Jean-Philippe Le Guellec Bombs into 12th Spot at Biathlon World Cup in Sweden
Zina Kocher leads Canadian women with 34th-place finish.

ÖSTERSUND, Sweden (December 5, 2009) Canada's Jean-Philippe Le Guellec took another huge stride forward in his quest to be the first Canadian male to win a World Cup medal in biathlon after finishing 12th in the men's sprint competition on Saturday in Östersund, Sweden.

The 24-year-old Le Guellec, who posted his best-ever result in a individual competition on Thursday when he was 10th, followed up that finish with a strong 12th-place showing in the 10-kilometre sprint. The Shannon, Quebec, native posted a time of 24 minutes, 40.6 seconds.

"Everything went really good today. The skis were fast, bombing actually, which made the down hills scary," said Le Guellec, who missed just one shot standing in his second and final trip to the shooting range under warm conditions. "The light wind was constantly changing and blowing in sideways on the range which made shooting difficult, but I am happy with this result."

The sprint event consists of athletes racing three times around the 2.5-kilometre track. Athletes enter the shooting range for a 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.

In just four years of competing on the World Cup circuit, Canada's Jean-Philippe Le Guellec has made significant strides while clawing his way up to the top of the international standings. Last season he posted two top-10 finishes, but remains patient for his time to strike for the podium.

"I have come a long way in working my way up from 70th place results a few years ago, but in some respects closing this gap to the podium is much harder because it is so small and the athletes are really strong," said Le Guellec. "But mentally I think it is easier because I know I am so close, and I just need to keep working hard. If it is my time for a podium this year great, if not I know I have to patient and it will come."

Three other Canadian men also hit the start line in Sweden. Ottawa's Robin Clegg, who races out of Quebec, finished 50th at 25:43.6, while Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T., was 58th (25:55.7), and Edmonton's Jaime Robb was 70th (26:20.9).

Norway grabbed the top-two spots on the podium. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was perfect shooting to clock a time of 23:30.1, while Emil Hegle Svendsen found his way on the podium for the second-straight race grabbing the silver medal with a time of 23:55.2. Tim Burke, of the United States, prevented the Norwegian sweep of the medals after finishing third at 24:07.3.

The Canadian women also continued their progression towards working their way into the pack of the elite 30.

Zina Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta., improved on her opening season result with a 34th-place finish in the women's 7.5-kilometre sprint competition. The 27-year-old Kocher missed one shout in each of her two trips to the range to post a time of 22:53.5.

While Kocher continues to find her way back to the World Cup podium, Canadian youngster, Megan Imrie, is making steady progress with her best-ever World Cup result on Saturday. The 22-year-old Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., finished 41st with a time of 23:05.8. Imrie missed just one shot in her first bout at the range.

Norway's Tora Berger set the time to beat in the women's sprint at 21:21.5. Russia's Olga Medvedtseva was second at 21:28.3, while Finland's Kaisa Makarainen was third with a time of 21:31.5. Each of the athletes on the podium shot clean.

The opening Biathlon World Cup of the season wraps up on Sunday with the relay competitions. Live race action can be viewed at www.biathlonworld.com.

Biathlon Canada, the governing body for biathlon in the country, oversees the Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and the 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 <http://www.biathloncanada.ca> .


Complete Results and Live Race Action Can Be Viewed at www.biathlonworld.com

Men's Top-Five Results:
1. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, NOR, (0+0), 23:30.1; 2. Emil Hegle Svendsen, NOR, (0+1), 23:55.2; 3. Tim Burke, USA, (0+0), 24:07.3; 4. Christoph Stephan, GER, (0+0), 24:15.6; 5. Michael Greis, GER, (1+0), 24:18.4
Canadian Results:
12. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Shannon, Que., (0+1), 24:40.6; 50. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, (0+2), 25:43.6; 58. Brendan Green, Hay River, N.W.T., (0+2), 25:55.7; 70. Jaime Robb, Edmonton, (1+2), 26:20.9.


Women Top-Five Results:
1. Tora Berger, NOR, (0+0), 21:21.5; 2. Olga Medvedtseva, RUS, (0+0), 21:28.3; 3. Kaisa Makarainen, FIN, (0+0), 21:31.5; 4. Helena Jonsson, SWE, (0+0), 21:31.6; 5. Chaoquing Song, CHN, (0+0), 21:38.7.
Canadian Results:
34. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., (1+1), 22:53.5; 41. Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake, Man., (1+0), 23:05.8