20-for-20 with Siena Ellingson

In another 20-something-question, fill-in-the-blanks series, we checked in with the world-class U.S. and Canadian biathletes that will be competing at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth & Junior World Championships Feb. 22-28 in Osrblie (also known as Brezno-Osrblie), Slovakia.

Here’s 20-year-old Siena Ellingson, of Minnesota, who is representing the U.S. at her fourth Youth/Junior Worlds. On Thursday, Ellingson finished 50th to lead two Americans in the junior women’s 12.5 k individual.

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“My full name is Siena Ellingson, but you can call me Siena. I was born in Lauderdale, Minn., raised in Minnetonka, and one thing you should know about my hometown is the name means big water!

I started cross-country skiing when I was 13 and started biathlon when I was 14, thanks to Piotr Bednarski. I currently train in Grand Rapids, Minn., with Vlad Cervenka.

If I’m not skiing, you might find me making things!

If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘Anna Karenina‘.

One of the things I’m most excited about for Youth/Junior World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie is having such large and competitive fields to race.

This will be my fourth Youth/Junior World Championships, and this year, I’m competing as a junior.

One race I’m especially targeting there is the sprint, because making the pursuit and getting a good start position depends on the results of the sprint.

The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was tone down the suck.

One of the best race memories I have is my first race at my first Junior Worlds. I remember starting with a big smile on my face, and not being nervous about how it was going to go, but just excited to be there.

If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be… not exactly sure, but definitely working with kids.

I’m missing zero days of school to be here; I’m currently un-schooling.”