ountry C Friday, February 19, 2021
cres A Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 8, Edition 19
PHOTOS BY DANNA SABOLIK
Lauren Huber (front) and Ryker Bosek race on skis Jan. 9 north of Alexandria.
Youth Olympian combines skiing, shooting BY DANNA SABOLIK | STAFF WRITER
ALEXANDRIA ALEX AL EXAN ANDR DRIA IA – Winters Win inte ters rs cold weather and snow, it is one drag on for some Minnesotans, of the best times of the year. but for those who embrace the Kaisa Bosek combined her passions of Nordic skiing and precision shooting with the help of her father,
Kaisa Bosek aims her rifle at her target 50 meters away while training for biathlon, Jan. 9 north of Alexandria. Bosek has competed in the Youth Olympics overseas and hopes to again.
Jeff, to become an internationally renowned name in the sport of biathlon. Biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided between shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not timed but, depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant’s total. Kaisa became interested in biathlon after watching a race where Kaisa Makarainen of Finland won. Coincidentally having the same name, Bosek has admired Makarainen ever since. At 12, Kaisa joined the Alexandria Cardinals Nordic Ski Team and competed in a couple of novice biathlon races that winter. Since then, she has been in love with the sport. Jeff constructed a training shooting range on their proper-
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ty and worked with U.S. Biathlon to insure the range. Because of this, they host camps and training events in the summer for regional competitors, to visit and use his facilities whenever they can. The range consists of five targets 50 meters from shooting stations, complete with prone shooting mats and a pulley system to reset targets. There is a makeshift ski loop around the mounded sides of the range, where the athletes will race to get their heart rate up before shooting, to mimic competition. Kaisa is part of the Wolfpack team, comprised of her, her brother, Ryker, and Lauren Huber. The team is coached by Jeff and competes regionally in races. “I do love it,” Kaisa said. “It’s so fun. And, I love that it’s a combination of two sports. A lot of people maybe don’t know about it, but when they do they think it’s cool and interesting.” Kaisa is a senior at Alexandria Area High School and is competing in her last season as a youth biathlete this winter.
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“It’s something different than just doing a ski race,” Kaisa said. “You have to shoot, so placing can change really fast in a race because of that.” When shooting prone, or lying down, the target is about the size of a golf ball. The athlete has five shots to shoot down five targets lined up side by side. When shooting standing up, the athlete aims for a target the size of a softball and repeats the five shots again, continuously. “The shooter cannot leave the range until they’ve shot five times,” Jeff said. “It’s a safety thing.” Safety is naturally one of the most important parts of biathlon, because rifles are involved. “The rifle is equipped with however many rounds of ammo are needed, and the athletes will load them before they shoot,” Jeff said. “It makes things very safe. There is also a cap on each sight, so snow won’t get in the peep sights and block the view.”
Biathlon page 2
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