PRESQUE ISLE – The last thing Uschi Disl expected when she stepped off the plane at the Northern Maine Regional Airport was a welcome from a fan club.

Fourth-grade pupils from Pine Street Elementary School in Presque Isle were among an estimated 300 people who welcomed Disl and more than 100 other biathletes, coaches and technicians when their chartered plane landed Sunday afternoon.

The athletes, arriving from a competition in Lake Placid, N.Y., were headed for Fort Kent, site of the 2004 Biathlon World Cup from March 3 through 6.

“I am so surprised by this,” Disl said as she signed autographs and posed for pictures with her young fans. “We never get such a welcome anywhere else.”

The Pine Street school pupils “adopted” Disl as part of a classroom curriculum focusing on the biathlon. Other Aroostook County students also adopted athletes. About 1,700 students are expected to come to Fort Kent at some point during the competition.

Many residents opted to welcome the athletes at the airport instead of waiting for Wednesday’s opening ceremonies and brought children with them.

Carol Soucy of Castle Hill stood outside the airport terminal while her 10-year-old grandson played in the snow.

“This is the first time we have ever had biathletes here,” she said. “It’s just awesome, and I wanted my grandson to see this. He’s a skier and a snowboarder. We hope someday he will do something like biathlon.”

The boy was a willing spectator. “I think this is so cool,” Nicholas Barclay said. “All of the biathletes always go to other states, and now these people are here.”

“My daughter started skiing a couple of years ago,” said Katie Michaud of Perham. “It’s important to support [the Maine Winter Sports Center] because they have done so much for Aroostook County.”

The sports center, with funding from the Libra Foundation, created the 10th Mountain Division Biathlon venue in Fort Kent.

Already a biathlon fan, Dayna Michaud, 10, races with the center’s cross-country ski team.

“I know they have to shoot at targets, and it must be hard to carry a rifle on your back while you ski,” the younger Michaud said. “It’s really exciting to have them here.”

Her friend, Danni Anderson, 10, agreed.

“It’s cool,” she said. “We get to see some real athletes, and we have been studying about them in school.”

Earlier in the day many of those at the airport, including a University of Maine at Presque Isle contingent, volunteered at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle for the junior biathlon event.

“We want to show our support and involvement in biathlon,” said Sue Beaudet, a faculty member with UMPI’s recreation program. “It is important for our students to see world-class athletes.”

The arrival of the athletes, their staff and members of the international media on two chartered flights and getting them, their luggage and equipment to their lodgings between Presque Isle and Fort Kent were the first tests of a plan long in the making.

Volunteers have been working since the announcement was made more than a year ago that Fort Kent would host the popular international event. It will be broadcast to more than 20 million viewers in Europe.

“It all seems to be working out,” Gary Daigle, the volunteer in charge of transportation, said Sunday afternoon as he watched four school buses pull into the parking lot to take the new arrivals to their lodgings.

A few minor glitches occurred. Some biathletes got separated from their carry-on luggage, and at least one set of bags went to Fort Kent instead of Caribou.

Most of the athletes made a beeline from the plane to their assigned buses. Others, like Disl, took time to talk to those who welcomed them to northern Maine.

“I have never been here before,” she said and then smiled and laughed. “Look – they have a poster with my name on it.”