Vernon B.C.’s Emma Lunder began this biathlon world cup season with a bang. She landed a 6th place finish in Sweden, in the 15 k individual competition. That is a deceptively strong result in a sport which Europeans have dominated since, well, forever. And although the Canadian national team veteran recognizes that cracking the top 10 is always a good sign, for Lunder, this year is all about the Beijing Olympics.

In Biathlon, as in all competition, everything has to go exactly right on race day, but Lunder is happy to itemize the many ways that her team has their proverbial ducks in a row. From new, specialist shooting coaching, to demanding but considerate leadership from Justin Wadsworth, to good old camaraderie and mutual support among the skiers and shooters…everyone seems to be in 'work hard, enjoy the process' mode. How many successful campaigns begin with that same simple formula?

Counting down the days now to the winter Olympics, Lunder, like most athletes, is focusing on staying smart, staying healthy, and giving herself the best chance possible to get on the podium. As she tells Anastasia, nobody has ever competed in the Beijing facility before. It’s a totally new venue. So why not a Canadian podium?