Posted on 02/23/2006 10:27:06 AM PST by jonesat
TORINO, Italy (Army News Service, Feb. 22, 2006) – As anchor on the U.S. Biathlon’s Olympic Relay Team, Army World Class Athlete Spc. Jeremy Teela blames his poor shooting for the team’s ninth-place finish in the Men’s 4 X 7.5 kilometer Relay competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics Tuesday.
“Could we have got seventh today, probably,” the Vermont National Guardsman said. “I think I messed up. I had a penalty in standing so I had to take a penalty loop.”
Strong skiing on the cross-country course and just three extra shots needed on the firing line helped Jay Hakkinen of Kasilof, Alaska, put the U.S. team in the lead by 3.8 seconds. Tim Burke of Paul Smiths, N.Y., couldn’t maintain the momentum, though. He needed six extra shots (three in both the prone and standing positions), which contributed to the team falling to eighth.
The downward spiral continued when Lowell Bailey of Lake Placid, N.Y., needed an extra shot in the prone position and three standing – moving the team to ninth.
Teela started his leg of the race strong, moving the team up two places to seventh. When he was unable to hit all five targets in the standing position, though, he was required to complete a 150-meter penalty loop, adding to his course time and knocking the team back to ninth.
“Ninth is great,” Teela said. “But when I see seventh place and I take that penalty … it’s kind of disheartening when my mistake is the one that takes the team back two places.”
During the relay competition, each competitor is required to ski three 2.5 km loops and twice fire a .22 caliber rifle at five targets – once in the prone position and once standing. Unlike other biathlon events, each competitor is given six extra .22 caliber rounds – three for each of his two shooting bouts. If all five targets are not knocked down with the first five rounds, the competitor can use three additional rounds to try to hit the remaining targets. For each target left standing, the competitor must ski an extra 150 meter penalty loop.
After completing three laps on the cross-country course and the two shooting sessions between laps, competitors touch a teammate sending him onto the course. The team whose fourth competitor crosses the finish line first is the winner.
Seventeen countries entered teams in the event. Taking home the Gold was Ricco Gross, Michael Roesch, Sven Fischer and Michael Greiss of Germany. Ivan Tcherezov, Sergei Tchepikov, Pavel Rostovtsev, and Nikolay Kruglov of Russia won the Silver. Julien Robert, Vincent Defrasne, Ferreol Cannard and Raphael Poiree of France won the Bronze.
“I think you’ll see us in the next four years,” Teela said about the United States’ Biathlon team. “If we can get on the same form as Jay was today, I think we’ll podium for sure.”
For information about the Army World Class Athlete Program visit http://armywcap.com.
For stories and updates on Army athletes at the Winter Olympics visit http://www4.army.mil/olympics/2006/.
(Editor’s note: Jack L. Gillund serves with USACFSC Public Affairs.)
I believed you after the first two posts. ;-)
So where is the gun porn? What were they shooting Anschutz, Izhmash, Walther biathlon rifles. Curious minds want to know.
I just know that I'd hate to have these guys chasing me in snow country.
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