​Macx Davies' ability to act quickly and right a wrong in blustery conditions helped the Canadian biathlete turn in the performance of his life.

Competing against a deep and talented international field, the 21-year-old posted a career-best 10th-place finish in the men's 10-kilometre sprint, finishing in a time of 25 minutes 35.2 seconds in Oestersund, Sweden, on Saturday.

"Everything feels surreal at the moment. I keep seeing the result sheet and not believing that I'm actually in the top ten," the native of Canmore, Alta., said in a statement released by Biathlon Canada.

"I knew today that good shooting would make a big difference and I felt good on my skis from the start of the race so I really tried to push myself as far as I could go."

When I got to the range the first time I realized I only had five shots in my rifle. That really allowed me to stop thinking about results and focus on hitting every target. - Canadian biathlete Macx Davies after men's 10km sprint competition

But Davies didn't make his job any easier when he was the lone athlete to forget to load all 10 shots in his clips. When he realized as much, Davies quickly collected himself and went to work. In the end, he was the lone man in the field to shoot clean in his two trips to the range.

"When I got to the range the first time I realized I only had five shots in my rifle," he said. "That really allowed me to stop thinking about results and focus on hitting every target."

Prior to his second round of shooting, Davies alerted wax crews on the course to ask his coach, Matthias Ahrens, to deliver another clip to range officials.

"That clip was too small so I had to push each bullet in by hand which slowed down my shooting and again forced me to think of each shot more individually than as a whole," Davies said. "It is funny now but I think this really slowed me down and made me focus more."

Wind a factor

Wind played a factor Saturday on a course known for its blustery conditions and steep climbs.

"This result provides me with the confidence that the big names I have idolized growing up are in fact human," Davies said, "and I am competitive with them."

One of those top athletes is Canada's Nathan Smith, a World Cup and world championship medallist who placed ninth on Saturday in 25:24.3.

Martin Fourcade of France won the event in 24:02.0, followed by Germany's Arnd Peiffer (24:53.6) and Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (24:57.2).

On the women's side, four Canadians earned spots in Sunday's pursuit race by virtue of their performance in the 7.5-kilometre sprint race on Saturday. Canmore's Rosanna Crawford led the way, placing 22nd in 21:05.3.