September 30, 2008 (New Gloucester, ME) – The US Biathlon Team heads to Utah next week for their final dry-land training camp, before beginning snow training in November. The team convenes in Heber City early next week to begin an altitude camp in Heber City, Utah. The athletes will make extensive use of the 2002 Olympic Biathlon Venue at Soldier Hollow, as it offers challenging roller skiing adjacent to the shooting range, with great trail running and cycling areas nearby.

Most of the World Cup Team as well as Junior and Development athletes plan to participate in the three-week camp. Among those expected in Heber City are Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY), Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK), Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME), Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN), Wynn Roberts (Battle Lake, MN), Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, NY), and Laura Spector (Lenox, MA).

All of the athletes have been training at their home bases for the past several weeks since completing their late summer camps. The World Cup Team concluded their training camp in Sweden in early September. At the conclusion of that camp, US Biathlon High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler evaluated the athlete’s progress. His comments follow in a video interview. To watch the video click here.

At the conclusion of the Utah camp, the athletes return home for three weeks before on snow training begins in mid November. The first Biathlon World Cup of the season is scheduled for December 2-7 in Ostersund, Sweden, site of the 2008 Biathlon World Championships.