Biathlon Canada – HOCHFILZEN, Aut.—Canada’s biathletes will leave the World Championships with a clear understanding of the work that needs to be done over the next year to be ready for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

The men’s team of Christian Gow (Calgary), Scott Gow (Calgary), Macx Davies (Canmore, Alta.), and Brendan Green (Hay River, N.W.T.), finished in 13th spot in the 4×7.5 kilometre relay after posting a time of 1:17:50.5

“As a team we were hoping for more in our relay today. We all raced consistently well, but at the end of the day it just wasn’t quite enough,” said Green, who skied the anchor leg.

The relay consists of each athlete skiing 7.5 kilometres with two bouts of shooting. The first starter of each team begins in a simultaneous mass start with other participants. Once completing their leg, athletes tag off to the next teammate. Competitors in the relay each carry three spare rounds. If all five targets are not knocked down with the first five rounds, the spares may be used, which takes more time because they are loaded by hand. The Canadians used five spares on the day.

“It was a decent result today. Everyone fought hard, but we had too many errors on the range. I am definitely happy with the fight of the team,” said Eric de Nys, high-performance director, Biathlon Canada, who added there were 26 teams entered in the relay event.

The Russians finished on top with a time of 1:14:15.0. France celebrated the silver medal with a time of 1:14:20.8, while Austria claimed the bonze at 1:14:35.1.

Personal best performances by Julia Ransom and Christian Gow in the individual competition, along with Scott Gow in sprint racing highlighted Canada’s World Championship performances.

“These Championships have had both highs and lows for the team, but I am able to learn from my racing here and already thinking forward to Pyeonghang,” said Green. “The younger athletes on the team raced to some strong results which was awesome to see, and as a team, we’re excited to continue to work together in our pursuit of the podium.”

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 – Halti, 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 Men’s Results: http://biathlonresults.com

*****

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

T: 403-620-8731

E-mail: hpprchris@shaw.ca