Russell Currier admits that as much as he tried to relax during the holiday season, he was hard pressed to take his eyes off his most sought-after prize these days — a return to the Olympics.
Now a veteran of the national biathlon ranks at age 30, the Stockholm native finds himself in the same position he was four years ago when he was the only Mainer to compete in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
He and three other Americans — Leif Nordgren, Paul Schommer, and Jake Ellingson — will compete in International Biathlon Union events the next two weekends in Bienzo-Orsblie, Slovakia, and Arber, Germany.
The top finisher from that group in four races over those two weekends will earn a trip to the 2018 Winter Olympics that run Feb. 9-25 in PyeongChang, South Korea, and will join Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke and Sean Doherty, who already have been nominated to the U.S. team based on performances in previous World Cup events.
The second-best U.S. competitor in the IBU races will be the frontrunner to earn a discretionary berth for the final spot on the five-man U.S. squad, but that’s not a certainty.
Currier hopes his experience at two IBU Cup events in early 2014 that qualified him for the Sochi Games will be beneficial during what in all likelihood be his final Olympic quest.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “‘There’s a lot of excitement in it’: Aroostook County biathlete vying for second Olympics berth,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Ernie Clark, please follow this link to the BDN online.
