Sixteen-year-old biathlon skier Emily Dickson is having a season to remember.
Dickson, a Lakes District resident currently attending sports school in Prince George, has enjoyed success in the past, but nothing quite like her achievements in February and March of this year.
Her latest string of solid performances started late last month, when she traveled to Prince Edward Island to participate in Biathlon Canada’s junior national team trials. While younger than most participants, she nonetheless earned a spot on the youth women’s (age 17-18) team, and a chance to compete at the 2014 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Junior Championships in Presque Isle, Maine.
Competing against more than 70 of the best young biathlon skiers from 30 countries didn’t intimidate the Burns Lake girl. On Feb. 28, she finished 16 in the Youth Women’s 6 km Sprint event, then followed it up on March 2 by placing 20th in the 7.5 km Pursuit.
Two days later, on March 4, she finished 30 in the Youth Women’s 10 km Individual race, easily eclipsing her 54th placing of a year ago. She and her teammates then combined their talents to finish 10th in the Youth Women’s 3x6 km relay.
The IBU world championships ended in early March, but Dickson wasn’t finished competing. She packed her bags and headed for the Canadian National Biathlon Championships in Charlo, New Brunswick, where she met up with her teammates from BC.
The nationals gave Dickson a chance to compete against the best Canadians in her own age group, the senior girls. She didn’t disappoint, earning a silver in the 6 km Sprint, a gold in the 7.5 km Pursuit, and a bronze in the 3x4.5 km relay. Then, to end the competition in fine form, she overcame a good, old-fashioned Maritime blizzard en route to a gold medal finish in the Senior Girls 7.5 km Individual race.
Most skiers would have called that a season, but Dickson then traveled to Corner Brook, Newfoundland to participate Cross-Country Ski Canada’s 2014 Haywood Ski Nationals. She stowed her biathlon rifle for these events, which are for strictly cross-country skiers and don’t involve shooting.
Despite the fact that her skis didn’t arrive until two hours before the 10 km skating race on March 18, she managed to win the event, beating more than 50 other skiers in her age group.
The following day, a sprint race was held to determine the 30 qualifiers for a sprint skate race. By this time, Dickson had already completed five races in six days, yet still had enough left in her legs to qualify by finishing 30, and went on to place 20 in the event.
The Haywood Ski Nationals junior girls’ 7.5 km Classic Mass Start was Dickson’s final race. As a biathlon competitor, Dickson always races using the free (skating) technique, and only employs the ‘classic’ skiing for recovery or cross-training. Yet while she might not have the experience of other cross-country racers in this event, she still finished a respectable 27.
The event was fitting end to Dickson’s Maritime trip, which saw her race 14 times in 29 days.