David Bergart \u201999 is the nation\u2019s best in his sport. Best in all of North America. But when he walks down the street in Jackson, Wyo., well, nobody really notices. Which is fine with the easy-going Bergart. \u201cWhen I compete in Europe, I\u2019m the underdog American,\u201d he smiles.<\/p>\n
Bergart\u2019s sport is archery-biathlon, a combination of archery and freestyle Nordic skiing. As Bergart\u2019s father once said, it\u2019s a \u201ckinder, gentler\u201d version of the biathlon, which combines skiing and rifle marksmanship. Regardless of the variant, Europeans dominate.<\/p>\n
Competing since he was a teenager, Bergart would practice archery in his Bates dorm room (locking his door first). As a senior, he won the U.S. Ski-Archery Championship.<\/p>\n
He then headed west to Salt Lake City. He joined a wildfire crew, rappelling into fire zones from helicopters 180 feet in the air. He fought the 2001 Green Knoll fire \u2014 \u201ca mini-war\u201d \u2014 in Jackson and never left, getting jobs as Nordic coach of the Jackson Ski Club and at a group home for teenagers.<\/p>\n
In 2004 Bergart raised enough money \u2014 \u201cnickel and diming my friends and family,\u201d he admits \u2014 to race full time on the Archery-Biathlon World Cup Tour. Racing at Premanon, France; Mittewald, Germany; Forni Avoltri, Italy, and in the championships at Poklijuka, Slovenia, Bergart was his own wax coach, his own race coach, and the one figuring the logistics. He finished 15th overall, his best season yet.<\/p>\n
Archery-biathlon is a \u201cyin-yang sport,\u201d Bergart says. \u201cYou\u2019re physically all out in the skiing part, then you\u2019ve got to relax for the archery.\u201d Competitors typically ski several 2.5-kilometer loops, stopping at a range to shoot four arrows. Penalty laps are assessed for missing a target.<\/p>\n
When skiing the loop, Bergart thinks about technique; at the range he clears his mind. \u201cSometimes I sing a song,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I think too much about the mechanics of archery, I don\u2019t do as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crowds, which can number 40,000 in Europe, mass at the range. \u201cIf you miss, the whole crowd goes \u2018Ohhhh…,\u2019\u201d Bergart says. In 2004, Bergart\u2019s strength \u2014 archery \u2014 let him down. After one competition, a French newspaper noted that \u201cif [Bergart] could have hit the side of a barn, he would have medaled.\u201d<\/p>\n
With sponsorship from acquaintances (such as Lavern Gaynor and the Norris Foundation) and corporations (arrow-maker Easton), Bergart heads back to Europe for World Cup events this winter (he\u2019s among three Batesies engaged in international skiing, joining Nordic skiers Justin Freeman \u201998 and David Chamberlain \u201998, members of the U.S. Ski Team). Based in Mittenwald, he\u2019s train with a few Russian and Japanese skiers.<\/p>\n
The sport\u2019s creative tension, between fast motion and poised concentration, appeals to Bergart, but the urge to achieve equilibrium affects his whole life. \u201cIt\u2019s been meaningful,\u201d he notes, to put his Bates psychology degree to work in Jackson with young adults. It complements his athletic pursuits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like balance in everything I do,\u201d he says. \u201cI like being good in two things rather than best in just one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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