Canmore’s Ema Chlepkova Wins First Senior National Biathlon Title

Canmore biathlete Ema Chlepkova captured her first senior national title at the 2026 Canadian Biathlon Championships, winning the women’s 12.5-kilometre individual race.

The championships, held March 24-29 at the Canmore Nordic Centre, brought together athletes from across the country for a week of competition. Chlepkova said she was pleased to end the season on a strong note and to compete in front of a familiar crowd.

“It was a very satisfying end to this season and I’m very grateful to finish on such a good note,” said Chlepkova, who trains with the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre (BATC). “I also had a lot of people that I knew on the race course, so being able to almost ‘show off’ my hard work in such a positive light feels incredibly rewarding.”

While Chlepkova has previously won national titles, this was her first at the senior level.

“Although I can now say I’m a national champion as a senior, at the end of the day it means the same amount to me as winning when I was younger,” she said.

Her victory came in the individual race, a format that combines endurance skiing with four shooting stages, where missed targets add time penalties.

Chlepkova said the performance came down to execution rather than feeling strong physically after a long season.

“The key was to sit with my BATC teammates in our wax room, chatting before warmup, and then listening to pump-up music during my warm up. Basically to ignore how I was feeling before the race and just execute what I’ve practiced a hundred times, and it worked,” she said.

She said heavy snowfall in the days leading up to the race created slow, demanding conditions.

“Not only does this kind of snow require a more muscular technique, it also means the race takes longer to complete, which makes you more tired, so you slow down even more,” said Chlepkova.

Despite the weather conditions, she said the race remained fair, with all athletes competing on the same course.

“We all race through the same conditions so it makes the race suck a bit more but at least it’s fair,” she said.

The win followed a difficult stretch at the International Biathlon Union Cup in Lake Placid, New York, where she said her shooting faltered.

“I kept overthinking every shot,” she said. “So I spent those three weeks building my confidence back up and literally just trying to chill out on the range.”

The result also carries implications beyond the podium, as Chlepkova looks to secure funding for the upcoming season. She said the performance could improve her position on Canada’s athlete carding list, which determines which athletes receive federal funding to support training and competition.

“I knew that this was one of my last chances to do well and place myself on the carding list,” she said. “Our sport, as many other sports in Canada, is really struggling with funding, so not having to work as much to afford competing and instead being able to focus on training would be a game changer for me.”

Chlepkova credited her training environment in the Bow Valley for helping prepare for the championships, describing the Canmore Nordic Centre as a leading venue for the sport in Canada.

“I am so lucky to be able to train here,” she said. “The Bow Valley will forever have my heart.”

Chlepkova will take a brief break from training in April before returning to a full summer schedule, with trials later this year set to determine her international racing opportunities, including a potential World Cup debut.