2015/16 Race Season In a Nutshell

This February I had the most amazing opportunity to participate in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games hosted in Lillehammer, Norway with 54 other Canadians! This event kicked off my international racing career, and I participated in 3 medal competitions. From the moment we arrived, the “nordic spirit” came alive! During the games I, along with 3 other Canadian biathletes Tekarra Banser, Ben Churchill and Leo Grandbois were able to take part in a wide variety of the organized events. A stand out, for me, was the Learn & Share activities that were designed to help us become champions on the field and in our lives. Another highlight was the seminars and talks that we attended which were put on by our Athlete Role Models and Young Ambassadors. These sessions were focussed on specific aspects about sport, and life after sport. We not only experienced Norwegian culture for 14 days, but also experienced the culture of 70 other nations and this made the whole experience truly unforgettable, being able to spend time with athletes from around the world.
The Lillehammer organizing committee planned excursions for the athletes to further their Norwegian experience. We went to the Madshus factory, the oldest existing ski manufacturer in the world that was established in 1906, where we learned about the evolution of cross country skis and the advancement in the ski industry. Of course, given the Norwegian’s passion for skiing, it is only natural for there to be a wax factory close by! Swix is the world’s leading manufacturer of modern ski wax, and we had the chance to tour the factory to see how the wax is made.

This experience was one of a life time! The level at which all the athletes were competing was inspiring. The sportsmanship, and the friends I was able to meet along the way was unreal. I am so thrilled I had the opportunity to compete in these games, the memories and my experiences will be with me for the rest of my life!

Only a few weeks after returning from Norway, I headed to Valcartier, Quebec where biathletes from all over Canada travelled to the Canadian Biathlon National Championships. For me, it was not my first time attending this specific event, that occurs every year close to the end of the biathlon season. The race trails were beautiful, but almost all up hill, making it a challenging course for most.The weather was wonderful when we arrived and continued to be quite warm, naturally making the track soft. Then by the end of the week, the trails had hardened up making perfect corduroy, and a fast track around all of the loops. Athletes participated in four medal events throughout the week, these started on Wednesday and wrapped up on the Sunday. I had some consistent top ten placings throughout the week, and was happy with these results.

It was then onto Whitehorse, Yukon where I participated in XC Ski Nationals this year. It was my first time attending attending XC Ski Nationals which turned out out to be a blast. I competed in the 7.5km skate race which didn’t exactly go as I hoped, still tired from the biathlon races a few day before and jet lagged with the time difference. Later in the week I raced in the ski sprints, which in heats was push from a second place finish to third by the tip of a ski leading me into a 14th place finish overall. Lastly in the 8.5km classic race,  I was able to move up 31 positions from the start which I was ecstatic about, not having a whole lot of classic race experience under my belt.

Our season has come to a close now, and I’m currently winding down for a month of recovery before we start training again for the 2016-17 race season. This summer will be focused on developing more strength as well as working on the technical parts of skiing and shooting. My plans for the summer include staying here and training in the Bow Valley area, with a possibility of a trip to New Zealand for some races and hours on snow.


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