To explain the title.... I don't swear, but my coach Vlad does. He sent me this email earlier in the season while qualifying for World Juniors was only a goal and a dream. I thought it was really funny and a fitting title for my first international racing experience: Youth and Junior World Championships in Minsk, Belarus!!!
My mom, dad, and sister all came along to cheer, and I can definitely hear my sister cheer from a long ways away!
I'm so glad this goon got to come along!
Photo: Jessi Kautzer
My skis and rifle made it all the way from Minneapolis through 3 airports to Belarus...
I heard the Swiss girls weren't so lucky.
Again, my sister in the Frankfurt Airport.
Photo: Jessi Kautzer
When we finally arrived in Belarus there were posters everywhere announcing the event.
There's a ton of construction going on everywhere, and the sunrise/sets over
the city from up high in the hotel are gorgeous.
Laugh if you want but I was pumped to get the USA gear.
Most of the other athletes have competed for Team USA before, but I haven't, so i went a little overboard with USA ribbons, nail polish, and glitter.
Finally, the Venue in Raubichi. It's amazing! A 10 lane indoor range, a 38(ish) point outdoor range, and a 12(ish) point secondary outdoor range. And the hills are massive! So painful going up, but oh so fun on the way down!
Photo: Hannah Streinz
We got our official training bibs and credentials which give athletes access to the range, wax cabins, and most importantly the food room! Also, the picture on my credentials is the same as the one on the IBU website, and will stay the same for the foreseeable future of my biathlon career.
Between training and meals we go for a lot of walks to stay active. You can't see it well but there was a lot of cool graffiti in this tunnel we went through.
We had the opening ceremonies last night. The president and a bunch of other officials were there. It was by far the coolest opening ceremony I have ever been to! We processed in second to last in front of Belarus. There was a performance by the national dance team complete with two dancing squirrel mascots. My main highlight was getting interviewed for Belorussian television. I probably sounded really unintelligent but the interviewer caught me off guard and I had a little bit of a hard time understanding her Russian accent. Nonetheless, I'll never forget that!
Flag procession. According to the other non-Minnesotan athletes I say flag really funny.
Photo: Jessi Kautzer
It's still early in the week but I've already made friends! The first question when I talk to someone is: Do you speak English? And if yes the conversation goes a lot better.
A picture of Siena, the squirrel mascot, and my new Canadian friend post race today.
Speaking of races, I think that's why I'm here! Today I got 54th in the individual 10K. The individual is set up prone standing prone standing with 45 seconds added to your final time instead of penalties. In the first prone I missed 4 because I didn't notice a wind shift. After corrections I only missed 1 standing, 1 prone, and 2 standing in the last stage. (4,1,1,2 total 8 misses) Overall I'm excited with my race. Despite the killer uphill, I felt good for the race and after the first stage shot well. In addition I had a ton of fun and smiled a little more than I should have, but I was pumped to be racing in my first international competition!
No comments:
Post a Comment