Two Greater Vernon athletes can start thinking about the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Coldstream’s Emma Lunder (biathlon) and Vernon’s Kevin Hill (snowboard cross) were nominated in their respective sports by Canada’s governing bodies in the sports as well as the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Biathlon will take place from Feb. 5-19 (Days 1 to 15) at the Zhangjiakou Biathlon Centre, and snowboard will run Feb. 5-15 at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou and at the Big Air Shougang in Beijing.
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
Hill will be competing in his third Olympic Games, having previously represented Canada at Sochi, Russia in 2014, and PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018. He was the top Canadian in men’s snowboard cross at Sochi 2014, finishing second in the Small Final for eighth place overall after an unfortunate crash kept him out of the Big Final.
In his second Olympic appearance, Hill was a quarterfinalist.
Lunder will be appearing in her second Games, having competed in PyeongChang where she helped the Canadian relay squad to a top-10 finish.
“Being nominated to a second Olympic Games feels amazing,” said Lunder on the Biathlon Canada website. “I’ve had a great team behind me for the last four-plus years helping me achieve this goal, and I have so much gratitude for all of the teammates, coaches, staff, family, and friends who have been with me on my journey.”
Bet 👏 on 👏 yourself 👏
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) January 11, 2022
Biathlete @EmmaLunder has her eyes on the podium for #Beijing2022 👀
Listen to the latest episode of the #PlayersOwnVoice podcast, hosted by @anastasure https://t.co/aEURyDGxUk pic.twitter.com/WLV1yRoDXi
Lunder started the 2021-22 season off with a career best sixth-place finish in the women’s 15km individual event. She had finished the 2020-21 season with two top-10 World Cup finishes which helped rank her 26th in the world.
Team Canada has won three Olympic medals in biathlon – two golds from Lillehammer 1994 and a bronze in the debut of women’s biathlon at Albertville 1992 – all by Myriam Bédard.
READ MORE: Vernon biathlon veteran relishes role with national team
READ MORE: Hill wins Winter X Games Snowboard Cross
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