A spicy mix of veteran leadership and youthful flare punctuates Canada’s world cup team on the eve of the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon in Canmore, which runs Feb. 1-7 at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
The Canadian team has targeted this race all year, and will go with its regular world cup lineup. However, top prospect Sarah Beaudry has been called up to race.
The races begin on Feb. 4 with the men’s sprint. Here is your look at the Canadian roster.
Nathan Smith
Born: Dec. 25, 1985, Calgary
Hometown: Canmore
Smith is the most decorated athlete on the Canadian team, having won silver at the 2015 World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland and a gold medal in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. One of the fastest shooters on the world cup, his quick draw skills have carried him into the top-10 on many occasions, and he’d love nothing better than to land on the podium at home. The last time Smith raced internationally in Canmore, he won three gold medals on the IBU Cup circuit. To repeat that performance would be a miracle, but few rise to the occasion like Smith.
Fun fact: Smith likes to spend his spare time riding his motorbike and honing his archery skills. His biggest fan is his cat, Puma.
Brendan Green
Born: Nov. 4, 1986, Hay River, NWT
Hometown: Canmore
A two-time Olympian, Brendan Green has been one of Canada’s most prolific performers for more than a decade. Although he is still chasing an elusive world cup medal, Green cracked the top five last season in Antholz, Italy. In 2012, Green suffered a severe back injury, which required two surgeries and five months of inactivity, but he bounced back even stronger than before and made the 2014 Winter Olympic team. He’s cracked the top-20 this season, and is looking for big things in Canmore.
Fun fact: The pride of Hay River, Green has a ski trail named after him in the North West Territories. He and girlfriend Rosanna Crawford are a frequent sight around the Bow Valley with their dog.
Macx Davies
Born: Dec. 24, 1992, Canmore
Residence: Canmore
Davies learned to ski at the Canmore Nordic Centre, participating in the local Jackrabbits program, and the sport led him to biathlon in 2005. He has seen a steady improvement in his results, representing Canada at world junior championships in 2013, where he finished eighth. Although his career is still young, this has been by far his best result, compliments of a promising 10th-place finish in Oestersund, Sweden.
Davies became a YouTube sensation this year when he busted out his dance moves while crossing the finish line in Austria. Russian Television asked him to teach an anchor a few of his moves. He also lists extreme tobogganing as one of his interests.
Christian Gow
Born: March 28, 1993, Calgary
Residence: Canmore
A fiery competitor, Christian Gow is another member of Biathlon Canada’s youth movement. This year he has strung together a series of top-40 results, as his shooting has continued to improve. Gow has multiple Canadian titles to his name as well as a top-10 finish at junior world championships in 2014. This season, Gow has sought to establish himself as an important member of the world cup team with loads of potential for the future.
Fun fact: Christian listens to smooth jazz to relax.
Scott Gow
Born: Nov. 11, 1990, Calgary
Residence: Canmore
A success at every level he’s reached, Scott Gow’s trophy case is overflowing from a strong youth and junior career. Now, he’s beginning to get the hang of the world cup team, and has become an important member of Canada’s relay squad. He’s slowly working his way up the standings and should be a staple on the national team for years. A product of the Biathlon Bears program at Canada Olympic Park, Gow’s career took off with Canmore’s Rocky Mountain Racers before moving to the national team.
Gow attended space camp as a child. His teammates call him Thor, as his reputation in the gym is legendary.
Rosanna Crawford
Born: May 23, 1988 Canmore
Hometown: Canmore
The pride of Canmore, it’s a safe bet Rosanna Crawford will have the largest cheering section at the Canmore world cup. Born and raised in the Bow Valley, Crawford is following her sister’s ski strides to become a leader on the Canadian team. A two-time Olympian, Crawford just missed the world cup podium twice last year, clocking fourth- and fifth-place finishes. She’s become a role model for many of the young skiers, pushing them to chase big goals. Teaming up with Nathan Smith, Crawford won silver this season in the world cup single mixed relay – a relatively new event which will make its Canmore debut on Feb. 7
Crawford is also continuing her sister’s work with Fast & Female, and has been outspoken about women’s equality in sport. Her father Glenn was a CBC cameraman during Chandra’s world cup gold medal performance in Canmore, and will man a station at the biathlon world cup.
Julia Ransom
Born: Feb. 4, 1993, Penticton, B.C.
Residence: Kelowna, B.C.
Born in wine country, aged in the Rocky Mountains, Julia Ransom has quickly established herself as one of Canada’s most consistent performers – incredible since this is her first full year on the world cup. She is fresh off a career-best 19th-place world cup finish in Antholz, Italy, which is no surprise to those who saw her finish fourth at the 2014 world junior championships.
An athlete with a big heart, Ransom is using her sporting career to help her niece Isla, who was born with Trisomy 18, a rare genetic condition. Ransom holds a fundraiser every year for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice in Kelowna, which has helped her family immensely through the diagnosis. The young biathlete also aspires to attend med school after finishing her career.
Sarah Beaudry
Born: March 19, 1994, Prince George, B.C.
Residence: Canmore
As a top prospect in Canada’s biathlon program, the future is now for Beaudry. She’s been a model of consistency on the IBU Cup circuit this year, and has a chance to show she can succeed on the world cup in Canmore. Beaudry medalled at world juniors in 2014.
Fun fact: Beaudry is extremely popular with her teammates, which may have something to do with the fact she can make a Cherpumple: A three-layer cake with an entire pie stuffed in each layer. She also holds down part time work at Starbucks.
Megan Tandy
Born: September 10, 1988, Victoria, B.C.
Residence: Sachsen, Germany
The last three years have been a whirlwind for Tandy. She returned after having a child, cracked the top-15 four times last year and battled health issues this season through December. When she’s on her game, Tandy and Crawford offer a potent 1-2 punch, which is dangerous in relays.
The two-time Olympian comes from the prolific British Columbia biathlete pipeline, and has proven to be one of the best shooters on the team.
Tandy lives and trains in Germany most of the year, where she works with a private coach.
Zina Kocher
Born: Dec. 5, 1982, Red Deer
Residence: Canmore
Kocher is a three-time Olympian and the last Canadian woman to win a world cup medal. She burst onto the world cup scene in 2006, and has 12 years of experience on the national team, racking up several top-30 results. Kocher also had a second- and fourth-place finish last year in Canmore on the IBU Cup, and has hinted this might be her last hurrah with the national team.
Kocher has studied to be a doula in her spare time, and enjoys playing the flute.
