CLUTCH CANADIAN MEN TEAM UP TO FINISH SEVENTH IN BIATHLON WORLD CUP RELAY
—Strong result marks best men’s relay finish in history of biathlon program—

HOCHFILZEN, Aut.–Canada’s Jean-Philippe LeGuellec capped off the week of his life on the World Cup by leading his countrymen to a seventh-place finish in a biathlon 4 x 7.5-kilometre team relay on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria.

Coming off his best-ever World Cup result, an eighth-place finish in Saturday’s pursuit competition, the 23-year-old LeGuellec, of Shannon, Que., along with Ottawa’s Robin Clegg, Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T, and Regina’s Scott Perras, combined to post the best World Cup relay finish ever by a Canadian men’s team after clocking a combined time of one hour 27 minutes 47.17 seconds.

“This was a hell of a way to end a week,” said a thrilled LeGuellec from his hotel room in Austria. “It is really satisfying to know we are all capable of competing with the world’s best athletes.”

Riding on fast skis and a hot hand on the range, LeGuellec anchored the four-man squad that was led off by 10-year national team veteran Robin Clegg. The two-time Olympian skied the opening leg amongst the leaders despite missing four shots in his two trips to the range, and then tagged off to Scott Perras before the Canadian duo spent the final half of the race running the course cheering on their teammates.

While the opening two legs were strong, it was the performance by Brendan Green that was nothing short of remarkable. Green received the last-minute call to join up with the team from the IBU Cup, which was competing in Obertilliach, Austria. Having to deal with a closed highway due to avalanche danger, the 22-year-old arrived to Hochfilzen late last night, and was nearly perfect in his World Cup debut.

“Brendan did an absolutely incredible job out there in his first World Cup race,” said the 31-year-old Clegg, whose eighth-place finish one year ago in Slovenia was matched by LeGuellec this week as the best ever performance by a Canadian male. “This has been a long-time coming for our team. For many years I was competing out here by myself and we went years without racing a relay. Seeing the entire performance by this team is exciting. All of the guys were clutch today and you couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Canada’s best relay finish prior to Sunday was a 13th-place result last year at the same event in Austria.

It was the Russian men who owned the top spot on the podium with a winning time of 1:24:22.97. The Austrians delighted the hometown crowd with a silver-medal finish at 1:26:11.08, while the team from the Ukraine claimed the bronze medal (1:27:01.50).

Brendan Green’s teammates on the senior development squad also competed without him on Sunday in a IBU Cup copetition down the road in Obertilliach. Calgary’s Nathan Smith was the top Canuck, finishing in 14th-spot in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition after clocking a time of 27:57.3.

Norway’s Hans Martin Gjerdrem finished first at 26:19.7.

The Canadian Biathlon Team will now head to Slovenia for the final World Cup before holiday break.

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.

WORLD CUP RESULTS:
Men’s Top-Five Results:
1. Russia, 1:24:22.97; 2. Austria, 1:26:11.08; 3. Ukraine, 1:27.01.50; 4. Norway, 1:27:43.38; 5. Slovenia, 1:27.47.17
Canadian Results:
7. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, Scott Perras, Regina, Brendan Green, N.W.T., Jean-Philippe LeGuellec, Shannon, Que., 1:27.56.21

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan
Media and Public Relations
Biathlon Canada
T: 403-247-5423