Squinting through a blinding November snow squall, the wizened gunslinger glides silently past the young bucks on the Canadian National Biathlon Team with silent confidence.
Dressed in a baggy and worn race suit and armed with a borrowed rifle, Robin Clegg is 20 pounds underweight and still feeling the effects of a cycling accident that battered his body more than a year ago. He briskly leaves the Canmore Nordic Centre biathlon range to greet his wife and newborn son, ensuring they’re sufficiently bundled while the storm intensifies.
Other biathletes, bent on pre-race routine and focus exercises, barely notice the man with three Olympics to his credit and more than 10 years their senior. Coaches and officials in Team Canada garb give him a passing nod, noting this is the first time they’ve seen him on a biathlon race start line in two years.
When the snow had settled at the Canmore Centre on that Friday morning (N0v. 8), the old gunslinger finished well back of promising speedster Nathan Smith, but hit 19 of 20 targets in his first real test on snow – the best result of the day.
At 36, Clegg has come out of retirement in search of his fourth Olympics. There are currently two spots left on the Olympic team, and while Smith, Brendan Green and Scott Gow will have several chances to secure them, it could all come down to Olympic trial races on Dec. 20-21 at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
“I planned to ski last year, but I got hit by a car. I lost a lot of use of my upper body, but I wanted to see if I could do it again. When I started training, I was sore, but started to improve, so I thought what the hell, it’s open trial races, so I’ll give it a shot,” Clegg said.
He’ll have several domestic races between now and the December trials and hasn’t decided if he’d accept an IBU or world cup invitation. He never had the results he wanted at his previous three games, and wants one more shot at redemption.
“We’ll see how things are going. I’ll race locally and focus on the selection races,” Clegg said. “I’ve never had to try that hard for shooting, but my skiing will require quite a bit of racing. I’ll race back into shape.”
The Olympics would be a dream come true, but he’s definitely the underdog. While some of the younger biathletes are nervous about his presence, Clegg says they shouldn’t fret.
“At this point, the chances (of going to the Olympics) are slim to very slim. But I usually get in shape at the right time. I don’t think the young guys should be nervous at all. They should just worry about themselves,” Clegg said.
After an attempt at Ironman triathlons, Clegg cycled first for Rundle Mountain Cycling Club before moving to the H&R Block team on the Alberta circuit
“I always had it in the back of my mind to try for four Olympics. It was nice to take a break and ride and I still plan to ride next year,” Clegg said. “It’s nice to race in warm weather and try more of a team sport with more designated roles.”
Although he officially retired from biathlon in 2010, Clegg was never far from the sport. Whenever there was a race in Canmore, he’d show up if the weather was to his liking, challenge himself against the development team and usually win handily.
“It’s good to have him out here and push some of the younger guys. He’s done it before and knows what it takes,” said Mattias Ahrens, head coach of the national team.
In the end, Clegg knows Sochi would be sweet, but the aging gunslinger has his own vision of what success looks like.
“I’d like to see how strong and fast I can get skiing and see how far I can take it.”
