Remember Megan Tandy?
If not, here's a quick refresher: at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she was Canada's top female athlete in the sport of biathlon.
Now, she needs help as she continues down the road to Sochi, Russia, which will host the 2014 Winter Games a few months from now.
More on that in a moment. First, the details on Tandy's past accomplishments and the path her life took after those memorable days at Whistler Olympic Park.
At the 2010 Games, Tandy placed 46th out of 98 competitors in the 7.5-kilometre race. With that result, she was the only Canuck (and the first in history) to qualify for the 10km pursuit. In the pursuit, Tandy was 36th in a field of 60. Then, in a 15km event, she placed 50th out of 87, which again was the best result for a Team Canada member. Finally, in a four-person relay race that covered six kilometres, she skied the anchor leg for Canada and moved her team from 17th place to 15th.
Tandy was 21 years old -- the youngest member of the Canadian women's biathlon team -- when she made her shining debut at the Olympics.
And yes, she's from Prince George. Tandy started her biathlon career at age 12 as a member of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. Under the tutelage of coaches Fiona Coy and Jeremy Campbell, she developed the skills and work ethic that helped take her to Team B.C. and eventually to Team Canada.
For many here in P.G., Tandy dropped off the radar after the 2010 Olympics, and understandably so. After all, the hype of the Games was over and everybody got back to their regular lives. Also, Tandy was living in Squamish at the time -- not too far away geographically, but, for folks in Prince George, she may as well have been on the moon. Then, just weeks after the Games, Tandy married the man who had been her coach in Biathlon B.C.'s high performance program, iLmar Heinicke, and the two repeated their vows later that spring in his hometown of Klingenthal, Germany.
Tandy -- er, Heinicke -- has lived in Germany ever since. She's now 25 years old and has a young son, Predo, who was born in November of 2010.
Heinicke resumed her training not long after Predo's birth and got herself back into international competition. Right now, she's in Oestersund, Sweden, for the first World Cup races of the season. She's one of four Canadians at the event (the others being Zina Kocher, Rosanna Crawford and Megan Imrie) and if she finishes top-two in the group she'll be well on her way to a Team Canada spot for the Sochi Olympics.
For Heinicke, the other challenge regarding her Sochi aspirations has been financial in nature. Because she resides in Germany, where her hubby works as a coach (he lost his coaching gig in B.C. when federal funding for the high performance program was cut after the 2010 Games), she doesn't qualify for assistance from Sport Canada. With money tight, it has been tough for Heinicke to do the full-time training and traveling necessary for someone with Olympic ambitions. And, of course, there have been the day-to-day living expenses. The Heinickes have received support from their own families and from corporate sponsors but things have still been difficult.
So, she decided to reach out for some help.
Heinicke has her own website (www.meganheinicke.com) and on it is a link to another site called pursu.it. The pursu.it page serves as a fundraising engine and Heinicke is hoping it will help her generate $7,500 in advance of the Sochi Olympics. She's closing in on her financial goal but will benefit from as much support as possible. Her pursu.it site has been live since Nov. 2 and will be open until Dec. 31.
Heinicke says she's in the best shape of her life. When she gets to Sochi (let's think positively here) she'll be aiming for a top-16 finish. Such success would be unprecedented in Canadian Olympic history.
Backing Heinicke through her pursu.it campaign is an opportunity to be part of her Olympic dream. For those who are interested in helping out, there are multiple options -- ranging from a simple show of moral support to being an official season sponsor. In return, Heinicke is offering various "givebacks."
Prince George jumped behind Heinicke in a big way when she was preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Fifth & Carney Subaru even gave her a two-year free lease of an Impreza hatchback, a gesture that was enhanced by offerings from several other local businesses.
Now, even though Heinicke is on the other side of the world and is pointed directly at Russia, her hometown has the chance to be right by her side once again.
