Gunnar and Isabella Holmgren — a driven and talented brother-and-sister duo from Orillia who graduated from Nouvelle-Alliance high school in Barrie — are racing into history and will represent Canada in cross-country mountain biking this summer at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Gunnar, 24, clinched his spot on Team Canada by finishing eighth in the men's race at the recent World Cup race in Czechia. Isabella, 19, topped the women's podium to punch her ticket to the globe's biggest sporting event.
"To have my sister do it one day before me in the same place was ... overwhelming," Gunnar told Village Media during a break from training in Spain. "It was a pretty cool feeling and experience."
Making it to the Olympics, which begin on July 26, has always been a dream for both Gunnar and Isabella, members of one of the most successful cycling families on the planet.
"This has definitely always been a goal," he said. "Sort of in the last year, it became more apparent that it was very possible."
When Gunnar first began mountain biking competitively at 14, representing Canada on the biggest international stage felt a bit "far-fetched."
"It's always been in the back of my mind," he said. "The Olympics have always been a big motivation."
The last male from the area to represent Canada in mountain biking at the Olympics was Oro-Medonte's Peter Disera during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
"It's cool to keep it in the town," Gunnar said. "The cycling community in Orillia and Oro-Medonte is producing some of the best cyclists in the world. It's pretty unique and cool."
Disera is a former teammate and mentor to Gunnar.
"He's always been at the top of the sport in Canada," Gunnar said. "I've definitely looked up to him and he's helped provide some good advice."
Gunnar, Orillia's Athlete of the Year in 2021, says it's rare to qualify for the Olympics at such a young age.
"The sport is so experience dependant," he said. "You need that knowledge from years of racing and the Olympics rarely line up with your first chance to go."
Despite being up against more experienced athletes at the Olympics, Gunnar believes he and his sister, the Orillia Athlete of the Year in 2023, can medal at the games.
"I finished fifth in the test event last year," he explained. "I know the course suits me well and we are doing absolutely everything to give it a really good shot."
Gunnar says he's tweaking his training plans for the Olympics and is as motivated as ever to earn Canada a medal in Paris.
"It's a unique opportunity that not many get," he said. "It's pretty special."
Gunnar says his family has paved the road to this Olympic moment. The Holmgrens are coached by their father, Rob, and Isabella's twin sister Ava is also an elite cyclist who fell just short of clinching the women's Olympic spot. She raced against her sister in the World Cup last weekend with an illness that impeded her performance.
"We all live and train together," he explained. "It's a family effort and we are all super happy for each other."
Gunnar attributes much of his success to the Wednesday Night Race Series at Hardwood Ski and Bike, where he and his family have ridden for most of his life.
"The support in Orillia has been amazing over the years and we wouldn't be here without it," he said. "It's really helped us get to this next level."
Cycling is a family affair for the Holmgrens. Their mother, Lisa, who is originally from Peterborough, represented Canada at the 2000 Pan American Championships in Puerto Rico.
Rob also raced at a high level, but has really found traction as a national-level coach, something he's been doing for more than two decades. He has coached his three kids since they first started.
The Holmgrens have two other children who no longer are involved in competitive cycling.
