World Cup veterans Megan Bankes, Trevor Kiers and Aiden Millar bring their international racing acumen to the national biathlon championships
Sarah Beaudry’s homecoming party lasted seven years.
She could have chosen to return to Europe to compete on the IBU Cup circuit after helping the Canadian women’s relay team win in the park with a 10th-place finish at the Beijing Olympics.
But the lure of four days of racing at the Canadian Biathlon Championships on her home course at the Otway Nordic Center and a week of home-cooked meals at her parents’ home in College Heights was too much for Beaudry to pass up.
The 27-year-old two-time Olympian brought part of the senior national team contingent for the ride from their base in Canmore, Alta., and they upped the ante in the 200 athletes gathered this week in Prince George for biathlon nationals.
Fresh out of her experiences in World Cup and Olympic competition, Beaudry only missed a few shots at the range in the women’s 7.5 kilometer sprint on Sunday. But those two penalty rounds were enough for fellow Beijing Olympian Megan Bankes of Calgary to take advantage. For Beaudry, it ruined the promise of a Mars bar from Heather Tandy, the mother of former Olympian Megan Tandy, who years ago used to reward Caledonia Nordic Ski Club children with chocolate s they shot without fail.
Beaudry competed at the Western Canadian Championships in 2014, the year before Prince George hosted the Canada Winter Games, but it was his only previous experience on the revamped biathlon course. Spectators lining the trails on Sunday made her feel right at home.
“I definitely heard the cheering all the way through and it was so nice,” said Beaudry. “I’m just catching up with people I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s nice to be home and obviously there’s not a lot of pressure on this race, it’s more for fun and more just to be here. I didn’t feel good skiing, but it’s just fun to be in front of the local crowd.
Although she hasn’t been happy with her ski speeds this season, Beaudry’s shooting has been consistent and she went 10-for-10 in the Olympic relay in Beijing to keep the Canadians (Beaudry, Banks, Emma Lunder and Emily Dickson) in the top 10.
“Definitely my individual races, I was disappointed, and there were up and down races for the women’s team, not as strong as the men’s team was doing, so it was good that we all had a great day together on the last day we all raced,” said Beaudry. “It was nice to end on a high note.”
After two years of racing in tight bubbles, sequestered from the outside world and shunning their racing peers from other countries to try and avoid COVID infections, the lid has been lifted on pandemic restrictions, especially for runners from the national team in their race on Sunday. They were enjoying the freedom to get out of the pressure cooker for the first time in a long time.
“It’s been difficult being isolated for the past two years, even training in the summer in Canada and you want to be careful because if you catch it (the virus) it’s a long time out. training and that obviously has serious health implications too,” Beaudry said. “It’s nice to be here and relaxed and seeing the kids all together.”
Despite three missed targets in her standing shot fight, Bankes had enough of a lead after shooting clean in her prone round to win the women’s race, finishing 40.2 seconds ahead of Beaudry, putting her ahead of Beaudry for Monday’s pursuit. .
Bankes, skiing for Calgary Foothills Nordics, also competed in the 2014 test event in Prince George. She was happy with Sunday’s race after starting last of five in the women’s class.
“I never saw Sarah on the course, but it was fun,” said Bankes, who had one of Canada’s best solo results in Beijing with a 33rd result, going 18-20. in the individual event. “It’s fun to be here and have so many people cheering. The climbs are nice as they are not very steep so you can get a lot of sliding on them. It’s not easy, but it gives a pleasant feeling.
“I train the senior boys and girls for Foothills in the morning and race in the afternoon and it’s fun to be here on both sides. It’s great to be here, to see so many kids from different parts of the country and to finally have this after a few years. It’s really nice to see everyone back together.
Zoe Pekos of the Nordiq Biathlon Club in Chelsea, Que., won the bronze medal in the sprint, 3:44.3 behind Bankes. Pekos went 4 for 10 on the range.
This is the first year that athletes at the national biathlon championships have represented their home club rather than their home province. The format change is designed to give club athletes and coaches more opportunities to learn by racing the cream of the crop in their respective provinces.
World Cup veterans Trevor Kiers of Sprucedale, Ont., and Aidan Millar of Canmore were among four men who battled against the clock in Sunday’s 10k sprint.
Skiing for Chelsea Nordics, a Quebec club near Gatineau, Kiers missed just three targets, two prone, one standing, and won in 26:25.2. Andrei Secu of the Abbotsford West Coast Nordics shot 8-for-10 and won the silver medal, 1:38.5 behind Kiers, while Millar was third, with four misses (+2:35.2) .
Kiers, 25, raced in Prince George at the Canada Winter Games seven years ago and he didn’t stand out in the crowd like he did on Sunday.
“I sucked, it was my first year in competition, my best result was 16th in the sprint, so I did a lot better today,” said Kiers. “It’s not the best shot, but it was interesting to analyze the course and be like, ‘wow, that’s a lot easier than I remember.’
“It’s always a very difficult course. Some turns were a bit slippery and on the way down there are a few hairpin turns that keep you on your toes. It will be even more difficult the next moment because it freezes a little more. We’ll see how it freezes over night, but at the moment the conditions are fantastic.
Despite humiliating race results, Kiers has fond memories of representing Ontario in 2015.
“I really like it here, the start of my biathlon career was here at the Canada Games, probably the best event I’ve ever been to,” he said. “So far the atmosphere is very similar, there are a lot of people cheering which is amazing. We haven’t had that much.
The IBU classes (women’s, men’s, women’s juniors and women’s juniors) begin their pursuits at 1 p.m. Monday.
