Annelies Cook will compete in the Olympic biathlon in Sochi.
I recently had the chance to interview Annelies Cook, a biathlete from Saranac Lake, while she was in Italy preparing for the Olympics. The Olympic biathlon is a marriage of cross-country skiing and shooting. It became part of the Winter Olympics for women in 1992. Yesterday, Ms. Cook was officially announced as part of the U.S. Biathlon team.
Below is my interview with her.
As you wrap up the days before the Olympics, what are your goals?
At this point, there are only three weeks left until we head to Sochi. I have one more world cup this weekend and so far, I have not had the competitions that I would like due to some illness and some muscular issues that are now resolved. I think it is important to continue keeping my confidence high and executing my race plans in the same way that I would in Sochi. Hopefully this week is a positive experience! After that, we have two weeks of training where we are going to do some volume so that our base doesn’t disappear and after that we will start peak training. That includes more rest and very high intensity intervals. After that, it is just recovery and staying healthy! My goals are to go into the Olympics feeling good and confident.
What goes through your head while competing?
There are LOTS of things that go through your head but they usually depend on how you are doing. If I am having a challenging race, I have to focus on the positive and the process of the race- technique and things like that. In a great race where you feel aggressive and things are going well, you get this kind of high feeling where the pain almost feels good and you can welcome it. Then, it is easier to focus on catching the girls ahead of you and you don’t feel hesitant to go for it.
What will be unique for you about the Sochi Olympics?
Well first of all, it is my first Olympics so it will all be unique for me. The entire world starts to pay attention during the Olympics. While biathlon is the most popular here it is only during the Olympics that people from the U.S. pay attention to biathlon. So there is a lot more media attention and excitement. One of the biggest goals is to keep things as normal as possible during the Olympics. There is a lot more security, there is a lot more pressure, and there are athletes from many different sports around. It will be quite exciting.
The Biathlon is a unique sport, what should your fans be watching for as your Olympic event(s) unfolds on TV?
The fans should be looking for the way that the pressure on the shooting range can transform the outcome of a race. Imagine skiing as hard as you possibly can and then standing at the shooting range with 10,000 people standing behind you cheering for each hit and knowing that if you hit all of your targets you can be a gold medalist, but also knowing that the person you are competing against has the same pressure. In this way, one miss can be the difference between an Olympic champion and tenth place. In biathlon, anything can happen.
Any words for you Adirondack fans?
I hope you have an exciting time watching all the athletes from the Adirondacks competing! Almost every sport is represented by someone local and it is a time to feel really proud of our community.