New Gloucester, ME. The International Competition Committee of the US Biathlon Association named Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME) to fill the remaining spot on the US Team for the Biathlon World Championships, which open this Friday in Ostersund, Sweden.
For the past week, Currier, from the Maine Winter Sports Center has been competing in the Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. In those Championships, Currier placed 15th in the Sprint, 20th in the Pursuit, and 15th in the Individual while also contributing a strong leg on the US relay team that finished in ninth place. All of these were personal bests for Currier at “World Juniors.â€
“All of us involved in the Maine Winter Sports Center, from our trustees to our coaches and staff, are incredibly proud of Russell today,” said Andy Shepard, President of Maine Winter Sports Center. “Russell is the first Aroostook County athlete to make it all the way through our programs to a Senior World Championships but he won't be the last.”
US Biathlon Executive Director added, “It's wonderful to see junior athletes on our World Championship Team. Personally, it is very satisfying to see Russell achieve this milestone since I remember the day he began biathlon. The Maine Winter Sports Center program can be very proud of all Russell has accomplished.”
Currier joins Laura Spector (Lenox, MA), also a junior athlete from the MWSC, on the World Championships Team.
Previously announced World Championships Team members are: Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK), Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY), Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK), Lanny and Tracy Barnes (Durango, CO), Caitlin Compton (Minneapolis, MN), Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, NY) and Spector.
Live streaming video coverage of all of the competitions at the Youth and Junior World Championships competitions as well as archived highlights of the World Cup season, is available by clicking the athlete photo at the top of the news column at www.usbiathlon.org.
