On his off time, he can be found at the Ponoka Industrial Airport working with OmniProcative, but his schedule is usually full training for the Olympics.
Carsen Campbell has been training for the Olympics full time for the last four years and entered the world of biathlon (cross-country skiing and shooting) eight years ago.
With his training Campbell is aiming for the 2018 and 2022 Olympics. “I’m on the development team. I’m one of the Canadian biathlon athletes that have potential,” he said.
He is one of six males on the team.
Campbell has named attending the Olympics as one of his life goals. “I’d be super, super happy,” he said.
Spending 20 to 30 hours per week training, along with recovery time, Campbell says it can take up a whole day and is more time consuming than a full time job. “Pretty much 100 per cent of your time goes into training.”
“I really enjoy training fill time,” he added
However, one of Campbell’s biggest obstacles is the financial constraint. Biathlon is not well funded in Canada and athletes use a lot of their own money to sustain their athletic careers.
To keep himself going, Campbell relies on some of the money he makes from gigs as a professional bagpiper. “It’s a pretty fun way to make money,” he says.
Campbell’s mother pushed him into lessons, which he took from age 11 to 17.
For a few years, he played in a competitive band across North America and Scotland but had to quit when he began training full time.
He began his winter sport activities as a young child playing hockey, but his mother felt it was more appropriate for him to get involved in skiing instead. Not completely convinced at first, Campbell has completely immersed himself in biathlon.
For the last three years, Campbell has competed at the World Junior Championships, where he has one more year of eligibility. His best performance there earned him 14th place.
Campbell has also attended the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in Italy, Germany and Austria. Next year, in February, the IBU will be held in Canmore — where he trains — consisting of five races over the course of two weeks.
Campbell says some of the toughest teams come out of Russia, Norway and Germany, and he looks forward to competing against them without the hindrance of jet lag.
“It’s incredibly stiff. It’s really tough,” said Campbell, referring to the competition level.
Next year, a World Cup is also being held in Canmore and Campbell is also working to get there.