Yukon’s Nadia Moser has another monumental season in her sights.
With three consecutive podium finishes last week, the 18-year-old biathlete has been offered a spot on Team Canada for the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships, Biathlon Canada told the News.
It sounds like she will accept the invitation.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” said Moser. “I’m really happy about it. Really excited about the experience. I’m looking forward to it.”
Moser punched her ticket for the worlds by winning gold, silver and bronze over three races at the Calforex Cup #2/world youth/junior trials races in Canmore, Alta.
She kicked off the medal spree with gold in the youth women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint with a time of 24.35.4 - 22.2 second ahead of the silver medalist.
In the race, Moser she cleaned house in both trips to the range. Only one of the other 16 racers in her division accomplished that and only five of the 78 racers on the day, across all divisions, cleaned both.
The race stands out, “Not because I won but because I cleaned the race,” said Moser. “That’s just how I shot. I didn’t do anything differently.”
Moser then picked up a silver in Saturday’s six-kilometre sprint, shooting 80 per cent and taking second by only 11.6 seconds.
On Sunday she snagged bronze in the 7.5-kilometre pursuit, pegging 14 out of 20 in four journeys to the range.
The bronze actually marked four medals in four races. The previous weekend she won bronze in the youth women six-kilometre sprint at the Calforex Cup #1.
Biathlon Canada can send a team of 16 biathletes to the youth/junior worlds that begin at the end of January in Cheile Gradistei, Romania.
With her three most recent results it was all but a certainty she would land one of the four youth female spots. But you never know…
A year ago Moser won silver en route to placing fourth overall in the division at last year’s trials. But Biathlon Canada decided to send a larger team of juniors (19- and 20-year-olds) and Moser was denied a spot.
On the bright side, by not competing at last season’s youth worlds Moser could race for Yukon at the Canada Winter Games and would go on to make history.
Moser captured Yukon’s first-ever medal in biathlon at the 2015 Games in Prince George, B.C., eventually leaving with a silver and two bronze. She was the only Yukon athlete to win three medals at the Games.
She pulled off a similar feat the previous year at the 2014 Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks - coming away as the only Yukoner to capture three gold.
Following her performances in Prince George, Moser went on to win two silver at the Canadian Biathlon Championships.
She then moved to Canmore in July to train full-time at the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre.
“It’s wonderful to hear that Nadia has been nominated to the Canadian YJWCH team! She is a remarkable athlete,” said Biathlon Yukon coach Laurie Jacobsen. “She has always set challenging goals for herself and then believed she could accomplish them. She is a good example to the younger athletes at Biathlon Yukon; they see that she works hard and loves this sport. She has adapted well to life away from the Yukon and seems to be thriving at the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre. We are all very excited for her and wish her the best of luck as she takes her first steps into International competition!”
Moser will be only the second Yukon biathlete to compete at the youth/junior worlds next month. Whitehorse’s Erin Oliver-Beebe became the first four years ago in Finland.
“Thanks to Biathlon Yukon and everyone who supported me in Atlin,” added Moser, who is originally from the northern B.C. community and moved to Whitehorse at the start of high school.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com