Jan. 31 (10:00): Women’s pursuit without break (5 km classic & 5 km freestyle)
– Jan. 31 (10:00): Men’s pursuit without break (7.5 km classic & 7.5 km freestyle)
– Feb. 2 (11:00): Women’s relay 3 x 5 km (classic, freestyle, freestyle)
– Feb. 2 (12:00): Men’s relay 4 x 10 km (classic, classic, freestyle, freestyle)
– Feb. 3 (10:00): Mixed team sprint
– Feb. 5 (10:00): Women’s 15 km mass start (freestyle)
– Feb. 5 (11:00): Men’s 30 km mass start (freestyle)

Team Canada Biathlon Roster and Schedule

Athletes
– Jonathan Forward – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Corner Brook, Nfld.
– Alex Frost – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Edmonton, Alta.
– Jaime Robb – University of British Columbia – Hay River, N.W.T.
– Jon Skinstad – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Camrose, Alta.
– Lauren Brookes – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Halifax, N.S.
– Elizabeth Mawdsley – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Fort Smith, N.W.T.
– Carly Shiell – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Camrose, Alta.
– Kathryn Stone – University of Alberta (Augustana) – Camrose, Alta.

Staff
– Team Leader: Joan Skinstad, University of Alberta – Augustana (Camrose, Alta.)
– Coach: Hans Skinstad, University of Alberta – Augustana (Camrose, Alta.)

Schedule (local time)
– Jan. 29 (10:00): Men’s individual 20 km
– Jan. 29 (13:00): Women’s individual 15 km
– Feb. 1 (10:00): Men’s sprint 10 km
– Feb. 1 (13:00): Women’s sprint 7.5 km
– Feb. 2 (10:00): Men’s pursuit 12.5 km
– Feb. 2 (12:00): Women’s pursuit 10 km
– Feb. 4 (10:00): Mixed relay (2 x 6 km women & 2 x 7.5 km men)
– Feb. 5 (10:00): Men’s mass start 15 km
– Feb. 5 (12:00): Women’s mass start 12.5 km

December 19, 2010 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – The Swedish team of Helena Elkholm, Anna Carin Zidek, Fredrik Lindstrom, and Carl Johan Bergman moved steadily through the field in today’s IBU WCup Mixed Relay (2x6km + 2×7.5km) in Slovenia to take gold by a mere three-tenths of a second.

The Ukrainian team of Olena Pidhrushna, Vita Semerenko, Serhiy Semenov, and Serguei Sednev captured silver and France’s Marie Laure Brunet, Marie Dorin, Vincent Jay, and Martin Fourcade grabbed the final podium spot. Team USA (Sara Studebaker, Annalies Cook, Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren) were 25s out of making the top 10 finishing in 11th while Team Canada (Megan Imrie, Zina Kocher, Scott Perras, Brendan Green) was not far behind in 13th.

Full results HERE.

December 18, 2010 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Bjorn Ferry (SWE) beat out last weekend’s double winner Tarjei Boe (NOR) at today’s IBU World Cup 10k men’s sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia. The Olympic pursuit champion shot clean and won by a 5s margin over second place, Boe, who missed one shot. Michael Greis (GER) took third place. Conditions were ideal with clear skies and light wind. Canada’s Brendan Green (CAN) once again led the North American men in 29th place. Tim Burke (USA) was the top US skier in 35th.

In the 7.5k women’s race, it was double Olympic champ Magdalena Neuner (GER) who grabbed the victory despite two missed shots in the standing stage. Anastasiya Kuzimina (SVK) finished second with only one penalty and an 11.2s deficit, followed by Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) and Olga Zaitseva (RUS) in a tie for third at 17s behind the winner. Canada’s Zina Kocher (CAN) found her form and was the fastest North American with one penalty in 17th place while Sara Studebaker led the Americans in 58th with two misses.

Results

Men’s 10km Sprint HERE.
Women’s 7.5km Sprint HERE.

Men
1. Bjorn Ferry (SWE) 27:25.9
2. Tarjei Boe (NOR) +5.1
3. Michael Greis (GER) +8.7
4. Jakov Fak (SLO) +18.2
5. Evgeny Ustyugov (RUS) +23.9

29. Brendan Green (CAN) +1:31.4
35. Tim Burke (USA) +1:43.8
68. Lowell Bailey (USA) +2:37.6
69. Leif Nordgren (USA) +2:38.3
75. Nathan Smith (CAN) +2:47.4
86. Russell Currier (USA) +3:27.9
90. Jean Philippe Leguellec (CAN) +3:51.8
93. Jeremy Teela (USA) +4:16.3

Women
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 23:05.2
2. Anastasiya Kuzimina (SVK) +11.2
3. Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) +17.0
3. Olga Zaitseva (RUS) +17.0
5. Anais Bescond (FRA) +22.9

