Prince George biathlete Sarah Beaudry’s struggles on the shooting range continued Saturday on the BMW IBU World Cup stage in Kontiolahti, Finland and after skiing two penalty loops she was not alone in her frustration.
Teammate Megan Bankes of Calgary also missed the mark with two penalties in the women’s 6km relay, which dropped Canada well off the pace by the time Bankes tagged Emma Lunder of Vernon. Lunder was lapped by the leaders and Canada ended up 16th in the 21-team event.
Nadia Moser of Whitehorse, Yukon, the fourth Canadian team member, was still at the starting pen when Swedish anchor Hanna Oeberg crossed the finish and the race was declared over before Moser had a chance to leave the gate.
Sweden (Johanna Skottheim, Mona Brosson, Elvira Oeberg and Hanna Oeberg) won gold in 1:12:44, 9.6 seconds ahead for France and 43.9 seconds in front of Germany.
Lunder is the only Canadian woman to qualify for Sunday’s pursuit, after posing a 19th-place result in the sprint on Thursday.
In the men’s pursuit on Saturday, three Canadians made the cut. Christian Gow of Canmore was 33rd, Scott Gow of Canmore was 45th and Adam Runnalls of Calgary was 46th.
The three Canadian men, along with Jules Burnotte of Sherbrooke, Que., are entered in Sunday’s relay.
Following Sunday’s races, the tour will shift to Hochfilzen, Austria for two weeks of racing.
Beaudry’s biathlon blog
In a blog posted on her website, sarahbeaudry.ca, Beaudry talks about her first week of racing in Finland and the protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The 26-year-old Caledonia Nordic Ski Club member competed in two races last week in Kontiolahti, finishing 70th in the individual event (Nov. 28) and 80th in the sprint (Nov. 29). Before the first race, five teams had positive COVID tests.
“We have now been in Finland for just over a week," wrote Beaudry. "We have had two COVID tests administered from the IBU and one that we got at our mini training camp in Imatra (Finland) before joining the IBU bubble. The test in Imatra was a nose swab and I am so thankful the IBU is doing throat swabs because the throat ones are much more pleasant. When you get a nose swab you think they have inserted it far up into your nose but then they push it in another inch, I definitely felt that one for a while afterwards!
“In addition to frequent COVID testing there are many changes to normal tour life. First off unless we are in our room, eating or exercising we can be found with a mask on our faces. This includes outside at the stadium, in our team room, in the van to training, in the start pen. If you can think of it, we are probably wearing our masks. Usually at most hotels we stay at our meals are served at an open buffet. This season mealtimes are split into 30-minute chunks so that each team can have their own dining time. Our team has opted for the early slot to get the cleanest buffet which means breakfast at 7, lunch at 11 and diner at 6. Because eating is one of the few occasions that we see our team without masks on we try to spread out in the dining room and either sit with our roommates or the same friends every time.
“Biathlon Canada is being extra cautious and has gotten many more single rooms this season. For the first four weeks all the athletes have a room to their self except the couples on the team. We may be stuck with the same team all winter but with all these safety measures in place it has not been the easiest to socialize. I am hoping as we figure out all of these new protocols, we will find a safe way to come together as a team. As for me I am really lucky to be part of one of the couples on the team (Beaudry’s partner is Canadian biathlete Aidan Millar) and I have the best roommate on tour! He even unpacks my training bag when I am too tired from the race.
“Talking about racing, we had our first races on Saturday and Sunday. A lot of things may be different this year but once I entered the start gate it all seemed normal. Yes, a COVID test was on my race plan that morning and yes, I wore a mask in the start pen till the moment I lined up to go but I skied and I shot and I skied and I shot and I skied some more. On paper my races may not have looked like anything special but I felt better on skis then I did all last season and it’s only the first weekend so I am hoping to build on this momentum in the weeks to come. I am so thankful the IBU has done so much work in making a safe racing environment and working with all the countries to be able to have races this season.”
