Brendan Green says goodbye to 'amazing' Olympics

The Olympics may be over, but one northern athlete doesn't plan to rest anytime soon.

Brendan Green is originally from Hay River, Northwest Territories.

In Sochi this year, he raced six times as a member of Canada’s biathlon team.

On Saturday, the men’s relay team placed 7th overall.

Green says that was a strong finish for the team — and he couldn't ask for a better experience.

“It’s been absolutely amazing,” Green says.  

“This has been a really special Olympics for me, mainly because of the journey to get here," he says, referring to double back surgery he had in 2012. "It's been a really rollercoaster ride... so many 'what if's' and question marks as to whether I'd be able to return to racing, let alone qualify for the Olympic team, so, yeah, I'm feeling pretty happy right now."

Green says the support from his home town has made a difference. People in Hay River gathered early Saturday morning to watch the relay race.

“I must be one of the few athletes with a fan base that dedicated, to wake up that early,” Green says. “It’s so cool.”

Green had many strong finishes during the game, including coming in as the fastest Canadian in both the men’s 15K and men’s 20K individual events.

A highlight for Green was the mixed relay — the first time the event has been included in the games, where he grabbed the baton from his girlfriend and teammate, Rosanna Crawford.

“Not too many people can say that they’ve done an Olympic race with their girlfriend.”

Green and Crawford plan to spend five days training in Italy before heading to the World Cup. They’ll spend another five weeks in Europe traveling to Slovenia, Finland and Norway.  

Then Green plans to head home to Hay River for the ski races happening there in late March.