By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

NEW GLOUCESTER – Haley Johnson had put the biathlon behind her – at least for the time being.

As the Lake Placid native began skiing at Bates College, she decided to focus on one discipline.

“When I went to Bates, I knew that I wanted to ski for Bates because I really like to work with Becky Woods,” Johnson said of the Bates ski coach. “Because of the collegiate circuit, it’s good to just do nordic skiing instead of trying to mix it, especially with school. So I decided to just do the college circuit, which was great. It was a good opportunity to learn how to ski fast.”

Though she had stowed away her rifle for some limited dry firing in the security office, Johnson couldn’t dismiss the ideas of the biathlon completely. After a few successful seasons at Bates, Johnson left school to pursue the biathlon full-time.

“I had the feeling that it wasn’t time to be in school,” said Johnson “It was time to pursue something like this. That was when the Maine Winter Sports Center started to bring in athletes as well as my coach from high school. So there was a natural connection. So I wanted to give it a try.”

Johnson, 21, has been chasing her Olympic dream full-time for nearly two years. She’s had a number of top 20 finishes, including a ninth in the sprint at the European Cup in Gurnigel, Switzerland.

“I’m really glad I made the switch and took time off from school to pursue it,” said Johnson.

Walt Shepard, 22, is another Olympic hopeful with Maine ties, growing up in Yarmouth. He first saw the biathlon on television while on a family trip to Quebec. He got involved at age 12 when L.L. Bean began the Winter Ski Festival, which brought in various members of the U.S. Biathlon team.

“This will be my first go at the Olympics, which is what everyone in the sport will agree, is pretty young,” said Shepard.

Like Johnson, he knows his success in the sport lies well ahead of him, but there’s hope that he can make a bid for the games at Turino, Italy.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency, I guess, in that I definitely want to be an Olympian,” said Shepard. “It’s an achievable goal this year for me. Last year, I was fifth overall at the world championship team trails, and they’ll take five people for the Olympics this year. So I’m right on the bubble. It would be disappointing to not make the team this year, but having said that, there will be more chances for me, and I intend to take advantage of those at some point.”

James Upham, the development coach for the USBA, says Shepard is one of the best shooters on the male squad. In head-to-head competition on the range, Shepard thrives on that situation, but Upham doesn’t want to push him too much for an immediate Olympic spot.

“Making the Olympic team for Walt is a great goal, but not a goal we’re pushing,” said Upham. “Because they start to count heads, and I don’t like that. I want to see international performances.”

Johnson has younger siblings – Kara (age 20) and Lars (age 13). All three hope to reach the Olympics together in the future. Though Italy could be attainable for Johnson, a spot on the team for Vancouver in 2010 may be more realistic.

“She’s one of those athletes that we need to teach how to shoot and get her technique up to par and up to international standards,” said Upham. “She’s going to do very, very well because I know she’s got the physiological base and that physiological capability, high-end capability. There’s no pressure on her to perform in the upcoming years, but we want to see her start to turn some heads in the B-level circuit, especially in Europe.”