It was raining hard on Wednesday at the biathlon stadium in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia. Like, cats and dogs, “des grenouilles” (frogs, in French), or “junge Hunde” (puppies, in German). But that didn’t stop Biathlon Canada press release. told Biathlon Canada. “It has always been my goal to be like him so to follow that path and do what he did is an amazing feeling. “The nicest message I received today was from JP,” he continued. “He...
We caught up with Canadian biathlon staff and athletes to chat about the significance of Nathan Smith's World Cup in on Saturday, just the second in history for a Canadian man. It's good for Smith and good for the program - but Own the Podium is unlikely to reward it with money, because the funding body only considers World Championships and Olympic medal performances.
Nathan Smith had the confidence he needed for Saturday's sprint on the first day of individual racing at 2015 IBU World Championships, even if the soft-spoken Canadian didn't show it. "I knew if I had an average day ... that it could be really good," Smith said. What he didn't expect was silver, Canada's first-ever medal for a male at World Championships.
Chris Lindsay and Matthias Ahrens of Biathlon Canada have both confirmed that the national team's Valcartier training center will be closed down later this spring, and with it coach Jean Paquet's contract has not been renewed. Ahrens hoped that Paquet would still provide staffing on race tours; Paquet's athlete Jean Philippe Le Guellec lamented the centralization push that was a major part of the decision.
It's not every day that you find yourself sprinting for all you're worth down the finishing stretch of the Olympics against Martin Fourcade. But that's just what happened to Canada's Nathan Smith, who not only dueled with Fourcade to the end, but beat him. "I thought I had good chances,” Smith said. “I’m usually pretty good at sprint finishes.”
In a French & English article, we talk to Canada's Jean Philippe Le Guellec about the final individual race of his international career: today's Olympic mass start, where he finished 10th. After the Games are over, Le Guellec will head back home to race Canadian Championships and bring his career full circle.
Three men in the 30-racer mass start? Check. Two finishes in the top ten? Check. In a lot of ways it was a best-ever day for the Canadian men's biathlon team, but the squad was left with a slight sense of longing for what could have been. "That’s what they are disappointed about - it’s a mixed feeling because they are so close, and they know they were right there," said coach Jean Paquet.
After athlete complaints at last year's World Cup, Sochi organizers removed a particularly dangerous downhill from the biathlon course. But with warm conditions and deep, rutted snow, the rest of the course became treacherous today, with at least four major crashes between the 59 racers. Freezing nights are not predicted until next week, suggesting that the cross country ski courses, too, may be in for some ugly conditions.
After turning in clean shooting and the fastest shooting times on the first two stages of today's Olympic pursuit, Jean Philippe Le Guellec was in first place, ready to bring Canada a medal. But a crash on a slushy, skied-out downhill corner left him with a broken ski and cost him 15 places, as well as affecting his next shooting. In his stead, Nathan Smith moved from 13th up to 11th to lead Canada.
Setting out on the last loop of today's 10 k sprint, Jean Philippe Le Guellec of Canada as sitting in fourth - all he had to do was make up a couple of seconds to earn a medal. But on Sochi's treacherous and brutally difficult course, Le Guellec gave it his all and still ended up fifth. It bettered his previous record for a Canadian men's Olympic performance by one spot; teammate Nathan Smith placed 13th.
En Sochi, Alex Harvey parle de Québec et le niveau des athlètes seniors et juniors, fondeurs et biathlètes, de son province. Il est fier des résultats Québecois aux championnats mondiales juniors, et il a de grands éspoirs pour l'avenir. / In another bilingual piece, Alex Harvey talks about Quebec and the level of athletes, junior and senior, skier and biathlete, in his province.
Sitting in fourth place at each of the first three handoffs, the Canadian men were in the game for the entirety of today's World Cup biathlon relay in Antholz, Italy. They eventually finished sixth - the first time any of them could remember going to the flower ceremony as a team. France won the race, anchored by Martin Fourcade.
Canada's JP Le Guellec had a very un-JP moment in Saturday's 20 k individual, missing three shots in the last stage for three painful minutes of penalty time. He battled back in the pursuit the next day, shooting a perfect 20-for-20 and climbing 20 places on the results sheet.
In their first World Cup weekend back in Europe, Biathlon Canada had six of its seven athletes score World Cup points in Ruhpolding, highlighted by Nathan Smith's 16th-place finish in the men's pursuit today. He called it his best race of the season.
Canada has pared its World Cup squad down to just the men who will represent their country at the Olympics - and with qualifying off their shoulders, they can now focus on just racing. That was a relief to everyone as Canada skied and shot to a successful relay performance on Thursday.
Nathan Smith notched another top-30, inching him closer to completing Olympic qualification, but other than that it was a tough day for the North American men. "I would have thought that with two penalties I would have been in the top 15 for sure," said Tim Burke, who finished 21st.
Jean Philippe Le Guellec of Canada placed fourth in today's 20 k individual, the first non-relay of the World Cup season - despite the fact that he went in unsure about his current level of performance. Teammate Nathan Smith had a career-best 16th-place finish of his own and started checking off the Olympic qualification criteria.
There's just one season separating Jean Philippe Le Guellec from retirement, but the recent World Cup winner is hardly complacent about his form as a biathlete. Instead, he's aggressively making changes to his technique, shooting, and strength as part of a resurgent Canadian men's squad - and finding extra motivation for Sochi in the process.
With a bevvy of international podiums by North American men and a group of four U.S. and Canadian women who ended the season ranked in the 40's, it was tough to pick our biathletes of the year. But Americans Tim Burke and Annelies Cook stood out to snag top honors.
2012 World Junior Champion Kurtis Wenzel began mulling retirement in December; despite his first World Cup start and a national title, come April, it still felt like the right decision. The Canadian biathlon team is also losing 2012 Female Biathlete of the Year Melanie Schultz, who struggled to find her ski speed - and motivation - all season.