Two Greater Vernon athletes can start thinking about the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Coldstream鈥檚 Emma Lunder (biathlon) and Vernon鈥檚 Kevin Hill (snowboard cross) were nominated in their respective sports by Canada鈥檚 governing bodies in the sports as well as the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Biathlon will take place from Feb. 5-19 (Days 1 to 15) at the Zhangjiakou Biathlon Centre, and snowboard will run Feb. 5-15 at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou and at the Big Air Shougang in Beijing.
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee鈥檚 Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
Hill will be competing in his third Olympic Games, having previously represented Canada at Sochi, Russia in 2014, and PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018. He was the top Canadian in men鈥檚 snowboard cross at Sochi 2014, finishing second in the Small Final for eighth place overall after an unfortunate crash kept him out of the Big Final.
In his second Olympic appearance, Hill was a quarterfinalist.
Lunder will be appearing in her second Games, having competed in PyeongChang where she helped the Canadian relay squad to a top-10 finish.
鈥淏eing nominated to a second Olympic Games feels amazing,鈥� said Lunder on the Biathlon Canada website. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a great team behind me for the last four-plus years helping me achieve this goal, and I have so much gratitude for all of the teammates, coaches, staff, family, and friends who have been with me on my journey.鈥�
Bet 馃憦 on 馃憦 yourself 馃憦
鈥� CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) January 11, 2022
Biathlete @EmmaLunder has her eyes on the podium for #Beijing2022 馃憖
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Lunder started the 2021-22 season off with a career best sixth-place finish in the women鈥檚 15km individual event. She had finished the 2020-21 season with two top-10 World Cup finishes which helped rank her 26th in the world.
Team Canada has won three Olympic medals in biathlon 鈥� two golds from Lillehammer 1994 and a bronze in the debut of women鈥檚 biathlon at Albertville 1992 鈥� all by Myriam B茅dard.
READ MORE: Vernon biathlon veteran relishes role with national team
READ MORE: Hill wins Winter X Games Snowboard Cross
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