I guess somehow I missed the fact that there was a Jewish competitor in the Vancouver Olympics...and a shooter!
Laura Spector made her Olympic debut in Vancouver by competing in the biathlon, a sport that combines skiing and rifle shooting. What makes the combination so difficult is the fact that the skiing portion raises the heart-rate--the enemy of precision shooting. From an article:
To date, an American has never won a medal in the biathlon, which was originally developed in Norway as a training exercise for the military. It became an Olympic sport in 1960 and was opened to women in 1992. At 22, Laura Spector is the youngest member of the U.S. team and also one of the shortest. Spector placed 77th in the 7.5km sprint on February 13, and 65th in the 15km individual on February 18. (You can read more about her experience at her blog.) She did not expect to medal in her first Olympics; she has her sights set on the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. In addition to her athletic training, Spector studies biological sciences, genetics and Jewish studies at Dartmouth College and is on track to graduate this year.
Mazal Tov to her and we'll be watching for 2014! I'll add the link to her blog on my links, hopefully she'll keep us all updated.
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