Five biathletes from Alberta and one from Yukon announced to Canada’s Gangwon 2024 biathlon team

CANMORE (December 21, 2023) – Biathlon Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s biathlon team selected to compete at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

The Team Canada biathlon team for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games is:

Athletes
Julia Bartlett (Calgary, Alta.)
Flora Csonka (Calgary, Alta.)
Dawson Ferguson (Camrose, Alta.)
Luke Hulshof (Calgary, Alta.)
Justin Konoff (Calgary, Alta.)
Cheyenne Tirschmann (Whitehorse, Yuk.)

The six athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their performances at the Canada National Team Trials that took place November 1-5 at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Athletes raced in three events and the top three overall in each gender category were selected for the Youth Olympic team. Luke Hulshof and Cheyenne Tirschmann were the top performers in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.

Tirschmann, the only biathlete on the Gangwon 2024 team from outside of Alberta, competed in both biathlon and cross-country skiing at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island earlier this year. She also competed as a cross-country skier at the 2023 Arctic Winter Games in Wood Buffalo, where she won a gold and a silver medal. Also a track and field athlete, Tirschmann competed in athletics – racing the 1500m, 5000m, and 4x400m women’s relay – at the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario.

“I am so excited to have the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea,” said Tirschmann. “I feel so much support and encouragement from the Yukon and Sovereign biathlon community and I am looking forward to getting my first international biathlon experience!”

Julia Bartlett, another Canada Games alumnus, won two medals at the 2023 Canada Winter Games – gold in the women’s sprint and silver in the women’s pursuit — and is a member of Biathlon Canada’s National Youth/Junior Team.

Flora Csonka, the only athlete on the Gangwon 2024 team with previous international racing experience, competed in the Junior IBU Cup in Haanja, Estonia and Madona, Latvia this past February. The five other biathletes will make their international debut at Gangwon 2024, having the opportunity to begin their international racing career at the same venue that was used during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Team Canada has competed in biathlon at all three previous editions of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Stuart Harden earned Team Canada’s highest YOG biathlon result to date, placing fourth in the men’s sprint at Innsbruck 2012. To date, Team Canada has converted one Youth Olympic biathlete into an Olympian – Sarah Beaudry, who competed at the Innsbruck 2012 edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, and competed at both the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Biathlon will take place January 20 to 24 (Day 1 to 5) at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

“Congratulations to the six athletes named today to Canada’s Gangwon 2024 biathlon team,” said Lisa Weagle, Team Canada’s Gangwon 2024 Chef de Mission. “Your journey embodies the true essence of sport – courage, perseverance, and the pursuit of dreams. As Chef de Mission, I am looking forward to cheering you on in Gangwon as you experience the thrill and honour of wearing the maple leaf in international competition.”

Team Canada’s biathlon alternate athletes and coaches for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games are:

Coaches
Rachel Koroscil (Sandy Lake, Man.) – Coach
Etienne Letondeur (Whistler, B.C.) – Coach

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are the world’s largest multi-sport event for high-performance young athletes aged 15 – 18. Gangwon 2024 will begin on January 19 and will end on February 1, 2024 and will feature 1900 athletes. Gangwon 2024 will be the fourth edition of the Winter YOG and the first in Asia. It will have a fully gender-balanced sporting program, and will feature seven sports, 15 disciplines, and a total of 81 events. 

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organisations.

The latest Team Canada Gangwon 2024 roster can be found here, and additional press resources can be found here.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Tyson Wellock, Director of Development and High Performance
Biathlon Canada
C: 613-614-6363
E: twellock@biathloncanada.ca 

Tara MacBournie, Team Canada Gangwon 2024 Communications Lead
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca