CONTACT: Meri-Jo Borzilleri, Empire State Winter Games Communications & Media, (merijo@lakeplacid2023.com) Tel: 719-337-7987
Facebook.com/ESWGames, Instagram.com/ESWGames, Twitter @ESWGames
PHOTOS: See ESWGPhotos.com
February 4, 2023
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Forty-one racers competed in the biathlon sprint at the 43rd Empire State Winter Games Saturday. Weather conditions at Mount Van Hoevenberg for the 1p.m. start of the race were slightly milder than Friday’s with a temperature of zero degrees and wind gusts of only six miles per hour.
Saturday’s biathlon sprint featured a six-kilometer (approximately 3.7 mile) course. Athletes of both speed and precision, the racers completed a mix of cross country skiing and rifle shooting in the standing and prone positions. For each shot missed, racers completed a penalty loop. Cedrick Wigger, 22, of Warden, Quebec, was the fastest finisher overall, clocking in with a time of 12 minutes, 37 seconds, also winning the senior men’s category in which he was the lone contender.
In the masters men’s age 50-59 class, Sean Halligan of Saratoga, New York, finished with a time of 16:28, taking first place in a field of 12 racers. Halligan missed just one standing shot out of 10 total. Following was Eli Walker, 52, of Intervale, New Hampshire, and Daniel Kahn, 56, of Natick, Massachusetts, who finished second and third, respectively. Walker finished with a time of 17:42 and five total missed shots and Kahn with a time of 19:23 and seven total missed shots.
Out of the three competitors in the youth women’s category, Ella Niedre, 16, of Kars, Ontario, won the gold, finishing with a time of 16:15. She missed one shot in each of the standing and prone laps. Rachel Lambley, 16, of Kanata, Ontario, took the silver with a time of 19:08, and Kerissa Dunn, 17, of Old Forge, New York, won the bronze, clocking in at 27:42. Lambley and Dunn missed seven shots each.
For more men’s and women’s biathlon results as well as results for other events, please visit www.https://empirestatewintergames.com/results/ and follow us on social media @ESWGames.
The ESWG, sponsored by Community Bank, N.A., is the largest multi-winter amateur sports event in the United States. From Friday Feb. 3-Sunday, Feb. 5, close to 2,200 athletes are scheduled to compete in 23 winter sports in Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and Paul Smiths.
For more information, including sport schedule and results, visit empirestatewintergames.com. For photos of the Opening Ceremony and events, see ESWGPhotos.com. You do not have to be a resident of New York State to participate in the Empire State Games, and most sports are open to all levels.
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