People, People, Everywhere

One thing which really makes racing in biathlon a lot of fun is the crowds. Few endurance sports enjoy mass popularity, and generally mean racing to the cheers of chirping birds rather than roaring crowds. Biathlon is an exception. Over the past 10 years, biathlon has become one of the biggest winter sports in Europe. At some of the venues over 100,000 people come to watch the races over the weekend, which I admire them for since they stand for hours in freezing cold weather.
It really is a thrill to hear a crowd yell their lungs out. It is nothing that us athletes can dwell on too much since we have to focus on shooting, but every once awhile it if fun to enjoy the moment.
There were two times the crowd was a distraction for me, though, both in Oberhof, Germany, which attracts the most spectators out of all the venues. The first time was one of my first years racing the World Cup. It was during an individual race, and there were not any Germans nearby so the crowd was relatively quiet. I was shooting, in full concentration, hitting my targets when I heard one lone voice which I thought said my name ‘JAY!’, and I missed the target.
The second time was some idiot – and I hope that person reads this and sees that I called him an idiot, or if anyone knows the idiot, call him an idiot for me – anyway, this idiot brought a chainsaw, apparently without the blade, into the stadium. Again, I was shooting, and the crowd was actually cheering because Michael Greis, the German who won three Olympic Gold medals in 2006, was shooting next to me. Then suddenly a screeching loud noise fired up which completely distracted me, which I found out later was the chainsaw idiot thinking he was cool because he was making a very loud noise. I must say, though, Greis shot clean, and was not affected, which shows a lot why he does so well under pressure.
The biggest thrill I ever got from a crowd was definitely at the 2002 Olympic Pursuit Competition. There was actually a sold out crowd in attendance, showing that biathlon is becoming popular in the US. What made that race different, since I had heard bigger crowds cheering before in Europe, was that this crowd was cheering for me. They were Americans cheering for an American. I had a very good race, leaving the last shooting in 8th place, and the crowd started cheering which hit me like the wind that hits you when a truck goes flying by. It made me feel very proud.
I certainly hope that biathlon stays popular, and that it gains even more exposure in the US with the 2010 Olympics taking place in Vancouver, Canada. Many of the top biathletes retired this year or will soon retire, which will mean a new group will have to give the crowd something to cheer about, and I hope to take advantage of that. I also hope that there will be a crowd to cheer me on.