Canada wins silver medal in rare biathlon event

Canada's Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith teamed up to win the silver medal in the season-opening World Cup biathlon single mixed relay in Oestersund, Sweden. Crawford (Canmore, Alta.) and Smith (Calgary), clocked a time of 36:40.5 for second place.

Norway finished 11.9 seconds ahead of the Canadians in a seesaw affair to take the top spot on the podium with a time of 36:27.3. Canada's Smith won the sprint for the silver, forcing the Germans into the bronze-medal position with a time of 36:40.5.

The event calls for one woman, one man to ski and shoot twice in alternate trips around the course.

"This is a really great way to start the season," beamed Smith. "There is always uncertainty and extra nerves at this time of year until you get to see how you actually stack up against the competition. The first race after travel can be more painful so the shorter relay formats are the perfect way to warm up for the 20km individual in a few days."

The result is early validation the 29-year-old Smith's breakthrough season, which saw him win his first World Cup race and become the first Canadian male ever to win a World Championship medal in biathlon when he claimed the silver last year was no fluke.

Crawford, 27, was also knocking on the door of her first World Cup podium last year with a fourth and fifth place finish to go along with a handful of top-10s.

"We knew there was lots of potential in this race so it feels good to deliver," said Crawford. "This race is pretty different from any of our individual events, but it is a good confidence booster to know we are skiing and shooting with some of the best."

Designed to be more spectator friendly, the action-packed single mixed format is a shorter version of the mixed team event, sending athletes out on shorter loops and shooting prone-prone-standing-standing. The women start with prone before handing off to the men for their round of prone. Athletes tag off between each round of shooting.

When all is said and done, the women ski a total of six kilometres, while the men complete 7.5-kilometres on the course. The penalty loop is 75 metres.

Canada also raced in the mixed team relay, finishing ninth with Julia Ransom, Zina Kocher, Scott Gow and Brendan Green forming the team. Norway took gold, followed by Germany and the Czech Republic.

The next World Cup event is in Hochfilzen, Austria, December 11-13.