HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-05-16, Page 2PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019.
After 11 years of skiing, seven of
those as a world-class biathlete,
Huron County native Erin Yungblut
is hanging up her skis and rifle and
moving into the next phase of her
life.
The former F.E. Madill Secondary
School student has lived in
Canmore, Alberta since her late
teens. She first competed as a
member of the Canadian Junior team
and then, when she was 21, raced on
the Canadian International Biathlon
IBU (International Biathlon Union)
Cup Team, as well as on the World
Cup Team and at multiple European
and World Junior Championships.
This year, however, Yungblut, now
25, felt the flame of competition that
has driven her over the past 10 years
begin to flicker. Yungblut had always
promised herself she would move on
if that ever happened.
In an interview with The Citizen,
Yungblut said that when she last
competed, she knew when she
crossed the finish line that
the passion she held for biathlon
simply wasn’t there any longer.
She said she knew she could
continue to push her body and her
determination could potentially
carry her through to further success,
but that she just didn’t have
the burning fire she needed to
live the elite athlete lifestyle any
longer – that passion, and an
aerobic engine, were her biggest
assets as an elite athlete for her years
of competition.
This comes at the end of a
decorated 10-year career that began
in Wingham at F.E. Madill and took
Yungblut all over the world to
compete and train.
10 GREAT YEARS
Yungblut was considered a
latecomer to the sport. She began
skiing at 14 after spending her
childhood figure skating and
distance running, whereas most
skiers and biathletes are practically
born on skis with a rifle in their
hands, according to Yungblut,
starting on the snow before they’re
in school.
However, when she started she
immediately took to the sport and
her coaches saw her talent. It wasn’t
long after her first year that she was
training in Collingwood and caught
the eye of the Canadian Junior
national team. She then moved to
Canmore at 18 to further develop at
the National Development Centre
for Biathlon, and later with the
Rocky Mountain Racers elite ski
team.
Yungblut says that while she took
to skiing rather immediately, it was
when she first picked up a rifle that
her passion for biathlon specifically
truly ignited.
Before heading west, when she
was still training in Ontario,
Yungblut said she largely taught
herself to shoot, working away at a
coach’s home in the forests near
Duntroon, running around on
snowshoes and shooting at targets
stapled to trees.
It was that guerilla training that
really honed her skills for the formal
competitions to come.
When she moved to Canmore, in
the heart of the Rocky Mountains,
she began competing as a member of
the Canadian Junior national team.
When she turned 21, she was racing
full-time on the IBU Cup Team,
frequently on the cusp of racing full-
time on the World Cup and Olympic
team. Though still an extremely high
level of competition, racing the top
150 biathletes in the world, Yungblut
said she couldn’t quite seem to make
it over the hump for one reason or
another.
Through competing and training
with these teams, Yungblut was able
to travel all over the world for
competitions or training
opportunities. During her time as an
international biathlete, she made her
way to places such as Italy,
Germany, Poland, Austria, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and all through
Canada and the United States,
amongst other nations.
While she said that she
appreciated the beauty and culture of
many of the European countries
she’s visited, especially Italy and
Austria, she truly valued being able
to compete in international
competitions in North America
where the sport isn’t nearly as
popular as it is in Europe – biathlon
is actually the second-most televised
sport in the world, after soccer, and
European biathlon stars are like
NHL stars in Canada.
Yungblut said she loved the
people, the food and coffee of places
like Italy and Austria and the
enthusiasm of the often inebriated
fans in Germany, but that nothing
beat the beauty of competing or
training in locations like the Rocky
Mountains or Utah, Maine or closer
to home.
During that time, however, living
the life of an elite athlete truly took
its toll on Yungblut, both physically
and emotionally.
While she had to contend with
many injuries like any other athlete,
including a severely dislocated
shoulder in Italy in the winter of
2017/2018, resulting in surgery that
February, it was the havoc training
wreaked on her hormonal balance
that was truly the toughest to
overcome.
Yungblut said that whether it was
the extreme physical demands
(biathletes train many hours
annually – a high-volume sport) or
the restrictive diet, the regimented
training associated with being a
world-class biathlete threw her
hormones out of balance and led to
Yungblut retires after years as Canadian biathlete
A decorated career
Erin Yungblut spent her late teens and early 20s as a world-class biathlete, representing
Canada at a number of international competitions. Feeling life pull her in another direction,
however, she’s decided to hang up her skis and rifles and pursue another path. (Photo courtesy
of Cris Froese Pics)
Fast and Female
While “Fast and Female” could describe Huron native Erin
Yungblut, it’s also a charity aimed at empowering young
female athletes. She works in its communications
department. (Photo courtesy of Peter Collins Photography)
TICO # 50013932
263 Josephine St., Wingham
519-357-2228 • 888-667-3545
email: ship2shore@wightman.ca
Jeff’s clients can count on
Kendra, Carolyn and Sue
for all their future travel plans.
We would like to thank Jeff Nesbitt
for his service at Ship2Shore, and wish him
all the best with his future endeavours.
STEVEN NIXON
Broker
WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. L IMITED
Bus: 519-357-2222
Cell: 519-531-0252
Fax: 519-357-4482
Email: nixon@execulink.com
Web: www.stevennixon.com
249 Josephine St.,
WINGHAM, ON N0G 2W0
Serving the area
since 1999
Amazing location 1 1/2 storey 5 bedroom
home on a private 1.63 acre property.
Addition has open concept kitchen, dining
and family areas, beautiful original wood
flooring, 2 baths, wood/electric furnace, 2
covered decks, drilled well, incredible views.
Call Steve Nixon 519.357.2222
#17
39206 NATURE CENTRE RD.
$399,000.00
MLS# 30732943
NEW
L
I
S
T
I
N
G
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 3