Comment
Share
Posted on Thursday February 18th at 11:05 a.m.
Tweet
The top 30 qualified for the quarter-finals.
Calder says she tried to save her arms for the 400m of pole work heading into the stadium.
"I performed okay considering a lack of strength due to an arm injury earlier in the season and the sprint is one of my least favourite distance events. I also beat a couple of the girls who had been beating me during the season."
"It is actually quite good news," said John Burridge of New Zealand's Cross Country Ski Association.
"She held seed in her first performance too, the women's 10k, which is good given that earlier in the season her recovery was not going as well as expected."
"Her performance has been quite encouraging."
"She is still off her best which is a shame but she will build from now on. I know she is targeting the Russian Olympics."
Calder next competes in the 15k Pursuit on 20 February (PST) 21 February (NZT). This event combines both techniques. The skiers complete 7.5Km using classic and then switch at a transition to new poles, skis and boots completing the second half of the distance using freestyle. The start is an interval start and the highest rated skiers go last hunting down the slower skiers if they can.
Tomorrow features Sarah Murphy in her second biathlon event, the 15-kilometre individual from 7am at Whistler.
This will be Sarah's last event as she would need to be in the top 30 to qualify for the Massed start event and her best performance this season on World Cup was 49 which qualified her for the pursuit for the first time ever.
"In fairness, when Sarah is on song anything is possible," commented Burridge.
"She is celebrating her birthday during the Olympics and the harder snow may well help her."
"Watch out for the pink beanie and the pink barrel to her rifle. We may see her if she is shooting when one of the top ten are on camera."
About Katie Calder
Calder has been cross-country skiing since 15 and first competed for New Zealand in 2008.
Initially specialising in sprint races, Calder is showing talent at endurance events and will race both distances at the Olympics.
Last year, she was second in the Swiss championships and won the Australian & New Zealand Cup. She also won the Swiss Marathon Cup in 2008-09.
She performed strongly against the Canadians at the NZ Winter Games last year, despite suffering the 'flu, and won the women's B final in the sprint freestyle.
She was ninth in two FIS races in Switzerland in December, before finishing 73rd at the Davos World Cup 10km freestyle race in December.
She went on to achieve consecutive top five finishes in her last six FIS races in Europe, before competing at the Canmore World Cup, where she finished 46th in the sprint qualifier and lifted her start ranking by five places.
About Sarah Murphy
Sarah's passion is biathlon and she is a dedicated international athlete, living her dream, and determined to achieve her goals.
Her biathlon career started when she was 13 years old, with cadet and civilian biathlon, training and racing across Canada. Being provided with these opportunities at such a young age sparked a life long obsession.
She has been competing for seven years.
Sarah is not solely passionate about competing, but also in promoting the sport, and helping with its development. She loves to give back to the sport. By being a coach and a role model to younger athletes, she hopes to spark a new found desire in someone else, thus bringing on the next set of elite, international athletes.
Sarah has been training over 500 hours a year and shooting for top results to qualify for the winter games.
Sarah's mother is a born and raised Kiwi, and she lived in Nelson for three years when she was younger, obtaining a New Zealand passport.