FORT KENT – Almost four years ago, Jeremy Teela shocked the U.S. biathlon community with a 14th-place finish in the individual event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

It was a great moment for Teela, now 29, but it’s been a while since he thought of it. He’s focused on this season, especially this week’s Olympic trials at the 10th Mountain Ski Center.

“You’re only as good as your last race, and that race was nearly four years ago,” he said Wednesday after a morning workout. “You can’t rest on your laurels. I’m just looking at what I’ve done in December and focus on what’s ahead of me.”

What’s most likely ahead for Teela, the second-ranked U.S. male in biathlon, is a berth on the U.S. Olympic team that will head to Turin, Italy, for the Winter Games Feb. 10-26. There are 15 men and 19 women entered into the competition, but only four men and five women will qualify.

Teela, who lives in Jericho, Vt., said his World Cup results have been a mixed bag so far this season.

“I’m skiing well. I’m skiing where I thought I’d be,” he said. “But the shooting hasn’t been exactly what I was hoping. I just need to screw my head back on my shoulders and keep doing the work I’ve done all summer.”

Other top men include Tim Burke, a native of Paul Smiths, N.Y., who now lives in Fort Kent as a member of the Maine Winter Sports Center team. He’s in his third World Cup season and has attended two world championships.

Lowell Bailey, another MWSC athlete, qualified for the world championships in 2003 but decided to take time off from biathlon to focus on skiing for the University of Vermont. He’s already done well in his return to biathlon, placing 29th in the pursuit and 40th in the sprint at Oestersund, Sweden, this year.

Jacob Beste, who lives in Underhill, Vt., has competed in world championships and World Cups.

Other notable competitors include Yarmouth native Walt Shepard, who competed in the 2005 world championships and has participated in World Cups, and Robert Duncan Douglas of Lake Placid, N.Y., who was a member of the 1992 and 1994 Olympic teams.

The top U.S. man, Jay Hakkinen, has already qualified for the Olympic team and has remained in northern Italy to train.

By far the best U.S. female biathlete, Rachel Steer of Alaska, is in Fort Kent, along with second-ranked Jill Krause, and twin sisters Lanny and Tracy Barnes, who compete under the MWSC banner.

Steer, who was 31st in the pursuit and 60th in the sprint as a member of the 2002 Olympic team, has recorded 11 top-20 finishes in World Cup competition and has been to every world championships since 1998.

Krause has a special drive for the trials. She was an alternate for the 2002 team.

“It’s totally driving me to make the team this time,” she said. “I think over four years I have more experience, more confidence, more results. It’s all going to help me.”

Krause has competed in the past four world championships and is also a World Cup regular.

The Barnes twins of Durango, Colo., are only 23, but with top-5 rankings they both have a chance to qualify for the Olympic team. Lanny Barnes earned a podium finish with a third place in the individual in the 2002 world junior championships.

Denise Teela, Jeremy Teela’s wife, is in her third year on the World Cup team and is a world championship veteran. Sarah Konrad of Laramie, Wy., also has international experience. Deborah Nordyke of Hadley, N.Y., drew the starting position for Thursday’s individual race. She was a member of the 2002 Olympic team. Yarmouth native Sara Granroth, who now lives in Underhill, Vt., has competed at the international level as well.

Today’s competition

FORT KENT – Good shooting is critical in Thursday’s individual race of the U.S. Olympic biathlon trials. Men must complete a 20-kilometer race, while women do a 15K circuit.

The race is comprised of five sections. The competitor must complete four shooting sessions of five rounds each. The shooting sequence is prone, standing, prone, standing. The competitor can choose his or her firing lane. The competitor is penalized one minute for each missed target.

The women start at 10 a.m., followed by the men at 10:45. The athletes start at 30-second intervals.