The Individual races brought the week of competition at the IBU Para Biathlon World Cup in Canmore to a close. Kendall Gretsch, Natalie Wilkie and Mark Arendz strengthened their leads in the Total Score standings - each of them ending the first series of races this season undefeated.

While the freezing temperatures had eased, athletes faced a new challenge: above-zero conditions and persistent rain during the longest event of the week - the 12.5 km individual race. With four shooting stages and a one-minute penalty for every miss, precision was as crucial as endurance.

Aaron Pike avenged his sprint defeat to Collin Cameron and extended his advantage in the men’s sitting Total Score. The American shot clean, while Cameron’s single miss in the opening bout took him out of contention. Taras Rad finished third for the third consecutive race, trailing Pike by just under two minutes.

Gretsch continued her exceptional form, completing a hat-trick of victories in Canmore. The American remains unmatched, particularly on the shooting range: in her last 200 shots, she has hit 196, for an extraordinary 98% accuracy rate. Although she missed once today, she still won convincingly, beating South Korea’s Yunji Kim by over a minute and a half. Germany’s Anja Wicker placed third, with both she and Kim recording four misses. Oksana Masters, who missed seven times, finished just off the podium.

Gretsch was not the only athlete to win her first three starts of the new season. The Canadians competing in the standing categories matched her achievement. Arendz, entirely at home on the Canmore course, delivered another commanding performance. With just one missed shot, he claimed victory by 46 seconds over Grygorii Vovchynskyi, who celebrated his first podium since the World Championships in Pokljuka. France’s Karl Tabouret finished third with two misses, more than three minutes behind the winner.

The women’s standing race showcased an equally high level of performance. Wilkie once again proved untouchable, shooting flawlessly and defeating Oleksandra Kononova by one minute and two seconds. The Ukrainian incurred a single penalty minute. Third place went to Bohdana Konashuk, who celebrated her first podium in two years.

Johanna Recktenwald has firmly established herself as a specialist in individual competitions. The German VI athlete won this event at both the World Championships in Pokljuka and the World Cup Finals in Torsby, and today she once again proved unmatched. Strong skiing and just one missed shot gave her a winning margin of more than a minute and a half over Czech Carina Edlinger. Leonie Maria Walter, who had won both of her previous races in Canmore, had to settle for third this time. The reigning World Cup champion endured one of the toughest shooting days of her career, missing six times.

It was a strong finish to the week for Germany, as Lennart Volkert earned his first-ever World Cup victory in the men’s VI category. The 22-year-old German missed once and finished 13 seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Oleksandr Kazik, who had two penalties. France’s Anthony Chalencon, also with two misses, secured third place - making him the only athlete to reach the podium in all three races held in Canmore.

The next IBU Para Biathlon World Cup will take place in Notschrei, Germany, from January 5–11, 2026.

Photos: Doyle | IBU