Making community strides

Ex-Olympic biathlon athlete giving back to help kids find their (ski) paths

By Carol Stender

Battle Lake native Wynn Roberts is a helicopter pilot flying for both the ND National Guard and for Life Link III of Detroit Lakes, but there was another time he was flying high... with competitive energy and excitement. Roberts was an Olympian representing the U.S. in the biathlon at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Although he retired from competitive skiing, Roberts never left the sport. He continues to ski and is giving back. Roberts has donated cross-country ski equipment - 40 sets of boots, skis and poles - to the Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (HLA) Lower Campus in Fergus Falls. The Lower Campus’ physical education teacher, Heidi Retzlaff, leads the program.

“It’s a way the students can learn a life-long sport,” he said.

This year he also started HLA’s high school cross-country ski team with assistance from Gretchen Larson. The team included 7-12 grade and was a great learning experience for them all.

This was Hillcrest’s first cross-country ski team. There were nine students interested in taking part, he said. Some were experienced skiers. Others were not.

“It’s a building year,” he said. “It’s learning what the sport is. When we started, there wasn’t any snow, so we started with running and building strength. And they did great for their first year.”

His donation of the equipment and time for the cross-country ski team at HLA goes beyond competition.

“My goal is let’s give the whole school something that kids might not have the opportunity to do exclusively,” he said. “My goal is to give the kids a life-long sport. They can participate in something as a group. There is nothing better for kids than to do something outdoors.”

His own foray into the sport started with the same encouragement as he now extends to the students. And it all began with a friendship his father, Paul, formed with Larry Eisinger, retired pediatrician at Lake Region Healthcare in Fergus Falls.

Eisinger, his wife Nancy, and their family were all skiing enthusiasts and prompted Paul, his wife Linda, and their three children - Wynn, Conrad and Kelci -  to give it a try. And they enjoyed it.

At the time, Roberts was a seventh grader and the Eisingers’ son, Rolf, was a senior. A bond was formed between the two with the older one mentoring the younger.

Few schools, at the time, had ski programs so the Roberts joined a ski club, The Otter Tail Nordic Ski Association. They learned more about the sport and competed in events.

Eventually, the Battle Lake athletic director, seeing his interest and participation in the sport, told Roberts the school was adding cross-country skiing to its sports offerings. And he was the team at that point.

Roberts was around 12 when he got interested in firearms, thanks to the encouragement and knowledge of Gary Wall who operated the former South Mill station in Fergus Falls. Roberts joined the Fergus Falls Jr. Rifle Club. 

“I was at a Jr. High championship race and met families that said I should go to a recruiting camp for the biathlon,” he said.

He was drawn to the biathlon due to his competitive nature, he said.

“That’s how I got hooked up with the sport and it led to the Olympics,” Roberts said.

The biathlon is a true test of endurance. It combines cross-country skiing with precision .22 caliber rifle shooting at 50-meter targets.

Cross-country skiing originates from Scandinavian military exercises and demands extreme cardiovascular endurance and calm focus. Athletes often shoot at targets while their heart rates exceed 180 beats-per-minute. 

“You are always trying to do something in the sport,” he said. “You ski fast, and then stop and hit a target, and put it all together for a perfect race.”

Roberts’ finish at the Olympic Games had him placing 83rd out of 87 racers. He describes it as “getting creamed,” but he adds the experience was a thrill.

“I wasn’t thinking about placing,” he said. “I was excited to be racing.”

And it was exciting to see the Battle Lake community supporting his Olympic venture.

“You do things for yourself being an athlete and it can be selfish,” he said. “But also knowing you are there for the people who support you, that is special. You are competing, but you are there because of the investment they made in you. It was cool to know I made it someplace and knowing the community was there with me.”

Roberts and his wife Anna and their three children, Morgan, Henry, and Luca, live north of Fergus Falls. And, whenever the Olympics take place, the Roberts family is watching.

“It’s a fun sport to watch,” he said of the biathlon. “Curling moves slow, but cross-country skiing, that’s fast.”

And he remembers. He recalls the camaraderie of all the Olympic athletes, the friendships he formed and the Olympic community. Now he shares that through his work and his involvement teaching others the sport.