A teenage Hay River biathlete has won two gold medals at the sport’s Canadian and North American Championships in Quebec.
Kason Coombs, 14, won this month’s under-17 eight-kilometre mass start and six-kilometre sprint races in Valcartier. He took silver in the eight-kilometre pursuit.
“It means a lot, because I’ve been training for about five years and going to this event was super exciting,” Coombs told Cabin Radio.
“The competition was tough but I managed to work hard and it paid off.”
Hay River has been the NWT’s biathlon hub for decades through the efforts of residents like Chuck Lirette, Doug Swallow and the late Pat Bobinski.
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The town is represented on the Olympic map by Brendan Green, who went to three Olympic Games and won world relay bronze before retiring in 2019.
Coombs, a student at Hay River’s École Boréale, trains three times a week and tries to fit in as much cross-country skiing as possible after school and on weekends.
Ordinarily, competitive trips take him south to Alberta. He joined up with Team Yukon to travel to Valcartier, though he competed on behalf of the NWT while there.
Coaches Lirette and Swallow “really helped to start off my biathlon journey, they’ve been instrumental,” Coombs said, adding that lately, his mom Ashley has been coaching him.
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“It’s such a wonderful program and facility that we have here in Hay River,” said Ashley Coombs.
“Having Doug and Chuck lay down the foundation for that has been great. We’re essentially just really trying to keep a great thing going.
“The athletes are driven, they’re dedicated. They’ve got such spirit for the sport and it’s fantastic to see their appetite for competition. The hard work does pay off.”
The Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse next year will be a major milestone for Coombs, as is the opportunity to attend a development camp in Norway through the International Biathlon Union next month.
April also brings the sport’s territorial championships in Yellowknife.
In the longer term, Coombs has his sights set on the next Canada Winter Games, which would mean a return to Quebec in 2027.
