Sarah Beaudry was happy to touch down in Prince George after a whirlwind few weeks of travelling and competing in biathlon events.
"I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed after being away for over three weeks," said the 17-year-old, as she waited for her connecting flight home Monday at Vancouver International Airport.
Beaudry spent the weekend in La Patrie, Quebec where she competed at the North American Cup #4 combined with the junior and youth selection trials for the world championship. The senior at Duchess Park Secondary was selected to the youth world championship team for the second straight year after averaging 95.54 per cent in her best two-of-three races - a 6-km sprint and a 7.5-km pursuit - at La Patrie.
"I'm really hoping that this time I can have a good race when it counts and do well there," said Beaudry, who competed in the youth category - 17- and 18-year-olds - as a 16 year old at the worlds in the Czech Republic last year. "I'll still be competing against girls a year older than me but not two years older which will be nice."
Biathlon has athletes skiing a course and shooting at targets from a standing or prone position.
Beaudry arrived in Quebec for the Jan. 26 to 29 competition from Innsbruck, Austria where she took part in the inaugural 2012 Youth Winter Olympic Games from Jan. 13 to 22.
"The first day was a pretty good race I hit 15 [targets] and skied pretty good," she said about racing in Quebec. "Then it snowed a whole bunch so for the next race the snow was very soft so it was a pretty tough day. I didn't shoot well but I had a really good ski day."
The biathlete said she's still working on her consistency with her shooting. She finished Day 2 in Quebec in third place for youth, but was second among Canadians.
Biathlon Canada chose eight youth and eight junior athletes - four boys and four girls in each category - from the competition to represent the country at the world championship in Finland from Feb. 20 to 26. Beaudry is among three British Columbians selected.
In Austria Beaudry finished 22nd in the women's six-kilometre sprint with a time of 19 minutes 49.9 seconds (2:22.2 behind the leader) and moved up to 14th in the women's 7.5-km pursuit, finishing 5:04.1 behind the leader. In both races Beaudry finished second among Canadian athletes behind Danielle Vrielink.
The final event Beaudry competed in was the mixed relay with Vrielink, Aidan Millar and Stuart Harden. The finished ninth with a time of 1:17:29.7 (6:22.9 behind the German winners). Norway and France placed second and third respectively.
"It was so exciting being there and being with all the other Canadian teams," said Beaudry. "We got to know a lot of the other athletes in other sports and people from other countries. It was so exciting. It was done really well. Everything was organized well and it was really neat that it was the beginning of something that was so much fun. It was like the beginning of the fun."
In addition to her accomplishments on the ski course Beaudry learned Monday she was one of 12 youth that will be honoured by the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame at the awards banquet on March 31 at the Hart Community Centre.
"It's really neat that I can be recognized in Prince George for what I do," she said. "Prince George does so much for me and it's neat that they can see what I'm doing."
This weekend Beaudry is "pretty sure" she'll be skiing at the Otway Nordic Centre when the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club hosts the second BC Cup cross-country ski competition of the season Saturday and Sunday.
Beaudry leaves for Finland in mid-February.
