PARK CITY, Utah — Emily Campbell, A 17-year-old senior from Park City High School, will represent the United States at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in South Korea this week.
Beginning in the sport when she was just 7 years old, Campbell competes in the Biathlon, combining her skills in shooting and cross-country skiing.
The teen's heart rate reaches an almost explosive 220 beats per minute while skiing, then calming it to 180 to shoot targets as small as two inches from 50 meters away.
“I'll typically pick like a hill or a spot before coming into the range while kind of backing off my skiing and lower my heart rate a bit before I can come into the range so that I make sure I'm not like huffing and puffing too much when I'm in there,” Campbell explained. “Then I just tried to relax and let my body do what it knows how to do.”
During qualifying rounds, she made it into the Youth Olympics by a mere tenth of a second.
“I think it's the tightest trial I've ever been to," she reflected. "It was really good competition. But yeah, I was really happy with how it went.”
Campbell is one of only three US women to qualify for the Biathlon and the only Utahn.
She and her parents are now in South Korea for the games. Campbell's parents are former college athletes and her older brother skis for Michigan Tech right now after competing in biathlon as a teen himself.
“Once he started Nordic skiing, I always loved following in his footsteps and everything," Campbell reflected. "So I was like, Oh, my gosh, well, if he does, I have to do it.”
This week, Emily said she’s representing more than her family.
“I don't even know if like words can describe that amount of pride you just feel for your country and like the fact that you were chosen out of so many awesome people to be able to represent your country," she said.
Her first race takes place on January 20, 2024.
