of cross-country running and outdoor track. A fellow Nordic teammate lured her to the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club her junior year after telling her that there were “no girls at the range,” hinting at a challenge she couldn’t refuse. Not long after, Danika followed her immediate attraction to the sport by attending USOC summer youth training camps in Lake Placid, NY, and training under
USBA Development Coach Algis Shalna. She enrolled at the University of Vermont as an Environmental Science major in 2009, and trained and competed for three years in youth and junior categories with the USBA Collegiate Program (which has recently evolved to “Vermont Biathlon”) in NorAm Races and U.S. Junior World Trials Races. Danika cherishes the years she spent seriously training for biathlon and everything that came out of it. She considers herself “wholly in love with sport,” and seeks to share her passion and accumulated knowledge of biathlon with youth, masters, and curious athletes in Vermont and the greater U.S. biathlon community. Currently, Danika is focusing on gearing up for trail running races in Fall 2013, and plans on traveling to Sochi, Russia, to volunteer at the biathlon venue for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.