BEIJING – As a blizzard hit China, it was a busy 24 hours for local Olympians at the Games as one athlete debuted in Beijing; three Canadian biathletes cracked the top 30, and the medal-hopeful speed skating pursuit team couldn't find its world cup magic.
Alpine: Canmore's Erik Read wanted better results in men's giant slalom after finishing 13th on Sunday (Feb. 13) in his first race at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
The two-time Olympian finished at a time of 2:12.44 – 3.09 seconds back of gold medal winner Marco Odermatt of Switzerland.
RELATED: Erik Read: Bow Valley's Beijing Bound Athletes
Canadian Trevor Philp finished 24th at a time of 2:19.08.
"Today was a tough day of ski racing," wrote Read on social media. "Who knew a place with under 5cm of annual snowfall would end up with a blizzard on the Olympic gs race day. A bit disappointed in my execution… I was aiming for higher than a 13th."
Biathlon: In the men's 12.5-kilometre pursuit on Sunday, biathlete Scott Gow led all Canadians in 20th place and shot 16-for-20.
Jules Burnotte finished 29th (15/20), Adam Runnalls was 30th (15/20), and Christian Gow was 35th (15/20).
RELATED: Adam Runnalls: Bow Valley's Beijing Bound Athletes
"Wow! That’s really all I can say," wrote Runnalls on social media. "I’m having the best racing of my career and it’s at the Olympics. A PB finish today with 30th in the pursuit, just amazing."
The Gow brothers and Burnotte qualified for Feb. 18's mass start. Runnalls is a reserve for the race.
In the women's 10 km pursuit, Emma Lunder finished 54th on 13-for-20 shooting.
Cross-Country: In the men's 4 X 10 km relay, Canada finished 11th place on Sunday.
Consisting of Graham Ritchie, Antoine Cyr, Olivier Leveille and Remi Drolet, the Canadians finished at a time of 2:04:01.1 – 9:10.4 behind the Russian gold medal team.
Speed skating: The men's speed skating team pursuit won't fight for a spot on the podium after failing to get past the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Consisting of Calgary's Jordan Belchos and Ted-Jan Bloeman, and Canmore's Connor Howe, the Canadians finished fifth at a time of 3:40.17.
RELATED: Connor Howe: Bow Valley's Beijing Bound Athletes
The four fastest countries – U.S.A, Norway, Netherlands, and Russian athletes – advanced to Tuesday's (Feb. 15) semifinals at 12 a.m.
Canada moves on to the Final C against South Korea.
Heading into the Olympics, Canada was the third-ranked team in the world.
Upcoming:
Feb. 15: speed skating men's team pursuit semifinals at 12 a.m.
Feb. 15: biathlon men's relay at 2 a.m.
Feb. 15: alpine men's slalom at 7:15 p.m
All times MST.
