Name: Megan Imrie
Age: 26
Hometown: Falcon Lake, Manitoba
Sport: Biathlon
Current Location: Canmore, AB is home, but I'm in Ruhpolding, Germany for World Champs
Best Career Performance: 17th, Oslo World Cup sprint, February 2012

Q. Can you explain your sport for young athletes who might not have seen it?
A. We cross country ski race with a rifle on our backs. After each ski lap, you have to focus super hard to shoot 5 targets. If you miss a target, you ski a penalty loop. It's tough! Kind of like racing up 10 flights of stairs then trying to thread a needle five times.

Q. What is the coolest thing you have gotten to do because you are an athlete?
A. Being part of the Canadian Olympic team at a home Olympics was by far the coolest thing ever. Those crowds were SO thrilled to cheer for us! Traveling is also sweet. What else would get me to places like Siberia or South Korea?

Q. How do you keep going when it gets hard, or on those days you just don't want to practice?
A. There will always be hard days. If you put your head down and work through it, you'll get to the end of it. Looking forward to a reward is a strategy that works for me too, like racing at the Olympics or something simple like a hot shower after a rainy training day.

Q. How have sports empowered you (in being healthy, avoiding drugs, etc.)?
A. Being an athlete has empowered me to speak about things that are important to me. Sport has helped me take on leadership roles and become a confident speaker. As an athlete I have opportunities now to make kids smile and dream. That's amazing!

Q. What advice do you have for young athletes who look to you as a role model?
A. Go for it! Just because you don't come from a big city, or live at a training center, or can afford the best equipment, means NOTHING. If you have the dream and the drive, anything is possible.

Q. What does it mean to you to be fast and female?
A. Being fast and female is about loving sport. It's about smiling huge and kicking serious butt on the ski trails.