One of Canada’s most accomplished biathletes, Emma Lunder, is hanging up her rifle and race suit for a Starbucks apron and school bag to begin a new chapter in life.
A sport journey that began 17 years ago as a young sea cadet in her hometown of Vernon, B.C., that led her to the World Cup start line in 2014, two Olympics (2022, 2018) and seven trips to the World Championships, has come to an end for the 33-year-old.
“I’ve been doing this quite a long time and it’s definitely gotten harder to be away from home for such long periods of the year with the training camps and competing all winter. It can take a toll. I’ve had quite a long career that I’m very proud of, but it’s time to move onto the next chapter and see what else life has in store for me.” said Lunder.
The biathlon ace cracked the top 10 on the World Cup 11 times throughout her nine-year career on the National Biathlon Team. She was an agonizingly 1.2 seconds away from hopping onto the podium during the 2022-23 season when she finished fourth in a 7.5-kilometre sprint event.
“I could see that a podium was possible for me. For sure, it stings a little bit that I couldn’t quite get there, but looking back on it, fourth in the world, is an amazing feat that I can say I accomplished,” said Lunder, whose best World Championship finish was seventh in the mass start to cap off her remarkable run in 2022-23 where she rattled off five, top-10 finishes.
“Looking back on my career, I’m naturally most proud of my top results – all of those top 10 finishes were pretty amazing accomplishments, but my first international success that I’ll never forget was the Canmore IBU Cup in 2015,” she added.
It sure was.
The Canuck’s shooting and skiing was as balanced as the perfect creamy, sweetness of a Starbucks Mocha while she brought the hometown Canadian crowd to their feet at the Canmore Nordic Centre, winning the silver medal at the IBU Cup.
“That podium here in front of all of my family and friends was really, really special and kind of showed me that, ‘Oh yeah, I could be a successful athlete,’ because at that time I was mid pack. It was super motivating and got me excited to see what else I could do.”
The performance sparked a remarkable run – one she shared with her partner Christian Gow, who retired from the National Biathlon Team one year ago. The biathlon couple shared a top single mixed relay result together in the 2019-20 season, where they finished just off the podium in fourth.
“I think every time I got to race a single mixed relay with Christian – it’s just one man and one woman – that was so special for me getting to do that with my partner and we were super close to the podium a few times. Those races just felt so special because I wasn’t just racing for myself. We were really doing it – he and I – as a team,” added Lunder. “Over the last two years, I felt I was capable of achieving results like I had in 2023, my best season ever. I was so motivated and excited then to see what I could do after that, but it just wasn’t able to click again, and I felt it was time to move on.”
When not clocking miles on the trails and fine-tuning her shot on the biathlon range at the Canmore Nordic Centre, Lunder would race down to the local Starbucks where she would serve up lattes to the locals since 2010.
“I’ve been working at Starbucks since I graduated high school, and I’ll for sure continue working there for the summer because they’ve been so supportive of me through the Starbucks elite athlete program,” said Lunder, who has also been taking online courses at the University of Calgary and will enroll in post-secondary studies full time in the fall. She will also continue to carve time out of her schedule to give back to sport and next generation.
“Over the last five years, being the most senior member of the National Team, I tried to be really open with the younger athletes and take on a bit of a mentorship role because I just know how important that was for me having it in Rosanna Crawford when I joined the program,” added Lunder. “I think in the future I’ll also do a little bit of coaching and continue mentoring athletes where I can because I really enjoy that.”
“It’s been just the most incredible journey. I’ve been so grateful for the support that I’ve had and the people I’ve met and the places I’ve got to see. It was really such a dream come true. I’ll be watching the races from home, cheering for the team and everyone in this wonderful sport while finding ways to stay connected.”
Be it on the trails, or, at the local coffee shop.