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Guard Biathlete Chases Gold Medal Dreams
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING and competitive shooting are two drastically different sports. Cross-country skiing requires strength, stamina and the dedication to not give up when things get tough. Competitive shooting requires hawk-like vision, a steady touch and tremendous amounts of patience.
Combine these two sports and you have biathlon—quite possibly one of the world’s toughest sports. For SPC Brian Olsen, a Minnesota National Guard Human Resources Specialist (42A), the adrenaline is certainly there when he straps on his skis and slings a rifle over his shoulder. You see, Olsen is a member of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program biathlon team, and he lives to ski and shoot. Ever since his first competition, at the urging of a friend, Olsen has been immersed in the sport.
THE ORDER OF THINGS
Competitors ski a predetermined distance, ranging from 6 to 20 kilometers, and compete solo or as part of a relay team. The beginning is much like a running race. Speed and stamina are key, and if competitors push too hard too soon, they may blow their chances of winning.
At the end of the loop, they enter the rifle range, where they shoot at five falling targets the size of a silver dollar or compact disc at 50 meters. Once they’ve used five rounds and hopefully hit all the targets, the racer must sling the rifle over his or her shoulder and ski another loop, returning either to the range for more shooting or to the finish line.
This experience can be very intense, and racers often speak of how the adrenaline drives them to push their bodies to the limit. “I had skied for many years and was just recently becoming competitive,” Olsen said. “I love skiing, but after combining it with shooting, I could never race without a rifle again.
“The first time I shot a firearm, it was a biathlon rifle in April 1999,” Olsen explained. “The mental focus and skill that shooting requires is just such at odds with the physical demands of skiing, and I’ve been a biathlete ever since.”
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT
A world-class competitor by age 21, Olsen initially joined the Guard to take his game to an even higher level. Competing in biathlon requires money for training, travel and everyday living expenses, and it can be hard for working professionals and college kids to make it all work. And even harder to take their game to a higher level.
“I enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard in January 2007,” Olsen said. “The culminating moment was on the way to the Munich, Germany airport from a World Cup in Austria. “I’d raced well, but realized that I was being held back from reaching my potential since I didn’t have the funding and support that my European competitors had. The National Guard was the answer to that problem,” he added.
Besides being highly competitive, Olsen remains drawn to biathlon for the energy at the races. Competing in biathlon leaves Olsen with a wonderful feeling of comfort, accomplishment and, most of all, success.
The key to having a great race is to ski well and shoot well on the same day, which can be difficult at times. The races, which vary in length, tax the competitors’ cardiovascular skills to the max, and then they have to enter a transition, relax for a few seconds, hit their targets and continue skiing.
Olsen and the other athletes use an incredible amount of mental strength to keep focused and stave off distraction. If they get too excited, many things can go wrong, like missing their targets.
“The exhilaration of having a great race is what keeps me competing in biathlon,” Olsen said. “At the finish line, even if you have had a great race, there is always something you could have done better.”
A FEAT OF OLYMPIC PROPORTIONS
This addiction has taken Olsen to many incredible places around the world, including Turin, Italy, for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Just to make the squad was an honor Olsen will never forget, but to compete with the world’s finest athletes for a shot at a medal proved to be the most amazing experience of Olsen’s life.
“Walking into the Stadio Olimpico for the Opening Ceremony in front of 35,000 screaming spectators and 2 billion television viewers was electrifying,” Olsen explained. “Representing my country and all that we stand for gave me great pride, and it was something I took very seriously.
“Watching my teammates ski to a completely unexpected, best ever ninth place in the relay was the perfect culmination to so much hard work and personal sacrifice,” he added. “As the youngest member of the team, I was learning every day from the veterans, with the expectation that it would help me in the future.”
Although he initially joined the Guard to advance his biathlon career, Olsen loves being a Soldier and relishes the opportunities it has provided him. Olsen notices how his two passions—the military and sports—have blended into each other, making him a more well-rounded person.
“Being a biathlete and a Soldier require a number of the same skills,” Olsen said. “Biathlon taught me how to stay organized, to plan and to motivate myself. My military experience has given me extra discipline, the ability to relate better with all types of people and the perspective that I can overcome anything.”
Olsen looks forward to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and plans on continuing both careers for as long as he can. “It’s weird that I originally enlisted in the National Guard for a very specific reason: to fund my Olympic dream,” Olsen explained. “But now I find myself wanting to remain in the Guard simply because I’ve enjoyed every aspect of it, and I intend to seek a commission as a second lieutenant in the next year or two.
“Being a Soldier is as much a part of me now as being an Olympic athlete is. Both give a person an incredible feeling of direction and confidence.” GX
Epilogue: The interview for this story was conducted in May 2008 when I was still training intensively for my second Olympic Games. Since then, I have retired as a full-time athlete and now compete only occasionally, though I am continuing my military career as an Officer Candidate in the Colorado Army National Guard.
Originally appeared in GX Magazine: Guard Experience, Volume 5, Issue 9
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