CANMORE – Biathlon selection trials are this week (Nov. 6, 8-9) in Canmore with those picked playing a crucial early season role for the national team’s 2026 Olympic aspirations.
Selections got off to a hot start Wednesday with skiing on Frozen Thunder’s snow track and picking off targets in the shooting range at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
In the women’s sprint (7.5km), the senior national team’s Nadia Moser finished in first place on nine-out-of-10 shooting. Paralympic champion Natalie Wilkie took silver (10/10), and Shilo Rousseau was third (9/10).
On the men’s side (10km), senior national team’s Adam Runnalls (8/10) and Logan Pletz (9/10) finished in first and second place, respectively. In third was Haldan Borglum (10/10).
The results after three days of racing determine who will land on which teams for the first tours of the World Cup, IBU Cup and FISU (student-athletes).
Aside from two World Cup starting positions being locked down from Canada’s top woman, Emma Lunder, and top man, Runnalls, there are fringe athletes fighting for five spots on the top circuit.
Although World Cup head coach Justin Wadsworth is confident that the senior national team athletes have a good opportunity to take the spots, but “it is biathlon,” he said, so nothing is a sure thing.
The first IBU World Cup tour will be particularly important for the men, who are desperately trying to scrounge up enough Nation Cup points to get a fourth starting spot for next season’s 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Points can be earned in individual and relay races, including the four-men and four-women relays.
Although the men currently only have three World Cup starting spots, while the women have four, so it will be more challenging for the men to make up points individually, which is where the relay comes in.
Canada’s fourth man will be available for World Cup relays this season and will be sent down to the feeder system, the IBU Cup, for individual races.
There are two opportunities in the first tour to gain valuable Nation Cup points – being a top-20 nation adds more World Cup starting spots.
“We do want four quota spots going into the Olympics, that’s one of our goals this year to try and get those four quota spots,” said Wadsworth.
Wadsworth added if they stay healthy, he is confident the men’s and women’s teams will be inside the top-20.
The selections pursuit takes place Friday (Nov. 8) and the sprint is Saturday (Nov. 9). Zone4 has the event’s latest start times, start lists and results.
