麻豆社区

Ryan Burlingame will be the only biathlete wearing the Yukon colours at the national biathlon championships in Whistler, B.C., this year.

The championships will begin Friday and run until the end of the month and Burlingame will compete in three events 鈥� a sprint pursuit race this weekend, and both an individual and mass start later next week.

While the 21-year-old knows competing in the senior men's class will be difficult, he is proud to be representing the territory at the event.

"It means a lot,鈥� he said this morning. "There aren't that many (biathletes) in the Yukon. When I get to go down south and wear the Yukon colours, there's definitely a lot of pride. It's kind of letting the rest of the country know on a small scale that 鈥榟ey guys, we're up here, and we're still doing it.'鈥�

Burlingame, a Whitehorse native, has been enjoying a dream season as a senior with the University of Alberta's Augustana Vikings in Camrose, Alta.

The former Porter Creek resident recently won two gold medals at the Western Canadian Biathlon Championships in North Battleford, Sask.

Burlingame won his golds while competing in the men's division. He won both races 鈥� a mass start and a sprint.

"It was actually quite an interesting course,鈥� he admitted. "One would consider that Saskatchewan would be flat, but they managed to find some of their only hills and made us go up them. It was actually super fun and I was pretty pleased with the results.鈥�

Burlingame said his shooting has been consistent this year, allowing him to increase his performance.

The two golds were a "nice little top-off to a five spree,鈥� Burlingame admitted. Including his previous Alberta Cup races, the biathlete won five straight gold medals before having his streak snapped at a meet in Hinton last weekend.

He and his longtime teammates Alex Frost and Devin Bergquist finished behind the pack due to a trail error that saw them ski a longer distance. It was the last race the three seniors would compete in together as Vikings.

The golden streak began in Edmonton, continued through Camrose, and finished in North Battleford.

Seven years ago, the young athlete melded his two sporting loves 鈥� skiing and shooting 鈥� together, and began competing in biathlon.

The environmental science student will return to Augustana next year for a "victory lap,鈥� he said. Burlingame is aiming to compete for the Vikings at the World University Games slated for December in Trentino, Italy.

The upcoming national championships will serve as trials for the university games.

"That's my goal for nationals, is to make the World University Games cut,鈥� he said.

鈥撯赌撯赌�

High performance biathlete Erin Oliver-Beebe shot the lights out at the Yukon Biathlon Championships Feb. 24.

"It was great to see her out racing again,鈥� said Mary-Jane Oliver, vice president of Biathlon Yukon.

In total, 24 biathletes competed at the Grey Mountain Biathlon Range.

While Oliver-Beebe competed in the Masters men's six-km sprint, other winners included Land Pearson (men's six-km sprint), Tristan Sparks (senior boys six-km sprint), Nadia Moser (senior girls six-km sprint), Liam Adel (junior boys 4.5-km sprint), and Maria Peters (junior girls 4.5-km sprint).

In the pre-junior 2.4-km categories, Micah Taggart-Cox and Dana Sellars finished first in their respective categories.

Ryan Thompson and Alexandria Duchaine won the Cadet junior categories, which included a 4.5-km sprint.

Thompson and fellow Air Cadet Gordon Taylor's performances qualified them for a national biathlon competition in Valcartier, Que.

The two members of the 551 Squadron represented the region.