For Megan Tandy, an eight-year veteran of the World Cup biathlon circuit, it was the chance of a lifetime.
She was going home to race on Canadian soil in Canmore, where there hasn't been a World Cup biathlon event since 1994. But with one stumble in the snow on a training run just three days before her race, Tandy's season came to an end. She broke a scaphoid bone below her thumb trying to break her fall.
"The timing could not have been worse, it's just lot of bad luck," said Tandy. "I went for a jog on the snow-packed trails around a lake here and my foot broke through the crust of the snow unexpectedly. I stumbled forward and I caught myself with my hands outstretched and I must have done it in perfectly the wrong way. I can't believe that was enough to break a bone."
Tandy now must wear a cast for the next six-to-eight weeks if it heals well, but it could be as many as 12 weeks. Either way, her season is over.
"This injury was a season-ender, it's frustrating and disappointing and I can't do anything and it's unfortunate," said Tandy, who lives in Germany with her five-year-old son Predo. "This feels like it's been a brutal season. That means I've lost my opportunity to qualify for federal funding."
Tandy is worried about her Sport Canada A-level funding being withdrawn because she did not meet the criteria of two top-16 or three top-30 World Cup finishes. But Biathlon Canada plans to lobby on her behalf to keep $1,500 per month funding intact and keep the two-time Olympian on the senior team.
"I've had talks with Megan and she is extremely motivated to bounce back from this and put together some better training next year and come back stronger than she has been," said Eric de Nys, high performance director for Biathlon Canada.
"We do have an injury provision in our carding criteria and I'm confident she'll have some carding moving forward. It's kind of sad to say but an injury like that kind of draws attention to yourself and maybe somebody with deep pockets will say, "We're going to help you out.'"
Tandy posted three top-12 World Cup finishes last season and was part of the women's relay team that finished eighth at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. This season, her only top-30 World Cup result came in the first World Cup Ostersund, Sweden in early-December when she 25th in the pursuit. She also shared in a 10th-place relay result later that month in Hockfilzen, Austria.
"Either this injury will actually turn into a career-ender and I won't have the federal funding and I'll have to realistically ask myself if it's a financially intelligent decision to continue my career until 2018 or there's a small chance I'll have some injury provision options," Tandy said. "But athletes who actually qualify have higher priority. It's there, but the likelihood is low.
"It still is my dream to continue until 2018 and until I know any more about the funding situation, my intention is to live and train and search for sponsors as if everything can go forward. If I have to make the decision that the sport's over, that's a decision I'll make in spring. I'll just have to cross my fingers that that glimmer of hope about sponsors will come through."
Although Tandy wasn't racing, she was on hand in Canmore after the races to interview the biathletes for local broadcasts over the public address system. She talked to Sarah Beaudry, her Prince George clubmate from the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, after she posted a career-best 38th-place finish in the sprint on Friday. Beaudry took the spot in the sprint that was reserved for Tandy.
"I interviewed her after her race and she was just glowing," said Tandy. "At least I got replaced by someone from Prince George and someone who I know is super-dedicated, high-energy, a super-awesome gal, and that was good to see."
Tandy planned to drive back to Prince George on Monday with her parents, Ed and Heather, to visit her family in her hometown for few days before she flies back to Germany.
