The 16-year-old biathlete is the second in his family to qualify for a Youth Olympic Games (YOG), following in the footsteps of his older brother Jethro, who also competed in Biathlon at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter YOG.  

Mahon said his family was very excited to have a second Winter Youth Olympian in the family.

“Everyone was very impressed and also a little surprised. I think Mum and Dad were especially happy and excited,” Mahon said of his selection.

“I’m excited to represent Australia and to have the chance to show off our country at an international level.

“I am really looking forward to meeting new and interesting people and creating new friendships.”

Christian, who has been training in Biathlon at Mount Hotham since the age of eight, says he was first inspired by his brother, Jethro, to take up the sport. 

“I first got started because of Jet, who wanted to do a sport to do with shooting.

“Luckily some biathletes were training at the local shooting range in Hawthorn in Melbourne, and further enquiries got him involved in Biathlon. He started getting into it and naturally, I got into it also.

“I’ve been competing for around five years, and it has become a serious pursuit for me in the last two years,” he added. 

Mahon said having an older sibling with YOG experience will give him an advantage in Lausanne 2020. 

Through watching his brother’s experiences at Lillehammer, Christian was able to learn about the unpredictable nature of Biathlon. It was during the 7.5km Sprint event in 2016 that Jethro’s skis broke, and it could have derailed his race.

“His ski binding did break, but luckily he was lent a ski from an Estonian athlete so he could finish his race,” Christian said of his brother’s experience.

“From that, I learnt that biathlon is a very, very unpredictable sport and anything could happen. Part of the sport is overcoming the difficulties that are presented. 

“Jethro has really helped me with training back in Melbourne, especially teaching me how to manage my time properly.”

Mahon represented Australia at the 2019 Biathlon Junior World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, and is currently training and racing in Europe in the lead up to Lausanne.

“Racing in Europe has given me great competition experience for the Games. I'm feeling very confident in my shooting.”

The teen will be competing in the 7.5km Sprint, the 12.5km Individual, with an opportunity to also compete in the Mixed Relay events, all of which will take place in Les Tuffes (France) during the first wave of Lausanne 2020, 10 – 15 January.

Discover more about the Lausanne 2020 Games HERE, and meet the 33-athlete Australian Team HERE.

Lucy Redford-Hunt