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CANMORE, Alta.—Canada’s Kurtis Wenzel thrilled the hometown crowd by winning the gold medal one day prior to his 18th birthday at the Biathlon Youth and Junior World Championships in Canmore, Alta, on Saturday.

The Calgary native blazed his trail through the world-leading Canmore Nordic Centre and took advantage of a hot hand en route to winning the gold medal. After shooting perfect in the prone position, Wenzel missed just one shot in standing, to clock a winning time of 21 minutes 10.2 seconds in the men’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition.

“This is the best birthday present I could ever get – being number one,” said Wenzel, who is also a golden Grade 12 student at the Calgary-based NationalSportSchool, which provides young Canadian athletes the opportunity to pursue excellence in both their athletic and academic lives. “I had visions in my training that I could do this, but I guess I never thought it would actually come true. I was really on my game today.”

The sprint event consists of athletes racing three times around the 2.5-kilometre track. Athletes enter the shooting range for a 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.

Joining the beaming Canuck on the podium was Norway’s Eriend Bjoentegaard in second spot (21:14.2), while Switzerland’s Mario Dolder was third (21:26.5).

Italy’s Lukas Hofer won the junior men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition with a time of 27:39.3.

The Canadian trail to the medal podium continued in the afternoon for Canada with 17-year-old Audrey Vaillancourt, of Val Bélair, Que., winning the bronze medal in the women’s youth six-kilometre sprint. Vaillancourt held onto the podium despite stumbling in her final lap to post a time of 19:46.6

Tow athletes tied for first place. Russia’s Olga Galich and China’s Yan Zhang both crossed the line in a dead heat at 19:31.4.

The two medals on Saturday bring the Canadian podium total to 10 in the history of the event. . Earlier this week, Yolaine Oddou, of Val Bélair, Que., won a bronze medal in the youth women’s individual start competition.

Wenzel’s victory also marks the third gold medal ever for Canada in the history of the Biathlon Youth and Junior World Championships. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, of Shannon, Que., won two gold medals for Canada at the 2004 World Championships.

“Yolaine trumped me the other day getting the bronze. This is just phenomenal,” said Wenzel, who also finished fifth earlier this week in the individual start competition. “I am just so proud that I was able to win in front of my family, friends and the crowd of fans that came out to watch us today.”

Seven other Canadians also took aim at the top prize in both men’s and women’s junior and youth biathlon races. In the youth men’s category, Calgary’s Scott Gow was 10th (22:10.9); Calgary’s Aaron Gillmor was 31st (23:22.0); and Quebec City’s Marc Villette-Brosseau was 40th (23:52.5). In the junior men’s competition it was Matthew Neumann, of Prince George, B.C. in 54th (32:25.0); Stuart Lodge, of Canmore, Alta., in 55th (32:35.6); Joel Pacas, of Canmore, Alta., in 61st; and Beau Thompson, of Canmore, Alta., in 67th (33:47.9).

Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., finished as the top Canadian in the junior women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition. Tandy missed four shots in her two stops at the range to post a time of 26:15.3. Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., was 31st at 26:26.6, while Victoria’s Jessica Sedlock was 36th (26:52.8), and Angela Salvi, of Quebec City, was 46th (28:33.3). Joining Vaillancourt in the youth race was Yolaine Oddou, of Val Bélair, Que., in 11th (20:16.8); Rose-Marie Côte, of Quebec City, in 26th (22:05.0); and Tatiana Chesham, of Canmore, Alta., in 37th (24:00.1).

Germany’s Nicole Wötzel missed only one of 10 shots to win her second gold medal of the week. Wötzel won the junior women’s sprint competition with a time of 23:28.8.

The Biathlon Youth and Junior Championships continue on Sunday with the pursuit competitions.

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.

Complete Results: www.biathlonworld.com

Men’s Top-Five Youth 7.5-Kilometre Sprint Results:

1. Kurtis Wenzel, Calgary, (0+1); 21:10.2; 2. Eriend Bjoentegaard, NOR, (0+2), 21:14.2; 3. Mario Dolder, SUI, (1+1), 21:26.5; 4. Albert Herzog, AUT, (0+1), 21:46.2; 5. Vitaliy Kozlovskyy, UKR, (0+1), 21:46.3

Other Canadian Results:

10. Scott Gow, Calgary, (1+2), 22:10.9; 31. Aaron Gillmor, Calgary, (2+2), 23:22.0; 40. Marc Villette-Brosseau, (1+2), 23:52.5.

Men’s Top-Five Junior 10-Kilometre Sprint Results:

1. Lukas Hofer, ITA, (2+0), 27:39.3; 2. Benjamin Weger, SUI, (1+0), 27:58.7; 3. Tarjei Boe, NOR, (0+0), 28:08.2; 4. Florian Graf, GER, (0+0), 28:11.4; 5. Benedikt Doll, (GER), (2+0), 28:16.4.

Canadian Results:

54. Matthew Neumann, Prince George, B.C., (3+3), 32:25.0; 55. Stuart Lodge, Canmore, Alta., (2+1), 32:35.6; 63. Joel Pacas, Canmore, Alta., (3+1), 33:02.1; 67. Beau Thompson, Canmore, Alta., (1+3), 33:47.9.

Women’s Top-Five Youth 6-Kilometre Results:

T1. Olga Galich, RUS, (0+1), 19:31.4; T1. Yan Zhang, CHN (0+0), 19:31.4; 3. Audrey Vaillancourt, Val Bélair, Que., (0+1), 19:44.6; 4. Dorothea Wierer, ITA, (3+0), 19:49.8; 5. Marion Charles, FRA, (1+1), 19:52.6

Other Canadian Results:

11. Yolaine Oddou, Val Bélair, Que., (1+1), 20:16.8; 26. Rose-Marie Côte, of Quebec City, (2+1), 22:05.0; 37. Tatiana Chesham, of Canmore, Alta., (2+2), 24:00.1

Women’s Top-Five Junior 7.5-Kilometre Results:
1. Nicole Wötzel, GER, (1+0), 23:28.8; 2. Miriam Gössner, GER, (2+3), 23:37.5; 3. Sophie Boilley, FRA, (1+0), 23:38.1; 4. Reka Ferencz, ROU, (0+0), 23:48.0; 5. Veronika Vitkova, CZE, (2+1), 24:01.2

Canadian Results:

25. Megan Tandy, Prince George, B.C., (0+4), 26:15.3; 31. Rosanna Crawford, Canmore, Alta., (1+2), 26:26.6; 36. Jessica Sedlock, Victoria, (1+3), 26:52.8; 46. Angela Salvi, Quebec City, (3+2), 28:33.3.

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