Biathlete Logan Pletz earns Team Sask its first gold of the 2019 Canada Winter Games
RED DEER, AB (February 21, 2019): Team Sask is proud to announce that Biathlete Logan Pletz of Regina has won Saskatchewan's first gold medal of the 2019 Canada Winter Games, taking first place in the men's 12.5 km Individual Race in a time of 37.46.9. Pletz, a distance specialist, missed only two shots during the race. Tailing him was Quebec's Leo Grandbois in silver and Alberta's Haldan Borglum in bronze. See full results here.
"It feels pretty awesome to get first finally, to be on the podium. Almost had a third place finish on Sunday [in the 7.5 km Sprint Race], so to finally get on the podium is pretty sweet," said Pletz.
Last week, Pletz was named Team Sask Opening Ceremony flag bearer and led Saskatchewan's contingent into the February 15th ceremony, which marked the start of 15 days of competition in Red Deer.
Pletz is the 2018 National Champion in the Youth Men’s 12.5 km Individual Race, and in January 2019, was named to the U19 Canadian National Youth Team, his first time representing Canada in international competition. Pletz earned a gold medal in the 7.5 km sprint race and a silver in the 12.5 km pursuit in a qualifying competition to earn a coveted berth on Team Canada at the IBU Youth World Biathlon Championships, which took place in January and February 2019 in Osrblie, Slovakia. Pletz placed 19th in the 7.5 km sprint race.
Pletz began his biathlon career at the age of eleven and progressed rapidly, winning multiple medals at the Saskatchewan Winter Games in 2011 in Prince Albert. This early success kick-started his progress to the elite level, and Pletz spent the summer of 2018 training at the Whistler Nordic Development Centre, where he made significant strides towards qualifying for the 2019 IBU Youth World Biathlon Championships. Pletz, 18, attends Luther High School in Regina and trains under coach Duane Banman with the Qu’Appelle Valley Nordic Club, based in Lumsden, as well as with Level 10 Fitness in Regina. Biathlon combines high intensity cross country skiing interspersed with bouts of precision target shooting. In the summer, Logan also provides coaching for youth biathletes training with the Qu’Appelle Valley Nordic Club.
Athletes who compete at the Canada Games represent the country’s next generation of national, international and Olympic champions. Team Sask alumni and Olympic medalists Mark McMorris, Catriona Le May Doan, and Emily Clark can all count their previous Canada Games experiences as a stepping stone to the highest levels of sport.
Throughout the Games, an ongoing Team Sask medal count will be found on the Team Sask website at teamsask.ca, and live results and sport schedules will be found at https://cg2019.gems.pro. Daily content can be found on Team Sask social media: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
The official 2019 Canada Winter Games website is located at canadagames.ca/2019.
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For more information, please contact:
Karen Lawson
Games Services & Communications Lead
Saskatchewan Games Council
(306) 529-3120 | klawson@saskgames.ca
