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# Guard Biathlon Championship's rookie from Vermont wins race by one second; Green Mountain state skiers dominate individual races

By Master Sgt. Greg Rudl National Guard Bureau

CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. - Winning your first race in the Chief of the National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships race is a rare accomplishment.

That's the impressive feat that 2nd Lt. Samuel Morse of Vermont managed here March 9 when he edged Spc. Nigel Kinney by one second in the 10-km sprint.

Morse was one of a triumvirate of Vermont skiers who dominated the individual men's races at this year's 27th championships March 9-15.

Eighteen states sent about 75 athletes to the championships. The event rotates annually between the biathlon facilities at Camp Ripley and Camp Ethan Allen near Burlington, Vt.

Biathlon combines rifle marksmanship with cross country skiing. Competitors ski loops on hilly trails, returning to a 50-meter firing range to shoot at five targets with .22-caliber rifles from the prone and standing positions.

Morse, a newly-minted lieutenant from the 131st Engineer Company, Colchester, Vt., didn't know he had won by just one second until well after the race had ended. Competitors start at 30-second intervals, and the results have to be certified by race officials before they are posted.

Morse disguised his excitement with a calm and unassuming demeanor. But whether he knew it or not, the 24-year-old was clearly a favorite, having skied in cross country races around Syracuse, N.Y., for most of his life.

He was not distracted during the race because he kept one simple thought in mind: "You gotta do your thing, and you can't worry about anyone else," he said.

"I think if Nigel knew it was that close he could have gone harder and beat me," said the humble Morse who actually thought teammate Sgt. Jesse Downs would triumph.

Morse admitted that he and his other Vermont teammates were saving themselves for the national biathlon championships the following week and the Canadian championships the week after that.

In the 20-km race, Downs cruised to a three-minute-plus victory. He described his strategy this way: "I would try to go hard out of the range for the first half of the loop and then back off the second half so I would come into the range controlled," he said. "Because of the one-minute penalties, it's hard to ski those off. You're better off slowing down a little bit and losing a few seconds versus coming into the range too hard, missing, and having a couple of minutes of penalties."

Downs was the best shooter for the 20-km race, missing only four targets.

"The wind picked up a little bit on my second prone, and I adjusted for that," he said. Rules allow competitors to make sight corrections on their rifles during the race.

On the women's side, Minnesota Spc. Jill Krause won the 7.5-km race in 31 minutes, 19 seconds, and Ohio Army Staff Sgt. Andrea Motley won the 15-km race. About six women started in both races.

Minnesota won the 15-km patrol race gold and Vermont won the 3 X 7.5-km relay race.

Due to a lack of snow, racing conditions were marginal. According to Chief Warrant Officer Keith Silbernick, the chief of competition, there was a 6-inch base on the trails March 10. Temperatures warmed as the week progressed, melting snow and also the hopes of getting the team races in March 14-15. Athletes had to dodge several bare spots on the course during the 20-km race, and many left their best skis in the bag for fear of scuffing them. Support workers spent March 13 shoveling four large truck loads of snow onto bare spots on the course to get the team races in. Approximately 50 Guardmembers served in support roles which included drivers, race officials and course groomers.

Athletes and coaches met for a biathlon congress March 13, and the newly-appointed National Guard Biathlon Program director, Maj. Teresa Benevento, briefed the group. She welcomed the competitors and encouraged more state representation by saying that the "more visibility the states have here, the more visibility the National Guard biathlon has at the national level."

The 34 states involved in Guard biathlon are broken into three regions: West, Central and East. During the congress, these regions held breakout sessions and discussed funding, best practices, spreading the word about the program to the rest of Guard, attracting high school Nordic racers and procuring ammunition.

The National Guard biathlon program aims to develop the highest levels of skiing and rifle marksmanship necessary to improve the combat ability of individual Soldiers and to represent the National Guard and the U.S. Armed Services in national and international events including the World Cup and Winter Olympics.

Shooting well An Airman or Soldier will probably never fire a weapon that is lighter or with less recoil than a biathlon rifle, but that doesn't diminish its importance for teaching Guardmembers proper shooting techniques. Just ask Indiana's Sgt. Gregory Swanson who has fired many of the Army's small arms. The 13-year Guard veteran spent 2006-07 in Iraq training policemen, deploying there to replace a Soldier killed in action.

"To shoot well anywhere, especially in biathlon, it's imperative to focus on the shooting fundamentals that this program teaches, like breath control, sight alignment, trigger squeezing and follow through," said Swanson. He was referring to one of the biggest challenges of the sport: holding a rifle steady and knocking down small targets 50 meters away with an elevated heart rate.

The civilian police officer said co-workers have told him that his shooting has improved because of his involvement in biathlon. Swanson was competing in his third Guard championships.

Beginners' perspectives Ask any beginner, especially one who's never Nordic skied before, and he or she will probably say that biathlon is difficult. Why does the sport befuddle beginners so much, even incredibly-gifted endurance athletes like 2:30 marathoner Spc. Bill Raitter from Nevada, who finished well down in the results? Most will say it lies in the difficulty of mastering the skate-skiing technique.

For North Dakota Spc. Brandon Pulst, who's in his second year, learning that technique, especially on the hills, could prove to be his breakthrough in the sport.

"The hardest part for new people is having the power and endurance to push up the hills," said the Guard vehicle mechanic who's pursuing a mathematics degree at the University of North Dakota. "It's what's holding me and many beginners back."

A California biathlete said he picked up surfing a lot easier than skate-skiing and that he's never had so much difficulty learning a new sport.

Many biathletes from states that don't have reliable snow train by using roller skis, which are similar to rollerblades and include the use of ski poles. Some, like Swanson, even go so far as to ski uphill at downhill ski resorts to train for Guard biathlon.

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CNGB 2008 Biathlon Championship Awards Results

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Men's 20 km Individual Competition Results

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12 km Patrol Race Results

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Men's Percent of Effort Results

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3 x 7.5 Km Relay Results

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Men's 10 km Sprint Competition Results