P.E.I. biathlete in close competition for Olympic team spot
Kevin Yarr | CBC News | Posted: July 18, 2017 3:00 PM | Last Updated: July 18, 2017
'I need to beat one more person to go'
A 22-year-old biathalete from Bedeque, P.E.I., is one slot away from going to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next year.
Team Canada will be taking four men to compete in the event in Pyeongchang, and one alternate. Carsen Campbell is currently sitting in sixth place.
"Frustratingly close," said Campbell.
"I need to beat one more person to go, and then possibly two more to start. It's very close. It comes down to two races in November. It's about as high pressure as it really gets."
Campbell's goal now is to make the four-member World Cup team in November. If he does that, he said, his chances are really good to go to the Olympics. Team composition, however, can change as late as two weeks before the Games, which start in February.
Campbell said he's one of the best shooters in the country, but needs to work on his skiing speed.
Youngest in the top 6
The current top five biathletes are all older than Campbell. Campbell said this will likely be the last Olympics for Canada's top two, both of whom are already Olympic veterans.
Peak age for the sport is about 27, he said. Skiing speed tends to slow down after that.
That would put Campbell in his prime for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but he said he would love to have the experience of Pyeongchang behind him for Beijing.
While some spots ahead of him are likely to open up before 2022, Campbell said he will also have to keep ahead of younger biathletes coming up behind him.
Campbell is holding an eight-kilometre fun run this Saturday at Tea Hill, sponsored by P.E.I. Roadrunners, to do some fundraising for upcoming competitions.
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- An earlier version of this story said the fun run is on Sunday. In fact, it is on Saturday. July 18, 2017 3:27 PM