Its been a great start to the North American Biathlon Championships for Squamish based biathlete Matt Neumann.
The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club member placed first in the mens sprint competition on Friday (April 1) and followed that up with another first place finish in the pursuit event on Saturday (April 2). According to Neumann, the warmer conditions in Whistler led to a more challenging race for everyone involved.
The snow was really, really soft out there, he said, following his victory on Saturday. It was punishing for everyone out there and it was almost a matter of who wants to hurt themselves the most to win.
Neumann added that the course at Whistler Olympic Park doesnt feature a lot of downhill sections, which forces the racer to rely on pure strength and endurance.
Hes faced a nice challenge on both days from youth mens racer Casey Smith. The Winthrop, Washington native may be racing a shorter distance than Neumann but the two seemed to be motivating each other with their respective swift pace. Smith posted a time of 22:35.7 on his 7.5 kilometre race on Friday, while Neumann blazed through his 10-kilometre race in 30:15.2. Neumann acknowledged its good to have someone to battle with.
It was really good to have that kind of presence out there, he said of Smith. Its always good to have someone out there to keep you on your toes. He might have been racing a shorter race but he was going pretty fast out there.
Beau Thompson of the Canmore Nordic Ski Club placed second in Fridays mens 10 kilometre, while Neumanns brother, Aaron Neumann, placed third.
The masters division saw plenty of local involvement, with several Callaghan Winter Sports Club (CWSC) members placing high on Fridays races. The CWSCs Karen Ogilvie won the master womens six-kilometre race, with members Gillian Woodward and Angelina Silvestri finishing third and fourth respectively.
On the mens masters division, the CWSCs Philip Douglas and Richard Blanchert placed fourth and fifth respectively in their six-kilometre race.
Youngster Cody Wolfe also represented the CWSC, placing second in Fridays juvenile boys 2.1 kilometre race.
Full results and times were not yet officially released for Saturdays races.
The competition will wrap up on Sunday (April 3), with a zeroing class mass start event for both the North American athletes and the Callaghan Valley Open participants. Races are scheduled to hit the snow at 10 a.m.
For full results visit, www.biathloncanada.ca.
