Favorite Quote?

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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. - Teddy Roosevelt

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What inspired you to get into high-level athletics?

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Huh. To be honest, I’m not sure! I always loved sports growing up and knew I wanted to play sports in high school. I remember being in elementary school and wondering how I was going to decide between XC skiing and basketball in high school. A few years later my genetics made that decision an easy one for me. Frankly I should’ve known already in third grade when I was dead last in the 60m sprint and won the mile run in the presidential fitness tests. 

 

I’ll add that I quickly was motivated in running and skiing by the clear return on investment of hard work with improvement. I loved setting personal bests and had a clear measure of whether or not I was improving.  

 

 

What inspires you today to train and compete at the highest level of sport?

 

My biggest inspiration is to give my best for my team (and I use “team” liberally to mean not only my teammates, coaches, and staff but also those who have supported, cheered, and been a part of my athletic journey along the way).
 

Tell us about a role model in your life and how they have had an impact on your athletic career?

 

First, my Dad, who set an example of hard work and balancing family and professional life. He also has been an inspiration as he completed 20 Worldloppet ski marathons with Parkinson’s disease while raising money for the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

 

Second, the husband-wife team of Brian and Caitlin Gregg; the Greggs were both Olympic cross-country skiers based out of Minneapolis while I was growing up. Both Caitlin and Brian prioritized participating in and giving back to their local community in ways few professional athletes have or do today. When I started as a professional after college, the Greggs invited me to join them volunteering as coaches in rural Alaska. I keep their example in my mind as a constant reminder for the standard of how to be an elite athlete and also give back when possible. 

 

 

What is one piece of advice that you would give to an aspiring athlete?

 

Make sure you find a way to make your training and pursuit of athletic excellence sustainable. To become your best you need years and years or hard work. You want those years to be enjoyable and meaningful. There will be workouts where you need to put your head down and suffer, sure, but make sure that you enjoy the sport that you are doing, that the community around you is one that you enjoy and helps make you into the kind of person you want to be, and that you have pursuits and life outside of sport that provide balance. 

 

What is one goal that you are striving towards this season?

This season I want to help our US Biathlon team win its first Olympic medal. That might mean simply giving my best every training session to push the teammate that might make that happen, or it might mean actually racing to it myself as an individual or in a relay. I simply want to be ready to give my best with whatever opportunities I am given, and prepare myself in a way to be excited and ready for when they come.