Duo sets their sights on Olympic biathlon
They won’t be winning any medals, but if you watch closely, you might
see Lab employees Paul McCandless and Jill Farrell at the 2002 Winter
Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
McCandless, a senior engineering associate in the New Technologies and
Engineering Division, and his wife Farrell, who works in Plant Engineering,
have headed to Salt Lake City to help officiate the biathlon events at
the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The biathlon combines skiing and shooting — male and female athletes
ski distances ranging from 10 to 20 kilometers and stop to shoot five
rounds from .22 caliber rifles two or four times per race. The targets
are 50 meters away. The first biathlon competition was between two Norwegian
border guard companies in 1767, and the sport was added to the Olympic
program in 1960.
"It’s really quite a challenge," McCandless said. "You’re
skiing for miles, and then you have to calm your heart fast enough to
hit a target 50 meters away, sometimes standing and sometimes prone."
McCandless will count penalty laps that racers must ski corresponding
to the number of targets missed, and Farrell will help collect shooting
scores for the scoring booth.
"Most of the scoring is done electronically, but they need people
to double check," Farrell said. "The manual counting is done
in case the electronics fail or a scoring dispute arises."
McCandless and Farrell have been enlisted to officiate all the biathlon
races, though McCandless will not work one race because there are no penalty
laps.
"The average racer will finish the event in about an hour,"
McCandless explained. "However, because athletes start every 30 seconds,
the whole event can take over three hours to complete." McCandless
also pointed out that there are some events that start large groups of
athletes together, but for the most part, the shooting ranges are not
set up to accommodate the large numbers.
"The pursuit races, where athletes all begin at once, tend to get
hectic," he said. "But most of the events are staggered starts,
so it’s not so bad."
The couple first became interested in the sport about 10 years ago. McCandless
is a gunsmith by training, and was looking for a way to "stay in
shape" when he discovered the biathlon. Farrell began participating
shortly after she met McCandless.
"I love all sports, but skiing in particular," she said. "I’m
not particularly fond of guns, but the biathlon is a lot of fun and a
challenge."
The two attend as many events as they can in Northern California, but
like to keep their participation recreational. In the summer, they participate
in "summer biathlon" competitions, which replace the skiing
with running over varying terrain.
"There are usually only one or two races a year in the area, so they’re
few and far between," Farrell explained. "There are a few races
in Idaho, Montana, but we don’t take it so seriously that we travel
out of the area."
Olympic hopefuls travel to almost every race in North America, however,
and recreational biathletes compete alongside the serious racers because
there are so few events. This is how McCandless and Farrell found themselves
offered a position in Salt Lake City.
"The community is very small," McCandless said. "That’s
how we found ourselves in a position to submit our names, and that’s
how we were eventually chosen to help out."
Though the Salt Lake Olympic Committee does not provide housing or a stipend
— officials are volunteers — McCandless and Farrell will get
to keep their officiating uniforms. In addition, they receive passes to
see medal ceremonies and a rehearsal of the opening ceremonies.
"There are always a bunch of people trying to sell tickets at the
venues," McCandless said. "I’m just excited to see the
athletes in action."
The 2002 Winter Olympics begin today, and the biathlon competition kicks
off on Monday. For more information on the Salt Lake City Olympics or
American biathletes, go to
http://ww.saltlake
2002.com
.