Click photo to enlarge
Olivia Thomson (14) of Wanaka, with her biathlon rifle and
cross-country skis. Photo by Marjorie Cook.
Rookie Wanaka biathlete Olivia Thomson celebrated her
14th birthday yesterday somewhere over the Indian Ocean, as she
flew to Europe to take up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The year nine Mt Aspiring College pupil is a crack shot with
the rifle and that drew the attention of International
Biathlon Union (IBU) coach Janez Vodiear, who was at the Snow
Farm this winter to run a training camp.
Vodiear has invited Olivia, the New Zealand Nordic Sports
Development Association 2009 rookie of the year, to European
IBU training camps this year.
The IBU is keen to support the development of the sport in
New Zealand, so agreed to assist Olivia and her father, Phil
Thomson, attend camps in Italy and Austria.
Biathlon combines target-shooting with cross-country skiing
and is a fledgling sport in New Zealand.
In Europe, it is the second-most popular spectator sport and
its followers will practise it anywhere - on wheels, on
man-made snow, even at night.
Sarah Murphy, who holds dual Canadian-New Zealand
citizenship, is New Zealand's best-known biathlete and is
competing internationally with the goal of qualifying for
February's Winter Olympics in Canada.
Olivia is still building her cross-country skiing, but her
smallbore rifle talents are beyond dispute - she won the
Wanaka Smallbore Rifle Club's novice trophy this year and has
cards showing several perfect 10.1 scores.
She has family pedigree to boot.
Olivia's late grandparents Ellen and Bill Thomson of Heriot
were well regarded competition shooters in their day.
Olivia will be the only New Zealander and the youngest
athlete at the IBU training camps, which cater for
competitive athletes up to the age of 25.
She feels the experience will be a real learning curve, but
she is pleased promising young Australian athlete Gabby
Cigina (15), who she met this winter, will also be there.
"I am pretty excited and nervous. But pretty proud to be
going. My goals will be to just do my best and probably to
say hello to somebody in Italian," she said.
Olivia wanted to thank her Wanaka coaches Ernie Malushnig,
Craig Still, Grant and Nadine Cagney and Leon Greibel from
Blenheim, and Snow Farm owners John and Mary Lee, the Nordic
sports group and her parents.
