Canada's Zina Kocher Climbs into Eighteenth Spot in Biathlon World Cup Sprint
Jaime Robb leads Canadians in men's sprint competition.

HOCHFILZEN, Austria (December 11, 2009) Canada's Zina Kocher made a big climb in her quest to get back onto the international podium after an 18th-place finish in a World Cup sprint competition in Hochfilzen, Austria, on Friday.

After a disappointing opening week in Sweden, Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta., missed just one shot in her two trips to the range while bolting around the challenging 7.5-kilometre Austrian course loaded with long, steep climbs in a time of 24 minutes, 47.7 seconds.

"That was much better today and I feel like I'm back on track," said Kocher. "I made a commitment to myself to come out, take more risks, and race to win rather than worrying about results all the time."

Battling a slow opening lap in her first series of competitions last weekend, the 2006 Olympian made adjustments to her pre-race warm-up in hopes of bolting up the standings.

"My warm-up was way more aggressive than I have ever done before and our plan was to do that to get me a faster first lap which worked," said Kocher. "I just told myself to let it go and go for it. I hope this start of more good results."

The sprint event consists of athletes racing three times around the 3.3-kilometre track. Athletes enter the shooting range for set of shots in the prone position, then one set standing before the final sprint to the finish. Athletes must ski a 150-metre penalty loop immediately after shooting if they miss a target.

Sweden's Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek, wife to Canadian wax technician Tom Zidek, shot clean to win the women's sprint competition with a time of 23:10.8. Sweden's Helena Jonsson, who also was perfect in the shooting range, to win the silver medal with a time of 23:21.9. Russia's Olga Zaitseva rounded out the women's podium in third at 24:00.5 after missing just one shot.

Three other Canadian women also hit the start line. Megan Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., was 55th at 26:20.1, while Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., was 111th (30:18.3), and Calgary's Sandra Keith did not finish.

Edmonton's Jaime Robb led the Canadians in the men's 10-kilometre sprint competition. Robb missed one shot in each of his two rounds of shooting to finish in 41st spot with a time of 27:50.8. Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T., was 55th (28:07.5), while Ottawa's Robin Clegg was 62nd (28:21.1), and Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, of Shannon, Que., was 124th (31:09.8).

Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won the men's competition with a time of 26:14.0. Russia's Nikolay Kruglov matched Bjoerndalen's precise shot-making on the range to finish second at 26:20.7. Evegeny Ustyugov, also of Russia, missed only one shot and finished third with a time of 26:41.1.

The Canadian squad's battle continues on Saturday with the men's the women's World Cup pursuit competition.

Biathlon Canada, the governing body for biathlon in the country, oversees the Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and North American Cups held in Canada. The organization'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 their Web site at www.biathloncanada.ca.

Complete Results and Live Race Action Can Be Viewed at www.biathlonworld.com
WomenTop-Five Results:
1. Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek, SWE , (0+0), 23:10.8; 2. Helena Jonsson, SWE, (0+0), 23:21.9; 3. Olga Zaitseva, RUS, (0+1), 24:00.5; 4. Simone Hauswald, GER, (1+0), 24:01.2; 5. Tina Bachmann, GER, (0+0), 24:06.7
Canadian Results:
18. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., (0+1), 24:47.7; 55. Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake, Man., (1+1), 26:20.1; 111. Megan Tandy, Prince George, B.C., (5+2), 30:18.3; DNF. Sandra Keith, Calgary.
Men's Top-Five Results:
1. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, NOR, (0+0), 26:14.0; 2. Nikolay Kruglov, RUS, (0+0), 26:20.7; 3. Evgeny Ustyugov, RUS, (0+1), 26:24.1; 4. Maxim Tchoudov, RUS, (0+1), 26:27.6; 5. Lars Berger, NOR, (2+0), 26:31.5.
Canadian Results:
41. Jaime Robb, Edmonton, (1+1), 27:50.8; 55. Brendan Green, Hay River, N.W.T., (0+2), 28:07.5; 62. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, (0+2), 28:21.1; 124. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Shannon, Que., (1+3), 31:09.8.