After Norway's star biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won his historic fourth gold medal in the 2002 Winter Games, Anders Besseberg, the president of the International Biathlon Union declared, "There's a new name for biathlon. It's Ole Bjoerndalen."
The last time anyone won that many medals was in 1980 when American speedskater Eric Heiden took home five at the Lake Placid Games.
Yet Americans paid it little attention.
While Russia, Germany and Norway dominate in a sport that combines the rigors of cross country skiing and the mental concentration of rifle marksmanship, U.S. biathletes have never won an Olympic medal.
That didn't change during the 2002 Winter Games. But U.S. biathletes are skiing faster and shooting better than ever. As a result, they are slowly moving up the ranks ? from 30th, to 20th and now 15th in the world.
Jay Hakkinen of Alaska captured an unprecedented 13th-place finish in an Olympic competition; fellow Alaskan Jeremy Teela tied for the previous-best American finish at 14th place.
It may be an improvement, but Americans are still lagging behind.
There are roughly 100 U.S. biathletes who compete in the sport now, many of whom work part-time jobs or are part of a military program that allows top talents to train while serving in the service. In contrast, Germany has more than 700 biathletes, many of whom are professionals in secure jobs with the military.
After the 2002 Winter Games, biathlon officials hope that will change.
"I think the enthusiasm and new awareness that this Olympics has generated is a springboard for its popularity among kids," said Lyle Nelson, a four-time Olympian and biathlon manager of Salt Lake Organizing Committee. "What it will take is enough money to have programs. The hope is that we generated enough goodwill that support will materialize."
Jerry Kokesh, marketing director for the U.S. Biathlon Association, is cautiously optimistic.
Corporate sponsors are few, and biathlon still receives limited funding from the U.S. Olympic Committee.
"We are at a crossroads," Kokesh said. "We need somebody to get as enthused with biathlon as they are with luge. We need a sugar daddy."
Regional centers have been set up in Minnesota, Vermont, Alaska, Maine and now Utah to help develop such up-and-comers like Jill Krause of St Cloud, Minn. and Lanny Barnes of Durango, Colo. Both have achieved top-four results in competitions in Europe.
That has U.S. biathlon officials hopeful that for the first time the medals podium is almost in their rifle sites.
"This is the perfect place to be," Nelson said of Soldier Hollow, located near rural Midway. "All we want to have is a program where 60 to 80 kids have a great time skiing. Of that, one or two kids will become elite."
E-mail: donna@desnews.com