SCOTT PERRAS BIATHLON
ONE IN A SERIES OF PROFILES OF SASKATCHEWAN ATHLETES COMPETING IN THE SOCHI OLYMPICS
Scott Perras isn’t certain of the precise moment that biathlon caught his eye, but he does know what triggered his interest.
“It was probably the rifle,” offered the Regina native. “I didn’t come from a family of hunters or shooters but if I told my parents I wanted to try the sport — which they were always encouraging us to do — they had to let me shoot.”
As it turned out, shooting was the least of his concerns.
“When I told my parents I wanted to do it, they said, ‘Well, if we buy you skis you’re doing it for the entire year,’ ” recalled Perras. “My first ski (he was thinking), ‘I can’t do this for the entire year, I hate it.’ But of course because I made the promise I had to keep doing it.”
Perras, 30, first tried biathlon at a recreational level when he was 15. He decided to get serious about four years later, with the initial goal of competing at the 2003 Canada Winter Games in New Brunswick.
“I definitely got my start in biathlon a little late,” he said. “The people who are my teammates now, the experience they had on me at that age is pretty significant. I had an opportunity to pursue Canada Games but I was in university at the time. I don’t know what logic allowed me to decide to leave university to pursue that but I did (laughs). It’s 10 years later now and I’ve qualified for the Olympics. It’s kind of funny.”
Perras is quick to credit his parents, Ed and Bev, for being supportive of his career path.
Looking back, he’s sure it wasn’t easy.
“They never really said what they were probably thinking,” he noted with a laugh. “They must have been scared. ‘What is this kid thinking? He quit school, now he’s moving to Canmore (to train with the national team). What is he doing?’ ”
The decision paid off quickly, starting with two bronze medals at the Canada Games.
“In 2003 I’m not sure I had any Olympic aspirations,” he said. “If I talked to some of my teammates, it seemed like they knew they wanted to be an Olympian from the age of three. Maybe because I grew up with a love of traditional Canadian sports like hockey and baseball, my aspirations more lied there. But biathlon was the one that presented an opportunity for me. I realized the Olympics was where I wanted to be when I saw it on TV but it seemed so far away. It’s hard to explain to people how far away I was at that time to where I am now.”
That first trip to the Canada Games might seem like a distant memory, but it still applies to his current situation.
“I do think about it sometimes when I’m thinking about Sochi,” he noted. “Nobody would have considered me a favourite there for any medal. I do have to keep in mind that if I take care of everything anything is possible and you never know what type of day you’re going to get. Sometimes there are performances where you really rise to the occasion.”
Perras punched his ticket to the Olympics by virtue of a 10th-place finish last year at a World Cup event in Germany. As for his goals heading into Sochi, he’s more focused on performance than results.
“My focus will be on the process and doing what needs to be done to get me in the best shape and best mental shape,” he said. “If I achieve all that, I can achieve a top 10 or better. But I’m not really too focused on the result at the end of the day. It’ll be on hitting my targets and skiing. If I do that I’ll be happy with whatever it is.”
Performance aside, Perras is also excited about his first time on the Olympic stage, viewing it as a reward for himself and everyone who helped him along the way. Since biathlon is immensely popular in Europe but flies under the radar in Canada, Perras is also looking forward to some mainstream exposure for the sport.
“It would be nice if there was more recognition so young kids could see it and get into it,” added Perras. “We’re all going to get a tremendous amount of motivation from (the extra attention in the Olympics). I’ve been to world championships many times but this is going to be a whole different stage.
“It’s the same guys I complete against week after week, but all of a sudden the world is watching.”