Written off by the experts as a fringe threat, an afterthought for many competitors, Canada’s men’s relay team were pure underdogs at the 2016 biathlon world championships in Holmenkollen, Norway.
This season in the relay, the team usually hung around for a leg or two before fading back to 11th, even though they knew they were capable of more.
That is until Saturday (March 12), when they did the impossible. On the biggest stage in biathlon, in the biggest race of the season, the Canadian team of Christian Gow, Nathan Smith, Scott Gow and Brendan Green shocked 60,000 biathlon fans by winning bronze.
“I’ve been training my whole career to share in a moment like this. Words cannot describe it,” Green said.
Christian Gow seized the first leg of the race, blasting out of the start gate. Armed with will and determination, the 22-year-old refused to relent in the shadow of Norweigan legend Ole Einar Bjorndalen or French talent Simon Fourcade. His prone targets fell with ease, and standing gave him no trouble as he tagged off to Smith 14 seconds back of the lead, sitting in seventh overall.
“It is an incredible feeling. The key to success for me was just focusing on doing my job. I knew after the individual that my ski shape was good, so I knew that if I put it together on the range it could be a great race. I took risks shooting that really paid off,” the younger Gow said.
Smith, who medalled at world championships last year, knew his skill would be unmatched on the day. Frustrated by a string of sub-par performances earlier in the week, he quickly broke free from the chase pack, and took the lead from Tarje Boe of Norway, daring the host nation athlete to chase him.
Midway through the race, the experts began to wonder about Canada, whose best performance in the men’s relay this year had been a sixth-place finish, shocking the biathlon world and landing on the podium.
“For myself personally, I was obviously disappointed with how world championships had gone up until then,” said Smith. “Although I was skiing strongly every day I kept having trouble hitting enough targets. In the relay, I tried to slow my shooting just a little and be more deliberate. It wasn’t perfect shooting, but it was good enough to keep me in the hunt.”
Scott Gow, ranked 66th in the world, was then tasked with keeping Canada in the medal hunt. Facing two athletes ranked in the top-10 in the world, Gow showed poise in the range and fire on skis to stick with the veteran skiers, essentially securing a medal for Canada.
“Right before I started my leg, I was incredibly nervous. I had watched Christian and Nathan crank out incredible performances, and now the pressure was on me to do my part and keep our team within medal contention. Just knowing that was making me more nervous than I think I have ever been, but thankfully, once I got tagged by Nathan all my nerves were gone and I immediately settled into my race routine,” Gow said.
Meanwhile, Green waited in the wings to begin the anchor leg. Canada’s first world championship relay medal now depended on him.
The sound of the Viking crowd deafened the stadium, and coaches had to give splits with handwritten billboards, as they couldn’t outshout the crowd. Green tried hard not to puke.
Once on course, Green pushed into second place and showed his best form of the season. The Germans had to be near perfect in the range, and Green put the pressure on his competitors. When he did cross the line, Canada was 24 seconds behind Norway, and 12 seconds behind Germany in a historic performance lauded as the biggest surprise of the 2016 world championships.
“It was incredible. Each and every one of us really put it on the line during the race. To have it come together at world championships like that is absolutely amazing. A dream come true. A world championship medal in Oslo at the famous Holenkollen venue is very special,” Green said.
After the race, the men’s team was still in shock over the performance. Overlooking an endless sea of fans at the medal ceremony, the Canadians looked dazed, awed by the ovation they received. As much as they believed in themselves and one another, achieving a medal was still unexpected.
“It’s a huge day for biathlon in Canada. I think it will still need a few days to settle in. I don’t think we’ve fully realized what we’ve accomplished and how big this is. Our result is the culmination of years of hard work,” Green said.
Those who have paid attention have noticed Canada getting stronger and stronger every year, as they now have a very deep team.
“Most importantly, it really shows how far our program has come in the last 20 years. It’s not one or two athletes breaking through, but the entire team raising its level to compete with the very best of the best,” Smith said.
Smith and Green are veterans who have cracked the top 10 many times, but this is the first taste of world cup success for the Gow brothers.
“This medal means everything to me. I’m not sure that I really could have imagined a result like this. I knew that it was possible, but I don’t think I was actually prepared for it to happen. We all surprised ourselves in the best possible way,” Christian Gow said.
The women’s team also had several top results. Rosanna Crawford finished 14th in the women’s individual race, while Julia Ransom was 20th. Crawford grabbed 15th in the mass start as well.
“I am pumped to be in the top 20 again. It’s nice to be somewhat consistent throughout the year,” said Ransom. “All of us women shot pretty well today, and I think that brings strong energy forward to our relay. The difference must have been the delicious waffles here.”
The national team will now send Crawford, Ransom, Scott Gow, Davies, Green and Smith to Russia for the final world cup event of the season, before heading to Valcartier, Que. for Canadian nationals.
