February 2, 2012

Canada’s Brendan Green and Megan Imrie Sprint to Career-Best at Biathlon World Cup

—Green ninth, Imrie 17th, all five Canadians crack top-30 for first time in last decade—

OSLO, Nor.—Canada’s top biathletes celebrated a historic day despite not landing on the podium with all five [...]]]> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 2, 2012

Canada’s Brendan Green and Megan Imrie Sprint to Career-Best at Biathlon World Cup

—Green ninth, Imrie 17th, all five Canadians crack top-30 for first time in last decade—

OSLO, Nor.—Canada’s top biathletes celebrated a historic day despite not landing on the podium with all five athletes qualifying for Saturday’s pursuit race after finishing Thursday’s sprint in the top-30 for the first time in the history of the program.

Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T, and Megan Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., led the way each posting career-best results.

The 25-year-old Green, whose previous best finishes was 14th in both individual and sprint events, shot clean to crack the top-10 with a ninth-place time of 26:11.8 in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition.

“The racing went really today. We had a perfect winter day in Oslo, and conditions stayed consistent throughout the race,” said Green. “It’s always a great feeling to shoot clean, and when it comes with a personal best result it makes it evenbetter.  I’m happy with today, but I know there is still work to be done and improvements that can be made.”

Russia’s Evgeniy Garanichev won the men’s gold with a time of 25:22.2. Germany’s Arnd Peiffer was second at 25:22.9, while Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen claimed the bronze medal at 25:34.0.

Imrie, also 25, who has been steadily climbing her way up the international biathlon standings this year, enjoyed a perfect day in her two trips to the range posted a 17th-place time of 22:28.8 in the women’s 7.5-kilometre pursuit.

“I was a little sick last week so I knew my skiing wouldn’t be as strong as I’d like so I focused solely on the shooting process, taking each shot one breadth at atime,” said the 2010 Olympian, whose previous best was 20th. “It was cold today but like a good Manitoba girl I employed every hand warming strategy in thebook. The targets just wanted to fall today and I hit them all.”

Germany’s Magdalena Neuner sprinted to the gold in the women’s competition with a time of 20:41.9. Darya Domracheva, of Belarus, clocked a silver-medal time of 21:20.1, while Norway’s Tora Berger rounded out the women’s podium in third at 21:30.8.

It was stellar day for the entire Canadian squad with all five athletes placing in the top-30 for the first time in the history of the sport, qualifying each of them for Saturday’s pursuit competition.

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, of Shannon, Que., finished 20th (26:36.3), while Regina’s Scott Perras placed 27th (26:51.8) in the men’s sprint. Two-time Olympian, Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., finished 25th in women’s racing after posting a time of 22:52.3.

“It is clear our team flicked their performance ‘on’ switch for this final weekend before heading home,” said Imrie, who added the hot Norwegian waffles fueled the Canadian squad’s success. “We are happy with the direction we’re heading. Watch out Saturday, it is about to get Canadian.”

Pursuit competitions are set for Saturday in Oslo, Norway.

Biathlon Canada is the governing body for biathlon in the country and oversees the Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and North American Cups held inCanada. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Millennium Geomatics Ltd., Apogée Sports, Kama, Auclair Gloves, Lapua, USANA, and Adidas Eyewear – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own thePodium, Biathlon Canada’s mandate is to provide national level programs for the continuous development of biathlon athletes from the grassroots to the elite level. For more information on Biathlon Canada, please visit us at www.biathloncanada.ca on the Internet.

FOR COMPLETE RESULTS: www.biathlonworld.com

Top-Five Men and Canadian Results:

1. Evgeniy Garanichev, RUS, (0+0), 25:22.2; 2. Arnd Peiffer, GER, (0+0), 25:22.9; 3. Emil Hegle Svendsen, NOR, (0+2), 25:34.0; 4. Alexis Boeuf, FRA, (0+0), 25:46.2; 5. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, NOR, (0+1), 25:46.6.

Canadian Results:

9. Brendan Green, Hay River, N.W.T., (0+0), 26:11.8; 20. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Shannon, Que., (2+0), 26:36.3; 27. Scott Perras, Regina, (0+1), 26:51.8.

Top-Five Women and Canadian Results:

1. Magdalena Neuner, GER, (0+0), 20:41.9; 2. Darya Domracheva, BLR, (0+1), 21:20.1; 3. Tora Berger, NOR, (1+0), 21:30.8; 4. Marie Dorin Habert, FRA, (0+0), 21:37.5; 5. Andrea Henkel, GER, (0+0), 22:28.8.

Canadian Results:

17. Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake, Man., (0+0), 22:28.8; 25. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., (2+1), 22:52.3.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

T: 281-703-4394

E-mail: hpprchris@comcast.net

Registration is through Zone4 – click HERE [...]]]> Due the the cancellation of the first two MB Cup races, there will be races on both Saturday and Sunday, Feb 4th and 5th at Falcon Lake.  The Saturday race will be an Individual, while Sunday will be a Sprint.  See the attached race notice for more information.

Registration is through Zone4 – click HERE or go to the BAM registration page

MB Cup race notice – Feb 4/5 (pdf file)

NEXT RACE IS FEB 5th

THE LOCATION FOR THE CCSAM SATURDAY XC EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO MT EVERGREEN IN KENORA, ON. SUNDAY’S BIATHLON RACE IS CANCELLED DUE TO POOR SNOW CONDITIONS.

RRNS&B [...]]]> Click on the link below to see the Race Notice for the Combined XC and Biathlon events to be held at Falcon Lake on Jan 14/15.

THE LOCATION FOR THE CCSAM SATURDAY XC EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO MT EVERGREEN IN KENORA, ON.  SUNDAY’S BIATHLON RACE IS CANCELLED DUE TO POOR SNOW CONDITIONS.

RRNS&B Falcon Event 2012 Race Notice as of Jan 12 – PDF download

For Zone4 registration for this event, click HERE

New for this season! All membership applications, race and training camp registrations will be processed online through Zone4. A credit card will be required for all fee processing. Click on the button to see a list of available registrations.

MB CUP Provincial Championships [...]]]>

New for this season! All membership applications, race and training camp registrations will be processed online through Zone4.  A credit card will be required for all fee processing.  Click on the button to see a list of available registrations.

MB CUP Provincial Championships  Feb 25/26th

Thanks to our Race Sponsor!