This year's Western Canadian Biathlon Championships (WCBC) yielded a flurry of success for local contenders, who earned a grand total of 20 medals.
Among them was Mia Rodger, who authored two of the meet's most dramatic victories in a spirited head-to-head with Cheyenne Tirschmann.
Rodger edged out her rival from Biathlon Yukon by 1.8 seconds in the youth women's sprint on Friday, Jan. 24 (with everybody else more than 18 seconds behind the pace). Rodger next prevailed by 7.6 seconds over Tirschmann in Saturday's mass start. Both are headed to Östersund, Sweden in late February to represent Canada at the World Youth Championships.
"Mia's dad actually was the race organizer and apparently she's really good friends [with Cheyenne]," remarked Sea to Sky Nordics board member Lesley Trivett. "It's pretty tight competition. [1.8 seconds] is not a lot, especially when you're looking at time on the range, transitions, potential penalties and all that kind of stuff."
Lucas Smith and Tyler Ng became the weekend's most decorated locals. Smith stood atop the open men's podium three times (once for sprint, twice in mass start), with Ng notching a trio of runner-up finishes.
Among U17 male sprinters, Reed Murray and his twin brother Max collected silver and bronze, respectively—the margin between them less than two seconds. Reed proceeded to win the U17 prone mass start, and Max was third again.
Other Sea to Sky medallists include Lucas Clements (youth men's mass start gold and sprint silver), Alexander Hatloe (junior men's silver in both disciplines) and Taje Hansen (bronze, youth men's mass start).
Ivan Pozniak placed second and third in the adult 3 men's category and Graham Tutti contributed a third-place result of his own.
"Honestly I am impressed by the athletes overall, especially since it feels like our winter training had a slower start [no thanks to lower snow levels]," said Sea to Sky Nordics head biathlon coach Sarah McCaw. "I am even more impressed by our community of parents and families that continue to support these events even when their athletes have moved on from the sport. I think it speaks volumes about the impact the sport of biathlon has on athletes and what a close group we are.
"It was a terrific event and the many clubs have expressed their gratitude and appreciation to the organizing committee."
'Nothing beats Whistler Olympic Park'
A total of 136 athletes, including 22 from Sea to Sky Nordics and the Whistler Nordic Development Centre, participated in the WCBC this time around. Visitors stopped by from across British Columbia and Canmore, Alta., Winnipeg, Man., Lumsden, Sask., Hay River, N.W.T., Whitehorse, Yukon, and two American cities (Middleton, Wisc. and Granby, Colo.) as well as Villard de Lans, France.
How did the event reach as far abroad as France? Masters athlete Pierre Duflon, at one point a Sea to Sky resident, brought a group together to revisit his old stomping grounds.
More than 50 volunteers helped things run on schedule, including youth from Whistler Secondary School (WSS) and the region's downhill skiing programs.
"It speaks to the venue and the community, the relationships we've built over the years," Trivett said. "Nothing beats Whistler Olympic Park on a groomed, beautiful day when we have the right snow, and the park has done an amazing job even given the dry spell. It's nice to see intersport support across the board, especially since biathlon isn't the usual thing people think of when they think about Whistler.
"Other kids who were performing this weekend didn't make the podium, but had strong results and I think that speaks to the quality of our coaching and talent. Our head coach, Sarah, is seeing kids she taught when they were seven now competing at the World Cup level. We're super pleased with the results and what we're seeing out of our alumni as well."
For more results from the 2025 WCBC, visit zone4.ca/event/2025/O0DbrE.
