Jasper Fleming and Taje Hansen both distinguished themselves at the 2024 Canadian Biathlon Championships. Moreover, robust showings by Hansen and his teammates pushed the Sea to Sky Nordics to second overall in club rankings.
Whistler Nordic Development Centre (WNDC) product Fleming came home from Hinton, Alta. with a medal of each colour around his neck. In his case, gold (pursuit), silver (sprint) and bronze (mass start) added up to an overall title in the youth men's division.
Hansen took the combined crown among senior boys with a three-medal effort of his own: two victories (pursuit, mass start) and a third place (sprint). He also paired up with Isla Cadell of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club to notch mixed relay gold.
"I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to race at Nationals in Hinton this past week," Hansen said in a press release. "A highlight would have to be winning the senior boys national aggregate and bringing home some great results. I am so proud of our team for placing second in the overall club aggregate.”
Other Sea to Sky podium finishers include Mia Rodger (bronze, youth women's sprint and mass start) and Graham Benson (silver, youth men's mass start). Jojo Ng (84 per cent) and Alexander Hatloe (88 per cent) secured the shooting accuracy awards for youth and junior men respectively.
Meanwhile, former Whistlerite Benita Peiffer collected two pieces of hardware for Team Canada: sprint silver and pursuit bronze.
“Sea to Sky Nordics had incredible performances at Nationals in Hinton," said head coach Sarah McCaw in a release. "The team vibes were high. Overall, I'm extremely happy with all the performances that have come from the athletes' dedication to the sport and many hours of training...in addition to the commitment from parents to support their athlete and the club. Anything can happen in biathlon. The athletes worked hard at every race!”
Full results from the Canadian Biathlon Championships are available online.
