On the eve of the first ever IBU Cup race in North America, Canada’s biathletes shot their way to unprecedented results.
Led by Brendan Green, who landed in the World Cup top 15 three times this past weekend in Oslo, Norway, Canada is slowly finding its mark on the world stage. He posted ninth and 10th place finishes in the World Cup, both personal bests. Entering this week’s IBU Cup, Canada placed five athletes in the World Cup top 30 for the first time this year.
It was the first time Green managed back-to-back top 15 finishes.
“I think when things go well I have the expectation to be fighting it out with the top,” said Green, of Hay River, N.W.T. “It’s an awesome feeling and I hope I can be up there more consistently in the future.”
Megan Imrie also had a personal best in Oslo, finishing 17th. It was the third time this year she’s surpassed her personal best.
“I was a little sick last week so I knew my skiing wouldn’t be as strong as I’d like, so I focused solely on the shooting process, taking each shot one breath at a time,” said the 2010 Olympian, whose previous best was 20th. “It was cold today, but like a good Manitoba girl I employed every hand warming strategy in the book. The targets just wanted to fall today and I hit them all.”
The results bode well for the Canadian contingent, which selected its team Sunday after a weekend of trials (see page 56 for a complete athlete listing).
“We have a diverse group,” said Biathlon Canada Team Leader/Head Coach Roddy Ward. “Our objective is to have top eight results, and there is potential for more.”
The IBU acts as a feeder circuit for the World Cup, as athletes frequently bounce between the two. Canada will send almost all of its World Cup racers (save for Zina Kocher and J.P. LeGuellec) to the race, and should contend for top eight results. Green, Scott Perras, Nathan Smith, Scott Gow, Marc-Andre Bedard, Imrie, Rosanna Crawford and Melanie Schultz could be in the hunt for IBU hardware.
Other winter sports such as cross-country and alpine skiing have produced hardware on the international scene, however, biathlon has struggled of late. However, officials are optimistic they’re now heading in the right direction.
“We have a number of programs doing it right. The athletes are finding the right programs for them, and the coaches and programs are upping the service,” Ward said.
Ken Davies, president of Biathlon Alberta, said hosting two races is a “huge deal” for Canmore.
“We’ll have over 200 athletes from 22 countries competing in these races. They’re the first ever in North America, so we get to host two separate IBU cups,” Davies said.
As the host nation, Canada was given 18 spots for the race, whereas they usually only have eight. For many, it will be their first chance to race against international competition and a good first step in a search for Olympic dreams.
Canada’s contingent isn’t dominated by lifelong biathletes who were born with skis and rifles. Robin Clegg, who hasn’t raced internationally for almost two years and is now a mortgage broker in Calgary, earned a qualifying spot. Karen Messenger turned down a full-time teaching job to follow her ski racing dream and will now start the race. Smooth skating Tyson Smith is balancing a geography degree, a part-time job and a training regime, and will squeeze in races.
“I’m so excited. It’s one of my goals since I started training. This is a dream of mine,” Messenger said. It’s been a lot of hard work and training and being really positive. You have to treat every training session as a race, and realize it’s exact same.”
Clegg has tons of ski experience, but none of late.
“I’ve raced here forever and never done an international race. I’m pretty keen on checking that box off,” Clegg said.
Gow is aiming for a top 20 result, as he steadily progresses on the IBU scene. He hopes home course advantage will play to his advantage.
“The combination of the Euros having to travel and racing on a new course we know very well will play to our advantage,” Gow said.
Others have a different view.
“It could be an advantage, but also a disadvantage because I have so many things going on between racing and work,” said Schultz. “I have to step away and focus on racing. My top result on the IBU Cup has been an 11th. Here, I’d love to be a medallist.
The races get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 11) with the women’s sprint. The men’s sprint is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. On Sunday, the same schedule repeats. Racing then pauses for two days, then resumes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday (Feb. 15) as the individual men’s race (where racers are penalized one minute for every missed shot) starts at 10 a.m. The women then race at 1:30 p.m.
On Thursday (Feb. 16), the final men’s sprint race occurs at 10 a.m., and the women’s race at 1:30 p.m.
