The Quintilio siblings, Henrik, 14, and Antija, 12, ended their season on a high note capturing two gold medals each during the Alberta Biathlon Championships.
On March 10 and 11, the Quintilios completed the biathlon Calforex Cup season in Hinton with both the individual and sprint events.
As it is the final race of the season, the event in Hinton is considered to be Biathlon Alberta’s provincial championships. Biathlon is a sport that combines cross-country skiing and shooting.
The Quintilios won their gold medal in the individual mass start event, Henrik in the five-kilometre distance with Antija skiing four-kilometres. Interspersed between skiing competitors stop three times, to shoot at a series of five targets.
Henrik was 11 for 15 at the range and crossed the finish line one minute and 35 seconds a head of his nearest rival. Antija was 14 for 15 at the range and topped finished one minute and three seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.
For each miss at the range, athletes ski a 100-metre penalty lap, which in addition to adding about an additional 20 seconds for each lap, the extra physical effort can often impact one’s shooting accuracy in the next time they are at the range.
Ntala Quintilio, who is both Henrik and Antija’s mother and coach, said they both skied well. However, she was concerned about Henrik’s accuracy, at the range, which no pun intended, this season has been hit or miss.
Part of the reason, she said is that both siblings have moved up a category in their prospective age groups. For Henrik it means moving into the top category for his age group.
“Instead of shooting his rifle [.22 calibre] from a rest in the prone position, which everyone does at this level, he uses a sling, which makes it more difficult to shoot,” Quintilio said. As for Antija it means transitioning from an air rifle to .22 calibre rifle, which means the targets are now positioned 50 metres away instead of 10 metres.
The next day, competitors took part in the sprint.
In a sprint event competitors start the race individually with staggered start times, depending on the amount of competitors the times varied. In the youth categories, which the Quintilios compete in, it is between 15 and 30 seconds. They then cross-country ski, one lap before shooting five shots, then ski another lap, shooting another five shots and then ski to the finish line.
In Henrik’s category, they skied 3.75 kilometres while Antija skied 3.25 kilometres.
Once again Quintilio said both siblings skied well on their way to winning their individual events, however, what she was most happy about was their strong shooting performances. Henrik improved his shooting going 8 for 10 at the range, hitting one more target, than the day before in less attempts. Antija went 9 for 10, however, if it was not for a mistake on her first target. When a skier first goes into the range they must select a specific lane, assigned to them. They then shoot at the targets in that lane.
“Unfortunately, Antija mixed up at a set of targets she was shooting at. So even though she hit every target she shot at, the first one wasn’t in her lane and as a result she was awarded a penalty loop,” she said, noting they were able to recognize the issue early and Antija was perfect from then on.
By being able to recognize her mistake early and by not letting it rattle her, it was probably the difference between winning and losing, as she finished only 18 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.
“It really was the perfect way to end the season,” Quintilio said, adding competitors raced in near perfect conditions. “It was bright and sunny, without the terrible cold. It was actually quite warm, but because the races were held in the morning the snow was still cold and crisp.”
In addition to winning medals, Henrik was also awarded with a biathlon summer camp bursary from the Gernot Kostera Charitable Foundation through the Alberta Biathlon Club, which is awarded for demonstrating talent, enthusiasm and good sportsmanship.
