The last major event of the season took place at the Callaghan Valley's Whistler Olympic Park last week with 170 athletes from across Canada and the USA competing for top spots in the Canadian Biathlon Championships Saturday (March 29). It was one last coup for the Callaghan Valley Local Organizing Committee (CALOC), which wrapped up its fifth and last event of the season.Canadian Olympic hopefuls took top spots across the board at the competition, and many said they loved every minute of the brand new facility. Canada's Jean-Philippe LeGuellec and Zina Kocher took advantage of perfect conditions to win the men's and women's national sprint titles.LeGuellec, of Shannon, Que., who has made huge strides against the world's elite this year, won the men's 10-kilometre sprint competition with a time of 26 minutes 43.0 seconds."It was super sunny and beautiful out there today and the trails were nice and hard," said LeGuellec, who missed only one shot standing on the range. "The skiing went very well for me. I struggled a bit shooting standing, but managed to come in for a very strong finish."LeGuellec was joined on the men's podium by Ottawa's Robin Clegg who solidified second spot, while Francois Leboeuf, of Val Belair, Que., was third.Meanwhile, Kocher found her way back to the podium and top form after balancing a difficult season with illness. Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta. won the women's 7.5-kilometre sprint competition with a time of 21:51.7 despite missing three shots in her two trips to the podium."I was feeling really strong and able toattack the course well today," said Kocher, who became the first Canadian biathlete to win a World Cup medal in more than a decade when she claimed the bronze at a World Cup event in Sweden last year. Kocher's World Cup Canadian comrades, Claude Godbout and Sandra Keith, finished second and third respectively. Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., won her second consecutive title in the junior women's 7.5-kilometre sprint after clocking a time of 22:42.7. Tandy missed two shots standing on the range. Maxime Lebouef, of Val Cartier, Que., took home the junior men's sprint crown after crossing the line first at 28:24.9.The event is hosted by CALOC in collaboration with VANOC's Biathlon Department and Biathlon Canada. The Squamish-based organization is committed to the staging of worldclass Nordic sports competitions in the Callaghan Valley, including cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping and Nordic combined, in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Over 150 volunteers participated during the events, 60 per cent of which were Squamish residents.
