Saturday, March 31, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 31, 2012

Mark Arendz Celebrates Silver Medal at IPC Biathlon World Cup Finals in Finland

VUOKATTI, Fin.—Canada’s Mark Arendz sprinted his way back onto the podium for the second-straight day at the IPC World Cup Finals in biathlon – this time in the sprint competition.

The 22-year-old Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I., who took down the world’s best by winning a gold in Thursday’s distance event, put together one of the best races of his career with strong shooting and fast skis, clocking a silver-medal time of 20:15.3 on the 7.5-kilometre track in Vuokatti, Finland.

“I shot clean and it was an incredible race today but I still finished second,” said Arendz. “I really like this course. It really makes you work with gradual climbs and some good flow.”

Overall World Cup leader, Nils-Erik Ulset of Norway, was also perfect in his two trips to the range en route to capturing the gold with a time of 19:36.8. Grygorii Vovchynskyi, of the Ukraine, skied to the bronze medal with a time of 20:24.6.

One of the top Para-Nordic biathletes in the world despite being amongst the youngest on the circuit, Arendz is following up his second-place overall World Cup finish in 2011 with another strong season. The 2010 Paralympian has racked up six medals including two gold this year.

Brian McKeever and his guide Erik Carleton, both of Canmore, Alta., suited up for the men’s visually impaired 7.5-kilometre race where they finished 10th at 22:40.1. Quebec’s Sebastien Fortier placed 21st in the men’s sit-skiing race with a time of 31:01.5.

Canada’s Para-Nordic athletes have combined to win nine medals at the IPC World Cup Finals with the last day of competition remaining on Sunday with the pursuit events.

CrossCountry Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 55,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Teck Resources Ltd., Canadian Pacific, and Statoil – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium, Cross Country Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on Cross Country Canada, please visit us at www.cccski.com

Complete IPC World Cup Results:
http://www.ipc-nordicskiing.org/Calendar/

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan
Media and Public Relations
Cross Country Canada
T:281-703-4394

Chris Dornan
High-Performance Public Relations
T: 281-703-4394
E-mail: hpprchris@comcast.net