FORT KENT (NEWS CENTER Maine) – Sarah Beaulieu started competing as a biathlete at the age of 12.
She got her start at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center where Olympic athletes of trained and competed for the last 20 years.
" I love the challenge. I really do,” Beaulieu said in between target practice and laps around the stadium.
Beaulieu competes in biathlon events all across the country, just narrowly missing the chance to compete in the World Junior Biathlon Championships.
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She said not many people in the U.S. know about the sport that combines shooting and Nordic skiing.
“They get biathlon and triathlon mixed up a lot so they think I bike and swim or run and bike,” she said. “It is a little too cold for that.”
Many young athletes like Beaulieu get their start at the facility whether they are just trying the sport for the first time or have goals of competing at the Olympic level.
"It's pretty awesome to see," coach Seth Hubbard said.
Hubbard is one of two-time Olympic biathlete Russel Currier's trainers. He just returned home to Fort Kent from qualifying rounds with Currier in Europe.
"I think everyone in northern Maine is proud of what Russel has been able to do,” he said. “Obviously if Olympics is the goal for them we love to see that, but everyone has a different path."
For Sarah Beaulieu the athletes who have made it to that level that giver her motivation. She and Currier both trained and competed with the Outdoor Sport Institute at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center.
"It's very inspiring knowing that my teammates can do it and just watching them,” Beaulieu said.
She said she is proud to be able to train at a place that most people do not realize is tucked away in the far northern Maine town, and she hopes athletes continue to find their passion for the sport there.
"We get people from not only the U.S. but the world coming to watch competitions and see this little gem we have in Maine,” she said.
Although the facility was first funded by The Libra Foundation and the property is now owned by New Gloucester-based Pineland Farms, it is run almost entirely by volunteers and dependent on corporate sponsors and independent donors.
You can learn more about the facility here.
The Winter Olympics 2018 in PyeongChang start on Feb. 8th right here on NEWS CENTER Maine.