Biathlon Canada —All four Canadian men, two women earn spots in Sunday’s pursuit race—

OSLO, Nor.—Rosanna Crawford was the lone Canadian in the top-30 of the sprint races at the Biathlon World Championships in Oslo, Norway on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Canadian hit nine of 10 targets while skiing to 29th spot with a time of 22:44.8 (1+0) in the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint event.

“It was a decent race for me. I had some trouble with prone during zeroing so to come away with one miss is okay considering,” said Crawford. “The skiing felt a lot better than it turned out to be. I was quite surprised to be only 29th with one miss. The skis were good, and I felt like I attacked the course well.”

Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., will be joined in Sunday’s pursuit race with teammate, Julia Ransom of Kelowna, B.C. The 23-year-old rookie on the Canadian squad was solid on the range missing just one shot, but couldn’t find the ski speed. She finished 50th at 23:25.4.

“I thought that my shape had come around going into these races, but looking at the analysis, I am the same time behind the faster skiers that I’ve been all year so I am disappointed with that,” added Crawford. “I am looking forward to the pursuit. The crowd is super cool here, always cheering ‘Go Canada.’ It is a great atmosphere in the stadium.”

Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff shot clean to thrill the boisterous hometown crowd with a gold medal. Eckhoff clocked the winning time at 21:10.8. Marie Dorin Habert, of France, also had a perfect day of shooting to help her win the silver medal at 21:25.8. Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier missed one in her opening round of shooting, but rebounded to win the bronze medal at 21:30.6.

Sarah Beaudry, of Prince George, B.C., was 71st at 24:09.6 (0+2), while Zina Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta., placed 82nd with a time of 24:38.8 (2+3).

Crawford’s boyfriend, Brendan Green of Hay River, N.W.T., was the top Canadian in the men’s race. Green, 29, finished just outside the elite group of 30 in 35th spot with a time of 27:19.5 (0+1) in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint.

Martin Fourcade, of France, hit 10 of 10 to win the World Championship crown with a time of 25:35.4. Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was also clean in shooting to win the silver medal at 26:02.3. The Ukraine’s Sergey Semenov finished 27.6 seconds off the leading pace in third at 26:03.0 (0+0).

Canada will send all four men to the start line of Sunday’s pursuit race with the top-60 athletes from the sprint. Calgarian’s Nathan Smith and Scott Gow were 46th and 47th respectively. Smith stopped the clock at 27:34.1 (1+3), while Gow posted a time of 27:39.0 (0+2). Macx Davies, of Canmore, Alta., finished 58th with a time of 27:57.4 (0+1).

The World Championships continue on Sunday in Oslo, Norway.

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, iON Worldwide, Kama, Roeckl Sports, Lapua, USANA, and ZiZU Optics – 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 Women’s Sprint Results: http://bit.ly/1TWpdZR

Complete Men’s Sprint Results: http://bit.ly/1TWpdZR

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

T: 403-620-8731

E-mail: hpprchris@shaw.ca