February 22, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – Team Canada took home a top-10 finish in the Women’s 4x6km Relay amidst snowy challenging conditions at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre marking the final women’s event of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.

The USA followed in 13th as Belarus claimed Olympic gold in a wild race that saw the lead change many times making for an exciting but unpredictable competition. Sweden claimed the silver and France won the bronze.

“It was a really difficult race, the wind and the snow made for a tough race. I’m really proud of this team. We all fought as hard as we could,” said Canadian anchor Rosanna Crawford who moved the Canucks up into 10th.

“I’m happy I could chase down a few spots for a top 10. The other 3 women were out on course cheering me on to catch Ukraine on my last lap and that provides some extra fuel! I had to wait out a big gust during my standing shooting but then was able to hit 4 and only use one spare,” she added.

Team USA’s Susan Dunklee, the only Olympic veteran on the squad, cleaned all five targets in the opening prone position, moving her to the front of the field by 2.9 seconds. Canada’s Sarah Beaudry was in third.

“I’m really happy with it,” said Dunklee about her leg. “I feel like I’m kind of back to where I wanted to be all season. When it goes well like this it’s a lot of fun. The second loop I was just trying to ski in control and just pretend I’m doing my own thing and not get overwhelmed by the idea of people hunting me down.”

Beaudry had a great start despite the challenging conditions. “The conditions were definitely hard but I would say more in the range then on the course. There was some falling snow but not enough to make the ski really hard. The wind was gusty and unpredictable on the range,” said Beaudry. “I came in prone and made a correction and then shot confidently which worked out. When I came in standing it was a little more gusty but I think my shaky legs were more the reason for my misses.”

“I am definitely a little disappointed about losing the pack but happy I held it together. I am super happy with my first Olympic experience. I am stoked I made the team and even more happy that I was able to step up when I got called into the individual,” added Beaudry.

The shooting range was a see-saw affair for most with wind and snow slowing tempo and adding to the spare rounds and penalties. By the finish, 192 spare rounds had been fired.

Italy took an early lead after the first standing, as snow fell, but lost it when Dorothea Wierer suffered a penalty in prone. But they were back on top soon after as Wierer cleaned in standing. Germany, the favourites, continued to falter sitting outside the top 10. Dunlee tagged Clare Egan and Beaudry handed off to Julia Ransom.

Egan was on form for an amazing day on the range as she cleaned all 10 targets and kept the American squad in contention holding her own alongside some of the bigger names in women’s biathlon.

“Most teams put their fastest skiers in the second legs, so I tried to stay with them and keep fighting,” said Egan. “I was really due for this. It’s by far my best race of the season so I couldn’t be more happy. I’ve had a week to sit here and prepare for this race. Having to sit out (the mixed relay) just made me want to make sure that I was even better prepared for this race.” She tagged Joanne Reid in 4th while Canada’s Ransom passed the reins over to Emma Lunder in 10th.

Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen took over the lead with Belarusian Irina Kryuko also in the mix along with Slovakia. Both Reid and Lunder suffered on the range but the USA was still in 6th starting the final leg as Emily Dreissigacker took over for the USA while Canada’s Lunder tagged Crawford in 13th.

Then it was Poland’s turn to shine but Darya Domracheva of Belarus, who earned a record three individual gold medals at Sochi, put her team in the lead and never looked back. Dreissigacker needed five spares dropping to 13th at the finish while Crawford needed two spares to claim 10th for Canada.

“The Relay was a crazy event with blowing snow and wind. Our women all handled the tough conditions very well and we produced a solid result as a team,” said Roddy Ward, HP Coach at Biathlon Canada.

Full results here.