CANMORE – Eight sharpshooters from Canada, including four Olympians, are set to compete at the upcoming local BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup.
For the first time in five years, the world’s top biathletes have their sights set on the Canmore Nordic Centre for four race days from Thursday to Sunday (March 14-17).
Leading the charge for the Great White North are Olympians Emma Lunder, Emily Dickson, Christian Gow and Adam Runnalls. Rounding out the team are Nadia Moser, Benita Peiffer, Logan Pletz and Zachary Connelly.
“Our athletes spend a lot of time over in Europe competing and to be able to do it at home in their normal daily training environment with friends and family, they’re feeling really excited about that,” said Biathlon Canada CEO Kerry Dankers.
The local races are the IBU World Cups season-ending event and the season-long awards, the Crystal Globes, will also be handed out in Canmore.
“It really caps off the Olympic high performance sports season, so we’re hoping lots of people come out and enjoy it,” said Dankers.
Approximately 250 athletes from 24 countries are set to compete, including powerhouse nations such as Norway, Germany, Sweden and Italy.
The last time the IBU World Cup was in town was 2019 before the new renovations at the Canmore Nordic Centre occurred. The new biathlon facility is open for the event.
For more information, visit www.canmorebiathlon.ca.
Canmore Biathlon World Cup Schedule (all times MST)
Thursday (March 14)
Women’s 7.5km sprint at 10:40 a.m.
Friday (March 15)
Men’s 10km sprint at 10:40 a.m.
Saturday (March 16)
Women’s 10km pursuit at 11:10 a.m.
Men’s 12.5km pursuit at 3:10 p.m.
Sunday (March 17)
Women’s 12.5km mass start at 11:10 a.m.
Men’s 15km mass start at 3:20 p.m.
