LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Craftsbury Nordic Ski Center athletes, Craftsbury, Vt., skied away with gold, silver and bronze medals in Saturday’s, Feb. 1, Empire State Winter Games’ U15 women’s biathlon sprint race held at Mt Van Hoevenberg, in Lake Placid. Cold air temperatures, hovering in the single digits, and clear skies made for ideal conditions for the Games’ first biathlon race.
Lillian Suddaby won the 7.5-kilometer sprint (4.67-miles) in 17 minutes, 27.8 seconds. Suddaby displayed her marksmanship, missing just one of five shots in her first event and hitting all five targets in her second. Her teammate Amalie Pratt missed four of five shots in her first round, but bounced back to hit four of five the second time and skied to a second-place time of 18:46.8. Hazel Morton-Lynch covered the rolling Nordic course in 18:55.1, finishing third. She missed three shots in her first attempt but displayed a clean second round.
Biathlon is an event combining precision marksmanship and cross-country skiing. Athletes compete in a 10-kilometer sprint for men, (6.2-miles) 7.5-kilometer sprint (4.67-miles) for the women race while stopping twice to shoot five targets. Each miss of the target adds time to athletes’ final score.
A pair of Craftsbury Nordic Ski Center athletes finished 1-2 in the men’s U15 race. Bowan Suddaby took gold in a time of 15:11.7. He hit two targets in his first attempt and followed that up with a perfect, five for five, in his second.
Oakley Crawford was perfect in his second attempt on the range and skied to the silver medal spot in a time of 16:13.8, while Charlie Hinsdill of the Polar Bear Ski Club, in Old Forge, N.Y. completed the three-step podium, winning the bronze. Hinsdill hit one shot in each of two attempts and covered the 10k course in 18:25.1
Empire State Winter Games biathlon racing continues tomorrow with the super sprint. Racing at Mt Van Hoevenberg begins at 2 p.m. ET.