Kocher, Le Guellec headline Olympic biathlon team

Green becomes 1st N.W.T. Olympian in 26 years

Last Updated: Thursday, January 28, 2010 | 4:00 PM ET

By Dan Robson, CBC Sports

Zina Kocher is a consistently in the top 15 on the biathlon World Cup circuit. (Darko Bandic/Associated Press)

Zina Kocher and Jean-Philippe Le Guellec will lead Canada's biathlon efforts at the Vancouver Olympics next month.

The two headline an eight-person team, announced in Canmore, Alta., on Thursday that is noted mostly for its youth.

On the men's side, 24-year-old Le Guellec will be the lone competitor in the individual events. He will be joined by two-time Olympian Robin Clegg of Ottawa, and a pair of 23-year-olds — Marc-Andre Bedard of Valcartier, Que., and Brendan Green of Hay River, N.W.T. — in the men's relay.

Green, 23, is the first athlete from the Northwest Territories to make it the Olympics since 1984, when twins Shirley and Sharon Firth competed in cross-country skiing at the Games in Sarajevo.

National biathlon coach Gerot Coyne says Green's success is evidence that northern youth can achieve their Olympic dreams with hard work and commitment.

"The committment Brendan showed, and his whole family have shown, over the last 10 years is something that not only people living in the North need to see and emulate, but [also those] living anywhere who want to be part of an Olympic games," Coyne told CBC News on Thursday.

"When all those things come together, Brendan is an example of being able to come from a small place and go to big races."

Le Guellec, of Shannon, Que., was a frequent top-10 finisher on the World Cup circuit this season, and represents the best chance for Canada's first-ever Olympic medal in men's biathlon.

Bédard an anomaly

Meanwhile, Kocher, 27, will lead a young women's team of Olympic rookies — 22-year-old Megan Imrie of Falcon Lake, Man., and 21-year-olds Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C., and Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta.

Red Deer's Kocher was a regular top-15 finisher on the World Cup circuit this year, finishing fouth in her best finish.

Historically, biathlon has been a weak event for Canadians.

Myriam Bédard is the only Canadian to have reached the Olympic podium.

She won a bronze medal in the 15-kilometre race at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, and followed that effort two years later in Lillehammer, with a pair of gold medals in the 7.5- and 15-km races.