JERICHO, Vt. — Sean Doherty, an American biathlete, has been prepping for the Beijing Olympics by training, getting ample rest and keeping an especially close eye on Russian military affairs.
“I’m definitely watching the news from the Russian-Ukraine border with some interest,” Doherty said last month.
That’s because Doherty is a soldier-athlete in the Army National Guard, which finances the training of elite biathletes if they agree to join full time. Doherty is stationed at northern Vermont’s Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, where 11,000 acres are home to the Army Mountain Warfare School, the 86th Mountain Infantry brigade combat team and, somewhat incongruously, a dedicated biathlon training course and rifle range.