CALGARY -- Despite COVID-19 cases spiking around the world, Biathlon Canada is going ahead with plans to send a 10-member team to Europe to start the World Cup season.
The first stop is Kontiolahti, Finland where racing begins on Nov. 27. Finland has faired very well in its fight against coronavirus, with 19,647 total cases.
Justin Wadsworth is the head coach of the national biathlon team. He says they’ve been diligent around safety and have been proactive in dealing with COVID.
That’s why he feels confident about sending a team overseas.
“Right now we feel comfortable that we can get ourselves to the airport and over to Finland where the cases are actually quite low.” Wadsorth said.
"Once we’re there, we’re in a very tight and controlled environment."
A couple of weeks ago, several members of the Canadian ski cross team tested positive for coronavirus.
Jules Burnotte of Quebec was named to the men’s biathlon team last week. He says he isn’t worried about going to Finland. He’s more worried about the next three days in Alberta because cases are much higher here.
“Once we get there we’ll create a bubble," he said.
"The biggest thing I’d say is the last two days that we have to spend here and then the travel day. These are the last three days that we have to worry a bit about.”
The last time these biathletes got to race was about eight months ago, so they’re itching to get back on the course for real.
Emma Lunder says she’s confident about heading to Europe.
“I guess the way I’m kind of looking at is things are kind of bad here," she said.
"They’re also bad there so I would rather deal with it while also getting to race in the World Cup. I think with the protocols we’ve seen so far I feel pretty safe.”
Lundor had a very good season last year, with two Top 4 finishes, and says she would like to build on that and has some goals in mind.
“I feel quite good, I would say with my shape on the skis and also with my shooting right now,” Lundor said.
“Looking for more Top 10s for sure and maybe a relay podium.”
Burnotte is the only athlete from Quebec to make the Canadian team. He’s proud of that and says he also has some goals he’d like to achieve on the World Cup circuit.
“I’ve been tempted by the Top 20 last year. I never reached it," he said. "I would say that would be a pretty big goal for me.”
The Biathlon World Cup season is scheduled to run until March 21, 2021 with a race in Oslo, Norway.
In between they’ll be travelling to several countries so Biathlon Canada will be monitoring things as the season goes along.
