Nathan Smith has 2nd consecutive career-best Biathlon finish
Calgary native finished 5th and 7th in back-to-back days
Canada's Nathan Smith had his second consecutive career-best finish at the Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic over the weekend.
The Calgary native shot clean through both days of the competition to place fifth and seventh. On Sunday, the 29-year-old had his career-best finish by making it to the flower ceremony for the 12.5-kilometre pursuit.
Smith clocked in a time of 37 minutes, 49.0 seconds to inch his way closer to the podium.
“These are my first back-to-back cleans of my career. I came close last year in Sochi (29/30), but today is extra special because it is the first 20/20 clean of my biathlon career,” said Smith, who was also perfect on the range in Saturday’s sprint.
“It feels awesome to have that success. It makes skiing less of a chore, and you’re excited to get back to the range after the next lap.”
The Calgary native set his previous career-best on Saturday while clocking a time of 24 minutes, 47.6 seconds in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint competition on a challenging Czech course.
Smith represented Canada in his first Olympics last year. The 29-year-old had three top-15 finishes in Sochi, and has five top-10 finishes in World Cup competitions over the past two years.
Everyone who reached the podium on Saturday shot clean, so speed was the difference maker in a competitive field. Smith clocked in at just 12 seconds off medal-winning pace.
“The top men shot amazingly well which makes for a very tough day to medal when you aren’t within the top-five or 10 skiers,” said Smith.
“A medal may have been possible if I’d also had the ski of my life today, however, the odds of perfect shooting and skiing coming together are pretty low. A more likely way to grab a first podium is to put yourself in a position where you can capitalize on a day when the favourites falter.”