Biathlon Canada is pleased to announce the impressive performance of the Canadian youth mixed relay team at the 2025 IBU Youth Junior World Championships (YJWCH) in Östersund, Sweden. On the third day of the competition, the team finished in 4th place, marking a breakout achievement at this highly competitive international event.
The Canadian youth mixed relay team consisted of Flora Csonka (Calgary, AB), Cheyenne Tirschmann (Whitehorse, YT), Malcolm McCullouch (Wasaga Beach, ON), and Luke Hulshof (Calgary, AB). Csonka, McCullouch, and Hulshof train at the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre in Canmore, Alberta, while Tirschmann trains at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Development Centre in Vernon, BC.
This result reflects the hard work and combined talent of these young athletes, who have shown their potential on the world stage. Csonka, Tirschmann, and Hulshof were members of the Canadian Team at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games where they achieved a 6thplace in the mixed relay with teammate Justin Konoff, who is also part of this YJWCH contingent, and Hulshof skied to an individual 5th place in the Men’s individual.
The YJWCH will continue until March 5th,with several individual and team events still to come. As the competition progresses, these athletes will continue to focus on achieving their goals and looking long term to further develop in preparation for future events. Among these upcoming competitions is the highly anticipated BMW IBU World Cup, which Canada was recently awarded to be hosted in Canmore, Alberta, in March 2029.
“This excellent performance from our team today is a great preview of the wave of talent that is currently building through this generation of Canadian biathlon,” explains National Team Coach Andrew Chisholm. “This is representative of the work that is being done across Canada with our next generation of athletes, and I am sure you will be seeing these names, amongst many others, putting up strong international results in the future.”
Biathlon Canada congratulates this team on their strong performance and supports all the Canadian competitors at the YJWCH to achieve their best. Follow Biathlon Canada social media for more YJWCH results.
“The relay today was such a cool experience. Being able to pull together 4 really solid legs as a team showed that Canada is a competitive country in biathlon and a growing team. It was definitely nerve racking to be the starting leg but in the end, it feels amazing to be a part of such a good result and hopefully we can have some more great results throughout the rest of the week.” Explained Flora Csonka
“Our relay team was absolutely amazing—we worked hard, using only six spare shots over the whole race, and gave it everything we had on skis. The atmosphere was electric, with fellow teammates cheering us on and celebrating every moment with us. Coming fourth for Canada is something truly special, and we couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished!” Said Cheyenne Tirschmann
“I was on a mission out there today. I decided to take some risks in the range with super fast shooting to catch teams ahead of us and it paid off. I felt super strong on the skis from the start to finish of my leg. The feeling of being 4th was pretty remarkable, the whole relay team did so well. Very proud of them, it was truly amazing!” Shared Malcolm McCullouch
“I got to the start pen and heard that Malcolm went 10 for 10 and that we were in 6th place. The skis were fast and I was able to focus on myself in the range which led us to be in touch with two countries that we had been chasing on the last lap. Canada had the loudest cheering on course which helped me ski into fourth and from there didn’t look back. Crossing the line and celebrating with the team was a highlight of my trip so far.” Shared Luke Hulshof
For more information, please contact:
Biathlon Canada
Email: info@biathloncanada.ca
Phone: 403-678-4002
Website: www.biathloncanada.ca
International Biathlon Union: www.biathlonworld.com
YJWCH Results: https://www.biathlonworld.com/results?EventType=BTJWRLCH