Biathlon Canada – NOVE MESTO, Cze—Julia Ransom matched a career-best World Cup pursuit result in 19th spot on Saturday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

Feeding off a strong sprint race where she was 26th, Ransom embarked on a 10-kilometre mission to gain valuable World Cup points while hunting down the world’s best biathletes who finished ahead of her in Friday’s sprint.

After running out of real estate, the 23-year-old bright spot on the women’s team during the pre-Christmas World Cups, moved up seven places in the standings while posting a time of 32:26.6.

Ransom shot clean until her fourth and final stop on the range where she missed one.

It was the fourth top-20 finish for the second-year member of Canada’s “Eh Sqaud.” Ransom’s best World Cup result was a 12th in last year’s sprint race in Canmore, Alta. She also had a 19th-place pursuit result last year at a World Cup in Antholz, Italy.

Anais Chevalier, of France, skied away with the gold medal despite missing one in her opening round of shots. Chevalier was first to cross the finish line with a time of 30:38.1. Italy’s Dorothea Wierer moved into the silver medal position on the podium with a time of 30:47.6 (0+1+1+0), while Russia’s Tatiana Akimova grabbed the final spot on the women’s podium at 30:57.5 (1+0+0+0).

Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., moved five spots up the leaderboard to finish in 32nd. Crawford went 1+0+1+0 on the range, finishing with a time of 33:29.9.

In the men’s 12.5-kilometre pursuit, Canada’s Scott Gow dropped well back in the standings in 40th place. The Calgarian finished with a time of 36:24.8 (0+2+1+0). Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T., placed 52nd at 38:24.2 (1+0+3+1).

Martin Fourcade, of France, continued his early season dominance, winning the gold medal for the second-straight day with a time of 32:53.6 (0+1+0+0).

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

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