Biathlon Canada —Scott Gow skis to 45th in men’s pursuit race—

OBERHOF, Ger.—Rosanna Crawford battled through a blast from Old Man Winter to hold her place, and finish 22nd at a World Cup pursuit race in Oberhof, Germany on Saturday.

Coming off her best result of the season in 21st place, Crawford and the top-60 athletes who qualified for the pursuit based on yesterday’s sprint race, were tested mentally and physically on a challenging day both on the trails and in the range.

High winds, cold fingers, and a challenging 10-kilometre course wreaked havoc for the world’s best. Crawford held on for 22nd place with a time of 38:21.2.

“Today was back to a bit more like Oberhof, but it was really cold so lots of cold feet and hands out there,” said Crawford, who took advantage of little wind in the sprint race yesterday for her first clean day of shooting in more than two years.

The Canmore, Alta. resident shot clean in her first prone before mental mistakes and conditions cost her one in final prone and three in her two trips to the range for her standing round of shots. Athletes are forced to ski a 150-metre penalty loop for every missed shot.

“The wind for my prone was pretty consistent and the miss was me. I just wasn’t quite focused enough and that was the same for my first standing,” said Crawford. “My last standing was a different story. The wind was really inconsistent and cold fingers made it hard to hit the target.

“I am happy to have stayed in the top-25 but the skiing was rough. The girls were crushing me on the first climb. Luckily I had some really great skis from the techs again today, and was able to catch some time back on the downhills and flats. The potential was there for a really great race even with four misses, but my ski speed has been holding me back.”

Marie Dorin Habert, of France, captured the gold medal with a time of 34:33.3 (1+0+0+1). Gabriela Koukalova, of the Czech Republic, was second at 35:12.1 (0+0+1+2). Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen posted a bronze-medal time of 35:52.4 (1+0+1+2).

Calgary’s Scott Gow was the lone Canadian to start in the men’s 12.5-kilometre pursuit. Starting in 43rd place, Gow dropped two spots to 45th at 42:31.4 (1+1+2+3).

Martin Fourcade, of France, overcame the tricky conditions, missing just one shot in his second bout of prone, to take home the men’s gold at 36:45.7. Germany’s Arnd Peiffer struggled in standing (0+0+1+2) but held on for second place with a time of 37:55.6. Italy’s Dominik Windisch was also challenged in standing (0+0+3+2), but won the race for the bronze in a photo finish with a time of 38:18.4.

The World Cup continues on Sunday with the mass start competitions.

Biathlon Canada is the governing body for biathlon in the country, and oversees the IBU Cup, World Cup, Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and North American Cups held in Canada. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Mackenzie Investments, Roeckl Sports, Lapua, Nordic Marksman Inc, biathlontravel.de, and Zizu Eyewear – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, 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.

Complete Results: http://biathlonresults.com

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Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

T: 403-620-8731

E-mail: hpprchris@shaw.ca