Emma Lunder of Vernon has picked up where she left off last year on the BMW IBU World Cup biathlon tour.
The 29-year-old from Vernon finished ninth Sunday in the women’s 10-kilometre pursuit in Kontiolahti, Finland, her fourth top-10 solo finish in two seasons.
Lunder, the only Canadian to qualify, began the pursuit 19th out of the gate, her finish position in Thursday’s sprint, and gained 10 positions while shooting 19-for-20 on the range.
Norwegians finished 1-2 with Tiril Eckhoff claiming gold in a time of 31:05.9, 21.5 seconds ahead of teammate Marte Olsbu Roeisland. Hanna Oeberg of Sweden took bronze, 35.4 seconds off the wining pace. Lunder was 1:30.3 behind Eckhoff.
Meanwhile, in the 24-team men’s 7.5 km relay, Canada (Jules Burnotte of Sherbrooke, Que., Scott Gow of Canmore, Adam Runnalls of Calgary, Christian Gow of Canmore) finished 13th. The Canadian team shot well, with only two penalty loops, and finished 3:54.6 behind the winners from Norway (Sturla Holm Laegreid, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Thingnes Boe), who stopped the clock in 1:16:21.
Sweden (+39.2) and Germany (+51.7) also made the podium.
The World Cup tour shifts to Hochfilzen, Austria for the next two weeks. Sprints are scheduled for Friday, with pursuits and team relays also on the weekend slate.
Sarah Beaudry of Prince George, who skied well in Finland but had trouble on the shooting range, will try to get her marksmanship back up to her own standards when she hits the course in Hochfilzen.
