Mark Arendz of Springton captured his first IPC World Cup victory after winning the gold medal in a biathlon individual race Sunday in Vuokatti, Finland.
Arendz shot clean to post a winning time of 39 minutes, 35.9 seconds in a tight sprint to the wire with Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset and Russia’s Oleg Balukhto.
Arernz had been fighting for the medals with them all week in the men’s standing division — one of the deepest on the IPC World Cup.
“That was amazing,” said Arendz. “My first World Cup victory and to shoot clean — nothing feels better.”
Ulset settled for the silver medal at 40:52.1, while Balukhto was third (41:56.1).
It was the third medal of the week for the 20-year-old Arendz.
The 2010 Paralympian won a silver and a bronze in the biathlon sprint and pursuit races respectively.
“I think the two podium finishes this week definitely gave me the confidence to know I deserve to be here with these guys,” said Arendz. “I woke up this morning and felt ready to go and said this is my day. I couldn’t be happier.”
