Team BC had some challenges in the range today causing them to have time penalties added on to their finish time. Top Team BC finisher Ryan Elden (Quesnel) finished just 3 seconds after third place, with a total of 5 time penalties. Ryan’s ski time was second only to Leo Grandbois from Quebec, however after the time penalties were added, he ended in 4th.
Ryan missed 1 target each in the first 3 rounds of shooting and 2 targets on the last standing round of shooting. Andrei Secu (Coquitlam) finished in 6th place with just 3 time penalties. Andrei’s ski time today was not as fast, legs were tired after a long 4 days of competition.
Andrei missed one on the first round, 2 on the second round, and shot clean on the last two bouts of shooting. Although Andrei shooting was strong, his ski time just wasn’t enough to beat out the competition.
Despite his shoulder injury, Keiran Marchand (Nelson) had a strong finish of 8th place. Keiran only accumulated 4 penalties. Keiran missed one on the first round, 2 on the second round, shot clean on the third round, and missed one on the last round.
Ethan Algra (Vernon) ended with 9 time penalties, not faring as well in the range today. Ethan’s ski time put him in 10th place, he skied well, but with 9 time penalties, he fell down to 18th. Ethan missed two targets in both the first two rounds, 1 miss on the third round, and missed 4 on the last bout of standing.
On the ladies side, Larissa Black (Squamish) finished in 6th place with 6 time penalties. Larissa’s ski time put her in 3rd place, but her time penalties added up in the end. Larissa missed 1 on the first round, 2 on the second, 1 on the third, and 2 on the last round.
Danica Ariano (Coldstream) had a very strong race, placing 8th with just 4 time penalties. Her skiing and shooting today were strong, putting her ahead of her usual competition. Danica shot clean on the first round, missed 2 on the second, shot clean again on the third round, and missed 2 on the last round.
Natalie Benoit (Summerland) was close behind in 9th place and 5 time penalties. Natalie also skied well today and felt good on the course. Natalie missed one target each on the first two rounds, 2 misses on the third round, and 1 miss on the last round.
Gillian Gowling (Whistler) had a tough go in the range today. She ended in 21st place with a total of 10 time penalties. Her ski time put her in 10th place, however her time penalties really added up today. In the first two rounds of shooting, Gillian missed 8 out of 10 targets. She refocused and only missed 2 out of 10 targets in the last two rounds of shooting. Gillian was feeling very tired after yesterday’s race.
Coaches Jessica Blenkarn (North Vancouver) and Clay Whitman (North Vancouver) did an amazing job with the athletes this week. They worked hard to ensure they were setting up the athletes for success by helping them with their shooting, testing skis, running up and down the course motivating them, and communicating corrections throughout the races. They will be heading with some of the athletes to Europe after the Games.
Wax Tech, Ron Metza (Vernon), did a fantastic job with all of the team’s skis. Ron went up to River Bend early every day to make sure that the skis were ready to go. He also made sure to check the air temperature and the snow temperature to make sure the skis were as fast as possible for the athletes. Ron waxed and re-waxed every pair of skis multiple times over the week.
Lynn Algra (Vernon), the team’s manager (and also Ethan Algra’s mother) did a great job supporting the team and ensuring everyone was on track throughout the week. She kept everyone organized, helped with equipment, and made sure the athletes had everything they needed throughout the week.
From the Team BC Biathlon team: Always remember to ski fast and shoot straight, and don’t forget to send it!
Results from Team BC today:
Men’s 12.5km individual:
4th - Ryan Elden (Quesnel) 39:15.7
6th - Andrei Secu (Coquitlam) 39:25.2
8th - Keiran Marchand (Nelson) 40:17.6
18th - Ethan Algra (Vernon) 44:02.3
Women’s 10km Individual:
6th - Larissa Black (Squamish) 35:59.0
8th - Danica Ariano (Coldstream) 36:13.5
9th - Natalie Benoit (Summerland) 37:04.3
21st - Gillian Gowling (Whistler) 40:59.5