With Few Fans And Little Funding, U.S. Biathlon Team Hopes For First Olympic Medals

Imagine running up 10 flights of stairs as hard as you can, and then immediately trying to thread a needle.

A similar union of two opposite skills defines the sport of biathlon. It combines the all-out exertion of cross-country skiing — pushing the limits of human endurance — with the calm, focused precision of rifle shooting.

Biathlon has the distinction of being the only winter Olympic sport in which the U.S. has never won a medal. The American team is hoping to finally break that drought this month.

"I've never seen our team in such high spirits," says biathlete Lowell Bailey, 36, who will be competing in his fourth Olympics. "It's palpable. Everyone wants us to achieve that goal."

Hopes are especially high for at the biathlon World Championships, becoming the first-ever American world champion. A few days later, his teammate nabbed silver, at a World Championship.