TUKWILA, Wash., - After winning the Chief of the National Guard Bureau’s junior winter biathlon individual title in March, everyone knew Pfc. Mike Scharn was good on snow.
But Scharn, 19, showed he was just as good on bare ground today, when the South Dakota Guardsman crossed the line first in the junior pursuit race here at the 2010 U.S. Biathlon Association Summer Biathlon National Championships.
The pursuit race included a 4-kilometer sprint on Aug. 18 and a 6-kilometer race today.
During the course of the two-day event, Scharn ran 10 kilometers in 44 minutes, 2 seconds while hitting 17 of 30 targets.
Summer biathlon, which entails cross country running and .22 caliber rifle marksmanship, is the warm-weather version of the Winter Olympic sport of biathlon that includes cross country skiing and marksmanship. It is one of four sports sponsored by the National Guard’s Military Competitions Office.
The summer title culminated what Scharn himself described as “a great year of biathlon.”
After winning the National Guard junior races in March in Minnesota, Scharn traveled around the globe to locations including Italy, Germany and Chile to compete alongside top National Guard senior elite athletes in international biathlons.
“Summer biathlon helps your preparation for winter quite a bit,” said Scharn, a member of the 200th Engineer Company. “I think it’s more difficult to run into the range and hit targets. With skiing, you can just glide in and rest before shooting.”
Scharn was one of four Guard athletes competing in the pursuit race today. Maj. Joshua Barrow of the Washington Guard finished fifth in the men’s senior race (48:02) and Spc. Andrew Gelinas of the Utah Guard was eighth (57:24). Utah Master Sgt. Doug Bernard began the day in sixth place in the senior race but was sidelined by an illness.
Doug Hoover hit 26 of his 30 targets over the two days and won the senior men’s race in 39:11. Sibylle Wilbert won the women’s national championship in 52:06.
The Summer Biathlon National Championships will continue through Aug. 21 at the Seattle Police Athletic Association range. The mass start race will include five National Guard athletes.
There are 28 entrants in the biathlon event, including five women and 23 men.