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Emma Lunder is used to racing against high-level skiers, but it was the recent charge of a grizzly bear that had her heart pumping like never before.

The Olympic biathlete says she was out for her usual jog along Loki’s Trail in Canmore on the morning of July 17 when she could see a mother bear and two cubs from about 50 metres out.

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Lunder said she immediately turned back.

“But as soon as she saw me, she charged,” said the 27-year-old, who competed for Canada at the Pyeongchang Winter Games last year.

“She got within like 20 metres, I would say, so I started screaming my head off and got my bear spray out and was walking backwards with one hand in the air just yelling at her.”

The bear was three or four metres away when Lunder pointed in the direction of the grizzly’s head and deployed her bear spray. The bear instantly turned around and ran away.

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Lunder, who lives and trains in Canmore, said she sees black bears on a weekly basis on the trail, but this was the first time she’d encountered a grizzly and its cubs.