Ruslan Reiter of the U.S.A. competes in the men’s middle distance free technique standing para cross-country skiing on March 12 at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Zhangjiakou, China. AP photo
Ruslan Reiter was hoping for more from his performance at the Winter Paralympic Games earlier this month.
As for the experience of again competing half a world away? That was as rewarding as expected.
Reiter, a Maranacook graduate, returned this week from Beijing after competing in his second Paralympics, having participated in two biathlon and two Nordic skiing events, as well as a relay competition.
Reiter, 22, acknowledged concerns about going over, considering China’s strict COVID-19 protocols and the need for technological security measures, but said he was eager to make the trip.
“I was nervous at first, with the pandemic going on and things like that, and people being super careful about security and burner phones,” said Reiter, who was in China from Feb. 26 until arriving back stateside on Tuesday. “But I was definitely excited to go. China’s one of those cool places, the culture is just so cool. It’s very old culture, so that got me excited. It was a really cool experience.”
Reiter, who also competed in the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang in South Korea, said he had high hopes for his events, which began with biathlon competitions before moving to Nordic. Reiter opened with a 12th place finish out of 16 in the 6-kilometer biathlon sprint on March 5, coming in at 19:19.5.
He competed in the 10K biathlon three days later, placing 12th out of 13 at 38:06.7, made the semifinals and took 12th out of 25 in the 5K Nordic sprint race the following day, and then on March 12 competed in a 10K Nordic race and took 10th out of 22 at 39:06.7. He was also on the U.S. open relay team that finished ninth out of 12.
Overall, Reiter said he was looking for more.
“I would say it was more on the disappointment side,” he said. “As a goal for this season I was hoping to hit top five in some of these races, but I didn’t even come close. … It felt like I did better in some of the races four years ago than this time around. It was tough. It was more mentally tough for sure.”
Ruslan Reiter of the U.S. collapses after crossing the finish line at the men’s middle distance free technique standing event of para cross country skiing March 12 at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Zhangjiakou, China. AP photo
The conditions weren’t easy in China. The bitter cold that was there for the Winter Olympics earlier in February lingered into the start of the Paralympics, causing ideal snow conditions, but the temperatures climbed later in Reiter’s stay and made the snow more difficult. Competitors also had to deal with elevation of more than a mile above sea level, which made the air not only frigid, but thin.
“The cold, dry air, my lungs felt it,” he said. “I had to take albuterol after that first race, which helps kind of open up your lungs a little bit. … Once I started taking the albuterol it helped a bit, but then we went from that cold weather to the really warm stuff, so it was just tricky.”
The Nordic sprint race, however, brought the highlight of Reiter’s Paralympics. The sprint competitions began with a qualifying race, and Reiter blitzed through the course at a time of 2:54.49, good for ninth out of 25 skiers and allowing him to make the cut for the semifinals.
“That was probably one of my better races,” he said. “I was really happy about that. That’s the best qualifying result I’ve ever had. … I blew my time by a lot.”
Reiter was fifth when he finished, with more skiers still ahead of him. He expected his name to drop closer to the 12th place cut line, but as skier after skier finished up, his time kept holding.
“It stayed at seventh for quite a bit,” he said. “I went back to the cabin and someone said ‘Oh, you came in ninth.’ I was like ‘Oh, wow.'”
Reiter struggled in the semifinal heat with a time of 3:43.1, placing him last in the six-man heat and ending his hopes for making the final. Disappointed as he was, Reiter knew the victory he had accomplished in making it to China, and another chance to compete on the national stage.
“I totally felt like that,” he said. “It is an honor to go to the Games, and all that. I kept thinking to myself, before I left for the trip, ‘I’ll set a goal, and I either meet the goal or I don’t.’ I was a little hard on myself when you have disappointing races one after another, but it was hard mentally wise. I was fighting myself to keep on the positive side.”
In his off time, pandemic and security protocols made sightseeing difficult, but Reiter did get some chances to take in snippets of Chinese culture.
“The last night that we were there, I went with a couple of my teammates to this restaurant that was in this hotel where you could actually eat real Chinese food,” he said. “I’m glad I went. It was just nice to do something different instead of staying in the bubble.”
The village had Reiter right near the Great Wall, and while he didn’t get to see it in person, he could still get a sense for one of China’s signature structure.
“It would have been really cool, because we were really close, to go somewhere where you could actually be there in person,” he said. “But it was really cool at night. You could see it lit up, and you just saw this string of lights in the distance in the mountains.”
It was at least a taste of a different part of the world, and with 2026’s Games scheduled to be held in Milan, Italy, Reiter will hope to get another in four years.
“I think I’m going to stick around for another four years,” he said. “I’m going to go for it.”
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