Burns Lake biathlete Emily Dickson is getting another shot at racing with the big guns.
The 24-year-old answered the call this past week in Oberhof, Germany when she was called up from the IBU Cup circuit to compete for Canada in her first World Cup events since March 2020.
Dickson emerged from a pack of 104 starters in the sprint race Friday to finish 60th, nailing down the last qualifying spot in the pursuit on Sunday. Fifty-seven skiers started the race and Dickson ended up 57th, a disappointing result tempered by the fact she was the only Canadian to qualify for the pursuit.
“It’s safe to say I’m walking away from this weekend with a mixed bag of emotions,” said Dickson, in her online blog. “I’m really grateful and so happy to finally be back on the World Cup circuit again. It feels like a lot of things have been against me and luck certainly hasn’t been on my side in the last two years, so to have the opportunity to race this weekend really felt like a breath of fresh air after a long fight.
“On the other hand, it’s really hard to not be disappointed about underperforming a bit- especially in the pursuit yesterday. Being someone who has high perfectionistic tendencies, it can be especially hard to cope when my performance doesn’t live up to the standards that I know I’m capable of… but I’m continually working on that.”
Dickson was lapped in the race after she struggled on the range, missing six of 15 targets, which meant she had to ski six 100-metre penalty loops, which dropped her well behind the pack.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve been reminded in the past two days is that racing, especially at this level, is very much a skill that needs to be learnt and practiced,” said Dickson, who combined with Adam Runnalls of Calgary Saturday to finish 18th in the single mixed relay.
“With that gentle reminder and the realization that I went into this weekend with the ability to count all of the races I’ve done in the last 22 months on my 10 fingers. I’m pretty optimistic that things will continue to only go up from here.”
She’ll have a chance to improve on her results starting with the 7.5-kilometre sprint Wednesday in Rhupolding, Germany. Team relays are also in store Friday (women) and Saturday (men) for the Canadian team, which includes Sarah Beaudry of Prince George. The top-60 in the sprints advance to Sunday’s pursuits.
World Cup points leader Marte Olsbu Roeisland of Norway dominated the women’s field in Oberhof, winning the sprint and pursuit and teaming up with Tarjei Boe to claim gold in the single mixed relay. Hanna Oeberg and Dzina Alimbekava shared the pursuit medal podium with Roeisland.
Quentin Fillon Maillet of France captured the men’s pursuit Saturday ahead of silver medalist Sebastien Samuelsson of Sweden and bronze winner Boe.
