February
15, 2011
SOLLEFTEA, Swe.—Canada’s Mark Arendz
captured his second IPC World Cup victory of the season, and his career after
winning the gold medal in a biathlon sprint race on Tuesday in Solleftea,
Sweden.
Arendz shot clean to post a winning time of 22 minutes, 26.2 seconds in a race that he dominated from start-to-finish. Eager to hit the start line after a solid training session, the Springton, P.E.I. native battled the challenging course loaded with several long, steep and punishing climbs, to lead the world’s best para-nordic skiers to the podium in the men’s standing division.
“It was an all-out affair, with great skis from our wax techs and solid coaching that led to great shooting,” said Arendz, who shot clean. “I crossed the finish line and gave a good fist pump. It was a very satisfying race.”
The 20-year-old Canadian Paralympian has racked up two gold, one silver and twobronze medals during the 2010-11 season. He also has two bronze medals from the 2010 campaign under his belt to bring his career-total to seven.
Arendz was joined on the podium by Grygoril Vouchynskyi, of the Ukraine, who finished second at 22:56.4, and Russia’s Azat Karachurn in the bronze-medal position at 23:48.8.
Jody Barber, of Smithers, B.C., was the only other Canadian to suit up on Tuesday and finished fourth in the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint standing category with a time of 29:59.2.
The women’s race was won by Oleksandra Kononova, of the Ukraine, with a time of 27:25.0.
The IPC World Cup continues on Wednesday in Solleftea, Sweden.
Cross Country 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 Canadiansparticipating annually. Its 51,000 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. 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.handikappidrott.se/ImageVault/Images/id_3104/ImageVaultHandler.aspx
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