CANMORE – Canmore biathlete Matthew Strum is returning to the international stage.
With a smile and a celebratory raise of the fists, Strum skied across the finish line in first place in Sunday’s (Jan. 7) men’s mass start race for his second victory at the IBU regional trials at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
A big weekend of racing has given the 28-year-old a spot on Team Canada again, and later this month, he’ll compete on the second tour of the IBU Cup, the feeder circuit of the World Cup.
With only one spot available at the qualifier event, there were “lots of nerves” heading into the trials, said Strum. However, a pair of first place finishes put the biathlete over the edge.
“I had only a few people in close competition … so it was really, really tight until today, so I’m just happy with how it went,” said Strum, an Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) athlete.
“My goal was just to be the top guy. … I needed to win, basically.”
Men’s 12.5 km mass start at the IBU biathlon regional event in #Canmore. Over the weekend, some racers were trying to qualify for various international events, such as the IBU Cup. pic.twitter.com/Yi4YVa1l2M
— Jordan Small (@jordiesmall) January 7, 2024
After crossing the finish line on Sunday, Strum was met with big hugs and congratulations from family, friends and coaches, including Brian McKeever and Menno Arendz of the Para Nordic Ski team, which has a close working partnership with AWCA.
Health issues had kept Strum off skis and out of the range for around a year-and-a-half. However, he stayed hungry to get back on the international stage.
He returned to training last off-season and gradually got back into competition shape. But after so much time off, he was rusty in all areas and missed the first opportunity to make an IBU Cup team last November.
He kept working on his shooting with Para biathlon coach Arendz, and became a biathlon training partner to Para Nordic world champion Mark Arendz – Menno’s brother.
Menno said Strum just needed a consistent outside viewpoint when shooting a rifle at the toonie-sized target.
“When [Strum] first came to me, I won't say he was a terrible shooter or anything like that,” said Menno. “He had a lot of the fundamentals of shooting, but he was missing a few little pieces of sharpness.
“He just needed consistent shooting and a consistent voice kind of saying, ‘hey, remember these pieces?’”
The shooting lessons paid off in a big way.
Overall, Strum shot 90 per cent in the three trial races – 18/20 in the 12.5 km mass start, 8/10 in the 10 km sprint and 10/10 in the 4.5 km super sprint.
It was the edge needed to beat out his top IBU Cup competition, Lucas Smith.
“Shooting really helped,” said Strum.
Menno said it was a culmination of watching an athlete truly succeed.
“He really deserves that spot, absolutely,” said Menno. “He fought really hard and all the work that he's done over the years has really kind of come back together because it has been a slightly extended period for him not making a tour trip.”
McKeever, the most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time, said Strum showed “mature racing”, and added he was “taking care of business in both skiing strong and confident on the range.”
Strum will head overseas this month for the international competition.
