Squamish biathletes secured places on the podium in March at the Canadian Biathlon Nationals/North American IBU Continental Cup Championships 2023.
The event, which took place from March 13 to 19 in Valcartier, Que., showcased the talents of local athletes Jasper Fleming, Lucas Clements, Jojo Ng and Josie Clifford. The head coach was Sarah McCaw, who is also a Squamish resident.
The Sea to Sky Nordics’ Singjo ‘Jojo’ Ng took third place in the senior boys’ 7.5-kilometre mass start. With a final time of 33:21.6 and 60 points, Ng was just seconds behind his fellow Nordic teammate, Graham Benson. Benson, a Whistler athlete, had a time of 33:04.0 and racked up 75 points.
The winner of that event was Luke Hulshof, an athlete from Calgary’s Foothills Nordic Ski Club. He had a time of 32:12.6 and earned 90 points.
Ng’s strong performance didn’t stop there, however.
He placed 6th in the senior boys’ six-kilometre sprint race, clocking in a time of 21:08.6 and 40 points.
In the senior boys’ 7.5-kilometre pursuit, Ng took 8th place, and in the single mixed relay took 7th together with Gabby Hoehn of Prince George.
Another notable Squamish performance came from Lucas Clements, who placed in the Top 10 twice during the event.
Clements nabbed 7th in the senior boys’ six-kilometre sprint with a time of 21:16.6 and 36 points. He also took 10th in the relay with Iona Cadell of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, based in Prince George.
In the senior girls’ 7.5-kilometre mass start, Josie Clifford took 14th place with a time of 39:58.1 and 27 points. She took 14th again in the relay race in the youth 7.5-kilometre single mixed relay.
Local Jasper Fleming raced up and placed 6th with a time of 34:35.9 and 40 points in the 10-kilometre youth men mass start. He took 8th in the sprint. Finally, in the mixed relay, he and his teammate Nicole Hamp of Burns Lake took 10th place.
