In addition to being the first American woman to compete in two winter Olympic sports at once, Konrad, at age 38, is the oldest member of the U.S. Olympic team by eight years.
"I think it's a monumental deal; there's no question about it," Jerry Kokesh, development director of the U.S. Biathlon Association, said. He explained that the number of women in the world who have competed in two Olympic sports simultaneously is less than 20, adding to the impressiveness of Konrad's accomplishment.
Although there are five women on the U.S. Olympic biathlon team, there are only four starting positions. There are still several weeks before the biathlon staff announce the four starters, but Konrad hopes to compete in the 15K Individual and the 7.5K Sprint, according to a Jan. 18 article published on the U.S. Biathlon website. If Konrad finishes in one of the top 60 positions during the sprint, she will advance to the Women's 10K Pursuit, whichwill be held on Feb. 18.
Konrad, an experienced cross-country skier who has won Masters World Championships in the over 30 category, has only been training for the biathlon since 2003. She took up her new sport three years ago, after deciding that she had probably gone as far she was going to go in cross-country skiing, due to her limited ability in the world of skiing -- Konrad is a skate skier but not a traditional skier, whereas most competitors are both, Kokesh said.
"It limited her potential for international competition," he said.
Konrad viewed the biathlon as a new challenge, something at which she might have a shot, according to Kokesh.
"Ironically, she ended up getting both," Kokesh said of Konrad's dual achievement. Before qualifying for both Olympic teams, Konrad made the World Championships Teams in both sports in 2005.
Biathlon is a sport that combines cross country skiing with rifle marksmanship. After skiing a specified distance, biathletes stop and shoot at a half-dollar sized target that is 50 meters away. To explain its difficulty, Kokesh compared it to running around a house and then abruptly stopping to thread a needle.
"You'll get the same effect," he said.
Because Konrad's two sports are so closely linked, training for both at the same time is not much of a problem, according to Kokesh.
"Biathlon is much more mental and much more precision-oriented whereas cross country is pure physical," he said.
While at Dartmouth, the Earth Sciences major skied as a member of Dartmouth's development team during her senior year.
At every Olympic Winter Games since 1924, the College has been represented by athletes and coaches.
Konrad will be joined in Torino by other Dartmouth alumni who are also competing in February's Games. Carl Swenson '92 will be skiing in the Olympics for the second time, this time on the men's cross country ski team. Swenson was a part of the 2002 Olympic men's relay team that finished fifth in Salt Lake City, Utah. Other Dartmouth athletes who will be competing in this year's Games are biathlete Carolyn Treacy '06 and women's hockey players Sarah Parsons '09, Kristin King '02, Gillian Apps '06, Katie Weatherston '06 and Cherie Piper '06.
Sarah Konrad was unavailable for an interview because she is currently competing and training in Italy.
