Canmore biathlete Megan Imrie isn’t one to dawdle.
In the first individual race of the season, the 27-year-old had the best world cup race of her career on Saturday (Nov. 30) finishing 22nd in the 7.5 kilometre sprint in Oestersund, Sweden to secure her spot on the Canadian Olympic team.
“It was a great day for me. I felt strong in warmup and knew conditions were lining up for an excellent race. At that point, it’s just a mind game. I stuck to the basics and came out unscathed,” Imrie said.
Coming back from an illness that wiped out much of her 2012-2013 season, Imrie wanted a strong start to prove she was world cup calibre yet again. She worked closely with her coaches this summer and kept a close eye on her energy levels and diet to ensure she’d be in top form this winter.
In Oestersund, she was the fastest Canadian, missing only one shot in the sprint on Saturday. She can now skip the Biathlon Canada Olympic Trials on Dec. 20-21 at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Currently, there is one Sochi spot left on the women’s biathlon team and two spots left on the men’s team. Zina Kocher, Rosanna Crawford, J.P. LeGuellec and Scott Perras have all qualified thus far for the Games.
“I’m very excited this was an Olympic qualification because now the rest of the world cups are stress free and I’m ready to fly,” Imrie said.
She was slated to have an even better performance on Sunday in the 10 km pursuit, however high winds tossed the Swedish course. Imrie was in ninth and teammate Megan Heinicke was in sixth with three km to go when the race was cancelled. Both were disappointed, but now head to Switzerland with confidence they can race with the best.
Over the summer, Imrie was an articulate advocate for athlete funding, highlighting the financial pressures winter athletes face while pursuing their Olympic dream. This will be her second Winter Olympics and she wants a strong performance in Sochi.
“I’m relieved to come back from last season. I’ve learned my lessons and turned the page completely from where I was. The fire in my belly is fully ignited for the Olympics now,” Imrie said.
Her 2010 appearance was a learning experience, where she finished well back in the sprint and individual race. She also received death threats for her support of the fur industry before the Games. Imrie grew up on a trapline near Falcon Lake, Man. and is a spokesperson for the Fur Institute of Canada.
Imrie wasn’t the only Canadian to storm the world cup circuit. Le Guellec narrowly missed the podium with a fourth place finish in the 20 km individual race on Thursday (Nov. 28), followed closely by Canmore’s Nathan Smith, who finished 16th. The race was the best of Smith’s career, as he shot 17/20, displayed blistering ski speed and had the fastest range times on the day. Smith now needs one more top 30 result to solidify his spot in Sochi.
On Saturday (Nov. 30), Perras was the top Canadian in the men’s sprint, finishing 34th. He was followed by Smith (45) and Le Guellec (67). Crawford was 51st in the 7.5 km sprint, followed by Heinicke (56) and Kocher (64).
