Biathlon’s military legacy lives on as Olympic athletes combine sport and service

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Biathlon, which combines rifle shooting and cross-country skiing, developed out of Scandinavian military training exercises. So it’s not surprising that many of the biathletes competing at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics have military or law enforcement careers that help them fine-tune their skills, support them while competing and ensure a job when they hang up their skis.

Three members of the U.S. biathlon team are with the Vermont National Guard: Staff Sgt. Deedra Irwin, Spc. Sean Doherty and Spc. Maxime Germain. Irwin and Doherty are also members of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete program. 

Doherty is stationed at northern Vermont’s Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, where 11,000 acres are home to the Army Mountain Warfare School, the 86th Mountain Infantry brigade combat team and a dedicated biathlon training course and rifle range, said Micah Nevard, director of the U.S. Army’s National Guard Biathlon program.

Doherty said he has trained there since he started the sport.

“As my career in the sport progressed, I realized the support and benefits of the National Guard would extend my career and provide resources and support independent of the national team, as well as support and opportunities after my athletic career ended,” he told The Associated Press.

The discipline needed to be a professional athlete fits well with the structure needed to be a soldier with the Army, he said.

“I would also say that the military provides a counterpoint to the small world of elite sport — getting you out of your comfort zone a bit,” he said. “It is a powerful thing knowing you have so much support behind you, and support that goes beyond just your racing career, allows you to commit fully to performing at your best.”

Many European biathletes are connected to the military or law enforcement

It’s not just an American thing. Gold medalists Lou Jeanmonnot and Éric Perrot both hold the rank of sergeant with the French Army. Lisa Vittozzi, who secured Italy’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport by winning the pursuit on Sunday, is a member of the Italian Army sports group Centro Sportivo Esercito. Italy supports its top athletes through prestigious military sports bodies.

In Germany, being a biathlete opens the door for working with the police or military after retiring from competition, German biathlon head coach Tobias Reiter said.

When they start out, German biathletes have two hours of training in the morning and afternoon, Reiter said. In between, they spend time in the classroom learning to be a soldier or officer at bases that are near Ruhpolding or Oberhof, Germany’s two World Cup biathlon venues.

When the athlete retires from competition, they will have a job for life, he said. 

German biathlete Philipp Nawrath works for the Bavarian state police as a police sergeant. Retired German Olympians Erik Lesser and Arnd Peiffer went through the program and now have secure careers.

Peiffer went through sports school training to become a federal police officer, and then a full-time World Cup biathlete. He had a successful career — was an Olympic gold medalist, world champion and World Cup medalist — before retiring in 2021. Now he’s a federal officer and helps young athletes pursue their own careers, he told the AP during an interview in Anterselva.

“I think it’s a great support,” he said of the program. “You can’t achieve to be an athlete when you are 20 years old. You have no prize money and it depends on the parents. So actually I think its a good system because young athletes, who have not parents who have a lot of money, are able to do sport if they are good.”

It’s also protects the athletes in case things go wrong, he said. 

“I knew, maybe when I get sick or have an injury, I always have a job,” he said. “I have insurance.”

The military links are not as strong in the Nordic countries 

Biathlon’s origins can be traced back to military exercises in Scandinavia. The sport was called military patrol at the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix in 1924.

But the military connection is not as strong these days in Norway and Sweden, two of the sport’s leading nations, whose biathletes are mostly civilians.

Siegfried Mazet, the head coach of the Norwegian team, said Norway doesn’t have programs preparing biathletes for service in the military after they retire.

Many Norwegians who have stopped competing, like Tiril Eckhoff and Johannes Thingnes Boe, went on to become broadcast commentators. 

Finnish head coach Erik Torneus-Kulstad said in Finland some biathletes will work in the military, but it’s not required or common.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics