‘Adopted’ biathlete wins race Presque Isle classes cheer as Uschi Disl rewards allegiance

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FORT KENT – Her young fans would have cheered her on regardless, but the fact that German biathlete Uschi Disl came in first on opening day of World Cup competition made it all the sweeter Wednesday.

After all, more than 120 fourth- and fifth-graders from Pine Street Elementary School in Presque Isle had adopted her for the past year.

The whole group traveled to Fort Kent for the opening ceremony and start of competition at the 10th Mountain Ski Center.

Fort Kent is hosting the World Cup event through Saturday.

For months the pupils have studied the sport of biathlon in general and Disl, 34, in particular as part of a specially prepared 2004 Biathlon World Cup teacher’s guide.

Chanting “Let’s go, Uschi, let’s go!” and “Uschi! Uschi! Uschi!” the children held high German flags, banners and signs wishing the 34-year-old German luck in her native language.

“I have a little fan club,” Disl said with her trademark wide grin at a news conference following Wednesday’s competition, where she won the 7.5-kilometer women’s sprint race. The finish was good enough to make her sixth overall in World Cup standings.

A group of her young fans had greeted Disl when she and the other biathletes arrived at the Northern Aroostook Regional Airport on Sunday night.

“I saw them first at the airport and then again today during the [competition],” she said.

The pupils’ allegiance to Disl had caught the attention of a German television production crew here to film the biathlon. A team of reporters and cameras was documenting their every move in Fort Kent.

Televised coverage of biathlon routinely draws an audience of more than 5 million in Germany.

The German television crew even arranged for the pupils to meet Disl on the biathlon course – a place normally reserved for athletes, coaches and officials – immediately following the morning’s awards ceremony.

“This was really, really exciting,” Blake DeLong, a fifth-grader at the Pine Street school, said after having his biathlon poster autographed by Disl. “This is probably the only time in my life I will meet someone like this.”

Disl also took the time to sign a class banner, pose for a few photos and, before heading back to join her team, present teacher Robin Norsworthy with her first-place award flowers.

“We will not be able to land back on earth when we get to school tomorrow,” Norsworthy said, clutching the floral arrangement. “Can you believe she gave us her flowers?”

As she left, Disl promised to send signed postcards and other memorabilia to the pupils.

Norsworthy and fellow fifth-grade teacher Cheryl Martin said they have enough biathlon-related materials and experiences to keep their pupils busy for the rest of the school year.

“We will definitely be doing some writing when we get back to class,” Norsworthy said. “We will also be doing some photo essays.”

In addition to reading about the sport, the pupils were visited earlier this year by a local biathlete who demonstrated the equipment associated with the sport.

The choice of Disl as “their” biathlete fell to Martin, who, after reading the biographies of the World Cup participants, decided on the German athlete.

“It came down to I liked her name and she was female,” Martin said with a laugh.

And Disl did not disappoint her young fans.

“It has to be pretty hard to ski as fast as you can and then shoot all 10 targets with your heart pumping so hard,” Josh Allen, 11, said. “I know I’d miss every time.”

Lindsey Michaud, 10, was happy to be in Fort Kent and said she could be half a biathlete. “I love to ski,” she said. “But maybe not shoot the gun.”

The Presque Isle pupils were among the hundreds of students from Maine and Canada attending the first day of World Cup competition.

Close to 100 students from Van Buren came to cheer on the French team.

“We wanted to expose the kids to this sport,” Brian LaJoie, fifth-grade teacher at Gateway Elementary School, said.

As his pupils – some with faces painted in the colors of the French flag – yelled and used their noisemakers, he shook his head and grinned.

“Look at the excitement,” he said. “Why would you not want them to experience it?”