17. Zina Kocher (CAN) +1:04.4
58. Sara Studebaker (USA) +2:45.7
59. Annalies Cook (USA) +2:46.1
91. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) +5:10.0
92. Laura Spector (USA) +6:08.3

December 16, 2010 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Austria’s Daniel Mesotitsch (Austria) claimed the men’s 20km individual race at the IBU Biathlon World Cup this morning for his third career win while breaking Norway’s winning streak. On the challenging 5-loop course, Mesotitsch finished in 52:05.6 with one penalty while Benjamin Wenger (SUI), a relative unknown, scored his best personal result also with one penalty, placing second at 58.4 seconds behind Mesotitsch. Serguei Sednev (Ukraine) finished third with two penalties.

The wind made it a diffficult day for many on the range and most averaged four or five penalties while the leaders were able to cope with the conditions and only single penalties.

Canada’s Brendan Green lead the North Americans with his third best result to date placing 21st overall with three penalties followed by team mate Scott Perras also with three penalties in 31st.

The US team was not at their best as Lowell Bailey was the top athlete in 48th with five penalties at 5:12.9 back while team mate Tim Burke struggled on the range as well to place 65th following 8 penalties.

Canada’s Nathan Smith was just behind Bailey in 50th and fellow Canuck Jean Philippe Le Guellec also fell victim to the conditions with seven penalties placing 69th. Jeremey Teela (USA) was 77th, Leif Nordgren (USA) was right behind in 78th and Russell Currier (USA) placed 88th.

Women’s Race

Norway’s Tora Berger shot clean to edge out Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräisen, who was leading, for the win in the women’s 15km. In the last 700m Berger was down 2.1 seconds on Mäkäräisen but the latter missed a shot at the end allowing Berger to take the win. Marie Laure Brunet (France), down 35.3 seconds, picked up third after shooting clean.

American Sara Studebaker was on fire with only one penalty delivering a new personal best performance with her 21st place finish. This followed her previous personal best just last week in Hochfilzen, Austria where she finished 26th.

“I think today was a lot about luck. I was among the luckier ones,” said Studebaker in a US Biathlon release. “It was not so windy when I got to the shooting range so I really think that race was all about luck. I felt really good on the track as well. There were some strong competitors around me and that always motivates me. I know that I did not reach my full racing speed yet so to see those strong women around me really helps. It shows me what I still have to work on.”

Still with only one missed shot, Studebaker’s shooting was excellent on a day where competitors posted up to ten misses. Though wind was less of an issue than in the men’s race, the women struggled with very cold late-afternoon temperatures.

Canada’s Megan Imrie was the next best North American in 43rd with three penalties, while Laura Spector (USA) placed 60th with four penalties – three of which she accrued in her last standing effort on the range.

“I don’t know what was going on there, maybe I was just a bit tired,” said Spector.

After hitting a rock and destroying a ski Tracy Barnes (USA) placed 64th with three penalties, and Zina Kocher (Can) finished 84th with eight penalties. Canadian Rosanna Crawford did not start the event.

Full women’s results HERE.
Full men’s results HERE.

Results (brief)

Men

1. Daniel Mesotitsch (Aut) 1+0+0+0, 52:05.6
2. Benjamin Weger (Sui) 0+0+1+0, 58.4
3. Serguei Sednev (Ukr) 1+0+0+1, 1:21.2

21. Brendan Green (Can) 0+1+1+1, 3:16.1
31. Scott Perras (Can) 0+1+0+2, 3:50.0
48. Lowell Bailey (USA) 1+1+1+2, 5:12.9
50. Nathan Smith (Can) 1+0+1+1, 5:24.2
65. Tim Burke (USA) 0+4+2+2, 6:30.4
69. Jean Philippe Leguellec (Can) 2+3+1+1, 7:15.8
77. Jeremy Teela (USA) 2+2+1+1, 8:01.2
78. Leif Nordgren (USA) 1+3+1+1, 8:10.1
88. Russell Currier (USA) 2+2+3+3, 9:34.1

Women

1. Tora Berger (Nor) 0+0+0+0, 42:47.0
2. Kaisa Mäkäräisen (Fin) 0+0+0+1, 1.8
3. Marie Laure Brunet (Fra) 0+0+0+0, 35.3

21. Sara Studebaker (USA) 0+0+1+0, 03:35.1
43. Megan Imrie (Can) 0+1+0+2, 05:05.1
60. Laura Spector (USA) 0+1+0+3, 06:52.6
64. Tracy Barnes (USA) 1+1+0+1, 07:34.5
84. Zina Kocher (Can) 1+1+3+3, 10:25.2
DNS Rosanna Crawford (Can)