While most of us don't want to be thinking about winter in the middle of May, Sarah Beaudry can hardly wait.
There's a good reason for that. In eight months, she's going on an all-expense-paid trip to Austria.
The 17-year-old Caledonia Nordic Ski Club member has been picked as one of four biathletes to represent Canada at the inaugural Youth Olympic Winter Games, Jan. 13-22 in Innsbruck, Austria.
"It's pretty exciting to be going to the first Youth Winter Olympics," Beaudry said. "It's going to be a super-awesome experience."
Beaudry competed internationally for the first time at the world youth/junior biathlon championships in January in the Czech Republic and a couple of weeks later went on to win three medals in four races at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax. She captured gold in the sprint race and won bronze in the individual race and the team relay.
The Youth Olympics will include three biathlon competitions -- a sprint, a pursuit, and a mixed team relay. Beaudry and Danielle Vrielink, 15, of Calgary will compete in the women's events, while Stuart Harden of Calgary and Aidan Miller, of Canmore, Alta., both 16 year olds, have been picked for the men's races.
"This is experienced group of young athletes that have made significant progress in our sport," said Joanne Thompson, executive director, Biathlon Canada. "Competing in the Youth Olympic Games will provide them with another opportunity for international competition to test their skills against the world's best in their age group, while gaining more confidence while developing into elite athletes."
Because there wasn't time to schedule a national-calibre race to beat the December 2011 deadline for picking the Canadian team, the national biathlon championships last March were used to determine the four biathletes. At that event, competing in the senior girls category in Charlo, N.B., Beaudry won two gold and a silver medal.
Last year, Beaudry picked up a $10,000 sponsorship from the Coast Inn of the North's Coast Arts and Athletic Program. The program works in partnership with Canadian Sport Centre Pacific and PacificSport's northern B.C. office in Prince George to identify a high-performance athlete who shows potential to excel while representing Canada in international events.
It didn't take her long to spend that money. Half of it was used to buy a new rifle and $3,800 of it was needed to cover her trip to the Czech Republic. The rest was spent on .22 shells and entry fees for training camps.
Two weeks ago, Beaudry started working out with 21 other high-performance athletes in the Ignite program, 5 1/2-month program sponsored by PacificSport which features gymnastics training to work on flexibility and body awareness, and running sessions and strength training.
Beaudry, a Grade 11 student at Duchess Park secondary school, is also running with the Prince George Track and Field Club. She was considering entering this week's North Central District high school track meet which starts Thursday at Masich Place Stadium if it doesn't conflict with a biathlon training camp in Canmore.
"I'm going to Canmore to train all summer with a new team they have at the biathlon training centre," Beaudry said. "I don't know where the North American summer biathlon championships are, but I'll try to attend those."
