Determination aflame in her heart and legs, biathlete Zina Kocher attacked the anchor leg like a woman possessed in the women’s 4x6-kilometre world cup relay in France on Dec. 12.
In front of her, Marie Laure Brunet of France was comfortably in fourth place, while the Russian team was gaining behind her. If Kocher faltered, she’d waste her team’s extraordinary effort. Rosanna Crawford and Megan Imrie had put the team in striking distance of a medal. Megan Heinicke shot well and kept them in contention before handing off to Kocher. If she pushed, she would help put the team in the record books.
When she crossed the finish line, Canada was in fourth – the best relay result ever on the world cup, cultivating hope and promise of bigger things with the Winter Olympics a mere two months away. Kocher made up nearly 30 seconds in that final lap to secure the finish.
“I had to focus very hard in my standing for each shot. Marie Laure shot very fast, but I kept my own rhythm and pace. When I hit my last shot with one spare and was off, I wasn’t sure I could catch her, but I didn’t want to be caught by the Russian five seconds behind me.”
Kocher hit all her standing targets and was awash with a surge of energy. As one of the fastest pure skiers on the world cup circuit, she knew she had a chance.
“I had this surge of energy and I just put my head down and skied as hard as I possibly could. Gliding is so important on this course and you have to work constantly. With our rocket skis, I was suddenly with Marie Laure and I just kept going to the finish.
“It’s an awesome feeling for all of us to work together and perform together on the same day. It had always been a possibility for the four of us and we knew we could achieve this. We did not individually have spectacular races, but rather normal good races all together on one day. Thus we believe this is completely possible to achieve again in the future and boosts our confidence this year towards Sochi.”
“I am so proud of these girls,” said Imrie. “I have witnessed each and every one of them train through blood, sweat and tears to the breaking point. We are fit. We are hungry for results and this isn’t the last you have seen of us.”
The result was good enough to send Heinicke to the Olympics and is the closest Imrie or Crawford have been to a world cup podium. Kocher has one podium to her credit – a bronze in 2006.
“We’ve known this type of result is within our grasp for so long, so it feels great to finally get it,” added Crawford. “Our whole support system has really helped us get here, coaches, wax techs and everyone behind us.”
The women’s team is flying back to Canada and will train in Canmore in January before the Olympic Games. This has been the best start to Canada’s biathlon season in years, buoyed by strong performances by J.P. Le Guellec, Nathan Smith and the women’s team.
Crawford followed up her relay performance with a 19th-place performance in the pursuit race on Sunday (Dec. 15). Heinicke was 33rd, Imrie finished 41st and Kocher 52nd.
