US Best Woman Biathlete Hunts

Philosophy & Humor

Mar 26

Sara Studebaker, a Boise, ID native got her start with shooting sports in high school when a coach introduced her to the sport of Biathlon, which combines Nordic skiing and marksmanship. Her shooting skills developed quickly and she experienced success as a young biathlete before heading to Dartmouth College to race on their Varsity Nordic Ski Team. Following a stellar collegiate career that included All American Honors and an NCAA Division I team title, Studebaker returned to Biathlon in 2007, this time as a member of the National Development Team. She rose quickly through the ranks and achieved a life-long goal by making the 2010 Olympic Team. Last year she finished the season ranked 34th in the world, number one in the U.S., and was honored by the U.S. Biathlon Team with the Top Marksman award. RSO had the chance to catch up with Sara at the 2012 Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding Germany to discuss her season and her plans for next year. RSO: How has your season been and what are a few of the highlights? Sara: Coming off last season where I had several top 20 performances and overall great shooting, including 4 races where I had perfect shooting, I had high expectations. While this season hasn't been exactly what I hoped for, I've had some top results and was especially excited to clean my first 4-stage [20 shot] race in the World Championships Pursuit a few days ago. The U.S. Team has also taken some big steps, including an historic 6th place finish in the mixed relay at the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland a few weeks ago, in which I was the 1st leg and tagged off not far behind the leaders. RSO: What will you be focused on during the coming season? Anything new? Sara: I've already started working on a few new ideas that will improve my skiing technique, and the biggest focus for shooting will be speed. Right now I'm averaging 35 seconds for each prone shooting [5 shots] and 30 seconds for each standing shooting, but the best in the world are about 5 seconds faster. So, in a 4-stage race I stand to gain 20 "free" seconds by continuing to improve my speed. I'll also be spending the spring and part of the fall in Alaska and am looking forward to spring bear hunting as part of my easy endurance training. I love being in the mountains and hunting is a great way to do early season training and hopefully also put some delicious, healthy meat in the freezer. RSO: What's your hunting background? Sara: Aside from plinking a few rabbits & winning a clay shooting competition with the US Biathlon Team and guests, my hunting has been limited. I've been on several hunts with friends and thanks to Ron Spomer have had the opportunity shoot a variety of hunting rifles and learn more about hunting in general. I'm excited to go bear hunting this spring and hopefully bag my first big game animal. RSO: What are your goals for next season and beyond? Sara: In Biathlon I'll be looking for my first top-10 finish on the World Cup next season and making the 2014 Olympic Team is the ultimate goal. In my off time I'm looking forward to hunting more. As I'm exposed to the hunting world more I find that I really enjoy it and plan to make it a bigger part of my life. Zachary Hall, reporting for RSO from Ruhpolding, Germany.