Olympic Hopefuls - Biathlon

Imrie is a biathlete by trade, a recognized Manitoban, a bit of a hero in her hometown of Falcon Lake, and certain to be one of the country’s shining stars at the 2010 Games. While the biathlon team hasn’t officially been named yet, she has made all of her Olympic qualifications and is sure to be there.

At the end of her last race at the World Cup in March, she was still one secondoff the time she needed to finish where she was hoping to. She sat down with her coach, discouraged at not being able to shave that second off, and her coach told her that even so, with all her hard work, she had made her qualifications. “At that moment I could breathe a sigh of relief,” she says.

For Megan, the road to the Olympics at the tender age of seven when she joined an after-school biathlon program. Becoming a member of the “Biathlon Bears” introduced her to cross-country skiing and shooting, playing a big part into the person she is today. “My hometown is really an incredible example of community and community support,” she says of Falcon Lake. While her parents encouraged the physical activity and healthy lifestyle, “Really, having fun was the bottom line,” she explains.

 

The biggest challenge she has had to overcome so far was finding the funding to allow her to live and breathe the sport. While she has sponsors, the cost of 24/7 training can add up.

Last year the female biathletes began brainstorming to come up with an idea that could help them raise the funds they needed. Someone threw out the idea of a nude calendar, to which everyone laughed but didn’t take seriously. As more and more ideas were cast aside though, suddenly the idea of a nude calendar wasn’t sounding quite so outrageous. Soon after, “Bold, Beautiful Biathlon” was created, a nude calendar featuring Canada’s female biathletes. “All of a sudden we were excited to do something that would leave a good impression on young people,” Imrie explains.

The women decided that not only would the calendar be a great fundraiser, it could be used to help promote a more realistic image of what real, healthy women should look like. The calendar was an instant smash, selling out of all 6,000 copies.

When asked what she’s most excited about when heading to the Olympics, Imrie pauses, then laughs, “About five minutes ago I got my first glimpse of our uniforms…it’s when you realize that you’ll be the one walking with "Canada" on your back. It’s a dream come true. I’ve been thinking about this for 10 years.”

Imrie says she wouldn’t hesitate to say that growing up in Manitoba helped mold her into the person and athlete she is today. “Training time with all those mosquitoes makes you tough,” she jokes. In reality though, she says her youth spent on her parent’s ranch, weeding gardens, shoveling manure, and doing chores, “Keeps you humble and reminds you where you came from.”

When trying to decide whether she should come home for Christmas this year or to keep up with her training, home finally won out: “I need to be able to recharge my batteries and get a dose of soul food before my next big pursuit,” she explains. “It’s just such a storybook image to go home to.”

Her advice to young women who might aspire to get to the Olympics themselves? “I would say that persistence and passion for what you do are the most important things. You have to love it, even when things hurt.”

Megan shares one last story: When I was about 14 I was sitting with my coach and his wife had Winnipeg Women magazine sitting on the table. There was an athlete on the front–I think it was Clara Hughes–and he said ‘You know what? You’ll be on the cover of that magazine one day,’ and I just remembered that moment.”