Hay River’s Brendan Green posted a personal best fifth-place finish at the latest stage of the biathlon World Cup in Antholz, Italy, on Thursday.
Green, 29, finished the men’s 10km sprint 24.4 seconds behind winner Simon Schempp, of Germany. He was four seconds off the podium.
His previous best on the World Cup circuit had been an eighth-place finish at the same event last season. He finished ninth in the men’s mass start at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
“What made today extra special is my parents came all the way from Canada,” Green told Biathlon World TV after the race.
“They just arrived last night, so it was a long trip for them, but to have them in the stands today – for them to be able to see this race made it extra special, for sure.”
Green, who shot clean, said he had been focusing on that element of the discipline in recent weeks.
“You definitely need luck on your side to shoot like that. There were a few things on the range I’ve been working on,” he said.
“I don’t know if that’s what made the difference or not, but I’ll take as many clean races as I can get, and so far it’s been really great.
“It feels good, for sure. Four seconds off third is pretty sweet.”
