Another strong season for Telemark athletes
The Telemark biathlon team is sending four senior athletes to represent B.C. at this week’s national championships in Canmore, Alta., which begin today and run through March 12.
Natalie Benoit, Danica Ariano, Colton Hay and Jasper MacKenzie will be competing at nationals.
Telemark alumni Julia Ransom is enjoying a breakthrough season on the elite circuit, with a personal-best 18th-place finish in the individual competition at the recent world championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. Ransom, from Kelowna, also placed 44th in Saturday’s event at the 2018 Olympic course in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Closer to home on the B.C. Cup series, Telemark biathletes achieved top results in competitions held throughout the province.
The team travelled to Burns Lake for the final competition on Feb. 11-12, where Benoit and Makenna Banser both finished first in their respective senior and junior girls categories, while Kira Friesen (junior girls) took second in both the individual and pursuit competitions.
Ariano (senior girls) placed fifth on the first day of racing and improved to fourth on the second day.
Rory Hay (junior boys) placed fifth both days, while older brother Colton (senior boys) finished second in each of the competitions.
Telemark biathletes also competed at events in Whistler and Quesnel in January after hosting the first stop of the series in West Kelowna back in December.
On Sunday, Telemark hosted the public for a demo day and fun race for those wanting to try their hand at the Olympic sport.