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Canada’s Patrick Côté posted one of his best ever international results when he finished 11th in a men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition at the IBU Cup, a feeder series to the World Cup, in Martell-Val Martello, Italy on Friday.

The 23-year-old Côté, of Grand-Sault, N.B., enjoyed a near perfect day in Italy with fast skis and shooting perfect in his two trips to the range to post a time of 26 minutes 48.2 seconds. His previous best finish was an eighth-place result at the IBU Cup.

“It was a good day considering I was sick all week,” said Côté, who battled the flu with teammate Jamie Robb, of Edmonton, who finished 13th at 27:02.1. “I had a combination of good skiing and shooting today. I really wanted one good race before heading home for the break so I’m happy to do it.”

The sprint event consists of athletes racing three times around the 3.3-kilometre track. Athletes enter the shooting range for 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.

Côté, who has spent the majority of the opening month of the season competing on the World Cup, is in his third season on Canada’s senior team.

Côté finished just over 30 seconds behind Evgeny Ustyugov, of Russia, who clocked a winning time of 25:14.5. Norway’s Frode Andresson settled for the silver medal at 25:31.0, while Arnd Peiffer, of Germany, was third (25:34.9).

Three other Canadian men suited up in Italy. Maxime Leboeuf, of Val Belair, Que., was 39th (28:29.7); Marc-Andre Bedard, of Valcartier, Que., was 41st (28:32.7), while Tyson Smith, of Calgary, was 47th (28:47.4)

Claude Godbout, of Quebec, Que., was the lone Canadian in the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition at the IBU Cup and finished 30th with a time of 29:25.2.

Russia’s Olga Anisimova was first to cross the finish line at 25:04.7, while Germany’s Juliane Döll was second (25:07.7) and Marine Boilliet, of France, was third (25:38.6).

Meanwhile, Canada’s World Cup athletes continued their season in Hochfilzen, Austria on Thursday.

Jean-Philippe LeGuellec, who has been posting career-best results all season, led the Canadian charge with a 40th-place finish in the men’s 20-kilometre individual start. The Shannon, Que. native missed two shots on the range and finished with a time of 1:00:11.6.

Regina’s Scott Perras was 61st (1:01:21.9), while Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T., was 98th (1:04:27.3), and Nathan Smith, of Calgary, was 100th (1:04:58.3).

Russia’s Maxim Tchoudov was first with a gold-medal time of 56:00.3.

Canada’s 22-year-old Megan Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., finished mid-field after placing 51st in the women’s 15-kilometre individual start competition. Despite missing three shots in her four trips to the range, Imrie clocked-in at 57:01.1.

Zina Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta., was 58th (57:15.8), while Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., was 95th (1:02:14.1).

Russia’s Albina Akhatova was fired her way to the top spot on the podium with a time of 50:03.0.

The Canadian biathletes will hit the start line again in Italy and Austria on Saturday.

Biathlon Canada, the governing body for biathlon in the country, oversees the Canadian Championships, Eastern and Western Canadian Championships, and 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 on the Internet.

Complete World Cup and IBU Cup results can be found at www.biathlonworld.com

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