Myriam Bedard

Within a short time, Bedard was doing well at women's biathlon competitions. In 1987, she won a first and a second at the first Canadian Junior Biathlon competition. In 1988, she won a Canadian junior title, two North American championship races, and had a first and second in Canada Cup tests. Bedard competed at the World Junior Championship in 1989, finishing fourth in sprints. She also won a Canadian senior title that year.

Bedard's experiences at the worlds in 1989, more than anything else, proved to her how much harder she had to train. Part of the problem was that she did not own her own rifle until 1989, which was an expensive $2700. By this time, her training became supported by an annual grant of $7000 from Sport Canada. She also had a job in public relations for a real estate company, Le Permanent, and an endorsement deal with Duofold for long underwear.

With training Bedard improved her fitness, especially in her upper body. She was of very small stature compared to most who competed in the sport, standing only five feet, three inches tall and 115 lbs. Her ace in the hole came for her uncommon ability to recover every second stride. Bedard also had an odd shooting style that seemed to work in her favor; shooting on instinct, she did not pause to steady herself before making a shot.