AUSTRIA – Even if Canadian biathlete Emma Lunder is hurting from an injury, she's still dangerous on skis and shooting a rifle.
After an ill-fated weight room back tweak, the 29-year-old shook off the pain, put on her game face and executed ninth and 19th place performances last week to finish off the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland.
Following Friday's (Dec. 4) 7.5-km sprint, Lunder posted on social media describing the 48 hours leading up to her top-20 performance.
"Today was a bit of a special day, because when I woke up this morning I wasn't even sure if it was possible for me to race," Lunder wrote. "A few days ago I tweaked my back in the weight room, and have spent the last 48 hours working with our therapist and support team to recover as quickly and smartly as possible.
"To feel good skiing today, and shoot 90 [per cent], I just feel so happy and grateful that I was able to put on a race bib. In my standing, the one miss was definitely a bit of a lapse in focus, but I am glad I was able to get it together for the rest of the bout."
Lunder finished with a time of 22:33.2 and shot 9/10.
Canadians Sarah Beaudry finished 74th (6/10), and Darya Sepandj was 86th (7/10), and Megan Bankes was 89th (6/10).
Just two days later in the 10-km pursuit, the product of North Vancouver, who trains out of Canmore, impressed again by cracking the top 10 with a time of 32:36.2 and shooting 19/20.
The big weekend moved Lunder up to 14th overall in the world cup individual standings. At the end of last season, she ranked 29th.
9th place for Emma Lunder! AMAZING! pic.twitter.com/Oj3Sg9vhP3
— Biathlon Canada (@biathloncanada) December 6, 2020
Over on the men's side, Christian Gow finished 25th in the 10-km sprint after shooting clean on Friday. Canada's Scott Gow was 52nd (9/10), Adam Runnalls was 53rd (9/10), and Aidan Millar was 89th (8/10).
In Saturday's 12.5-km pursuit, Christian lead the Canadian men with a 33rd place finish, shooting 15/20. Scott, who's in his 10th season on the senior national team, came in 45th (16/20), and Runnalls placed 46th (16/20).
Kontiolahti Pursuit 33. Christian Gow 1-2-1-1 pic.twitter.com/oX28fEv2VS
— Biathlon Canada (@biathloncanada) December 5, 2020
Afterward, Scott took to social media and said it was a "good, challenging race" but it was a windy day in Finland for target shooting.
"The wind got the best of me in my first shooting, but I managed to claw back some throughout the next prone and throughout my standings," said Scott. "Overall, good day for the team, some solid results."
