20-for-20 with Léo Grandbois

In another 20-something-question, fill-in-the-blanks series, we checked in with the world-class U.S. and Canadian biathletes that will be competing at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth & Junior World Championships Feb. 22-28 in Osrblie (also known as Brezno-Osrblie), Slovakia.

Here’s 17-year-old Léo Grandbois, of Biathlon Estrie, who will be representing Canada at his first Youth Worlds. In the first race of the championships, Grandbois won the youth men’s 12.5-kilometer individual.

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“My full name is Leo Grandbois, but you can call me any time (Leo) haha.  I was born in Germany, raised in Lennoxville, Quebec, and one thing you should know about my hometown is that it is pretty small.

I started cross-country skiing when I was 5-6 and started biathlon when I was 8, thanks to my mom.

I currently train in Stoke, Quebec, with Biathlon Estrie and my coach Sandrine Charrons.

If I’m not skiing, you might find me in the woods.

If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘Of Mice and Men’, but it is the only book I every read completely.

One of the things I’m most excited about for Youth/Junior World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie is to see their culture and to race.

This will be my first Youth/Junior World Championships, and this year, I’m competing as a youth. One race I’m especially targeting there is the sprint.

One of the best race memories I have is at Youth Olympic Games last year in Lillehammer, Norway.

If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Petter Northug and Erik Lesser.

If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be a forest firefighter.

I’m missing 15 days of school to be here, and my teachers/professors are probably thinking, ‘This guy is not doing the right thing,’ but I know that I am doing the right thing.”