Christian Gow

Biography

Christian Gow was part of Canadian biathlon history at the 2016 IBU World Championships where he, along with older brother Scott, Nathan Smith, and Brendan Green, won bronze in the 4×7.5km relay. It was Canada’s first ever men’s relay medal at the worlds. Gow skied the leadoff leg and put Canada in a great position by shooting cleanly, making it one of his best ever races from a personal perspective. Two years later he made his Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 where his best solo result was 26th place in the 20km individual event. 

At Beijing 2022, Gow was part of the men’s 4×7.5km relay team that finished sixth for Canada’s best ever Olympic result in the event. Among his other highlights were a 12th place finish in the 10km sprint and a 13th place finish in the 15km mass start. He was the top Canadian in both events.

Gow made his debut at the IBU World Championships in 2015 and has competed there every year since. He achieved his first solo top-20 finish in 2020 when he placed 20th in the 20km individual event. He a recorded career-best result at the world championship in 2021 when he finished 11th in the mass start. 

Gow began competing on the IBU World Cup circuit in 2014-15. He posted the best solo result of his career in 2018-19 when he finished eighth in the pursuit in Soldier Hollow, Utah in February. That came shortly after his first career World Cup top-10 finish in a 15km individual event in Canmore. He posted another 10th-place finish in the 20km individual event during the 2021-22 season opener is Oestersund, Sweden.  

Gow first represented Canada internationally at the 2010 IBU Youth World Championships. He also made appearances at the youth worlds in 2011 and 2012 before competing at the IBU Junior World Championships in 2013 and 2014. His highlight at the latter was a sixth-place finish in the individual event. 

In 2011, Gow was a double medallist for Team Alberta at the Canada Winter Games, winning pursuit silver and individual bronze to share the podium with his brother in both events. 

A Little More About Christian

Getting into the Sport: Was first introduced to biathlon at age 8 and started competing at age 9… He and older brother Scott signed up on the same day but independent of each other… Joined the Rocky Mountain Racers at age 11… Has wanted to be an Olympian since a coach showed him a video of the best biathletes in the world in one of his first training sessions ever… Outside Interests: Would maybe like to pursue a career in finance or engineering after he finishes in biathlon… Enjoys reading and playing card games with teammates during the competitive season… In the off-season likes playing video games, mountain biking, playing spikeball, and disc golf… Odds and Ends: Tries to collect Zippo lighters from his travels… Favourite quote: “One moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory” – Louis Zamperini…