With the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia just over three weeks away, the nominations to the U.S. Olympic team have begun rolling in quickly. Many Vermont towns can make new boasts as hometown to an Olympian.
This week Morristown native Hannah Dreissigacker was named to the U.S. Biathlon Team, where she joins Susan Dunklee, of Barton, who prequalified based upon her World Cup results from last winter. Incidentally, Craftsbury can also claim both Dreissigacker and Dunklee, as both are members of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, based out of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
While Dunklee enjoyed early team prequalification, Dreissigacker sweat it out right down to the final set of qualifying races in Riduan, Italy over the past two weekends. On Saturday she secured her spot on the team by leading the Americans with a tenth place finish in the 15k Women's individual race.
According to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Dunklee and Dreissigacker have been teammates in one form or another since the early 1990s. They first skied together for the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club, then went on to be college teammates at Dartmouth. Now both women compete with the Green Racing Project and have been named to their first Olympic team.
Both women are also daughters of Olympians. Susan's father Stan Dunklee skied for UVM and was on the U.S. Olympic Nordic team in 1976 and 1980. Hannah is the daughter of two Olympic rowers, Judy Geer (1976, 1980 & 1984) and Dick Dreissigacker (1972).
While not official, Green Racing Project teammate Ida Sargent will also likely be going to Sochi, with the U.S. Nordic team. Sargent is a U.S. Ski Team member who has met the Olympic selection criteria, based upon her World Cup Sprint points. Ida hails from Orleans.