BIATHLON BOON

Although many Mainers may still not know what a biathlon is, the northern part of the state has been in the biathlon spotlight this week and, by all accounts, it has shone.

On the first day of racing in Fort Kent, the crowd gathered to watch the women’s 7.5 kilometer sprint was “the largest biathlon crowd ever in the United States,” other than for Olympic events, according to a spokesman for U.S. Biathlon.

Not only did lots of people – more than 3,000 by most estimates – show up to watch the racers, hundreds of local residents volunteered their time to direct traffic, shuttle athletes between venues and assist spectators. A local university campus was turned into an athletes’ village.

Some worried that a small town in northern Maine could not pull off such an event. The residents of the St. John Valley are proving the naysayers wrong. They learned the intricacies of biathlon – a combination of cross-country ski racing and precision target shooting – to enthusiastically cheer on competitors. The enthusiasm and sheer numbers caught the eye of competitors and the European camera crews here to document the World Cup event. More than 20 million people are expected to watch the Fort Kent races in Europe.

Beyond the immediate benefits, any good publicity about the vitality of northern Maine is invaluable. The biathlon portrays northern Maine as a place of excitement and enthusiasm, far from the frequent news reports of the region’s economic decline and the exodus of its young people. The biathlon shows that the people of Aroostook County are eager to rally around a good cause and will show up in large numbers to cheer. Spin-off events such as the culture festival also taking place in Fort Kent help to spread the excitement and sense of vitality to other realms.

The enthusiasm showcased this week could be lasting. Here, the school kids who “adopted” athletes to study and cheer for are instructive. More than 120 fourth- and fifth-graders from Pine Street Elementary School in Presque Isle adopted German skier Uschi Disl. For a year, they learned about biathlon and Germany and Ms. Disl. They greeted her when her plane landed in Presque Isle on Sunday and cheered her around the course Wednesday.

Ms. Disl won the race and the kids were allowed to meet her on the course, something reserved for athletes, coaches and officials. The kids were thrilled, as was their teacher who was given the bouquet presented to Ms. Disl for her victory.

No doubt the kids at Pine Street will be talking about the biathlon for a long time. The rest of Maine should be too.