Josh Thompson (biathlete)

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Joshua Casey Thompson (born in Lawrence, Kansas on February 28, 1962 [1] ) is a retired American biathlete and pilot. He was educated at Colorado Rocky Mountain School and Western State Colorado University, attending the latter on an athletic scholarship and leading them to a national collegiate cross-country title. He initially enjoyed success at junior level as a cross-country skier before switching to biathlon after first coming across the sport while competing at the junior national cross-country championships in 1980. [2] His silver at the 20 km race of the Biathlon World Championships 1987 was the best place a US biathlete had achieved at that point. [3] [4] He never won an Olympic medal [5] but finished sixteenth at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, which was a good showing for Americans at that time. [6] As the sport was not popular in the US at that time he was said to be better known in Europe than in his homeland. [7] He has since become a pilot in Gunnison, Colorado. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ Sports Reference
  2. ↑ Lieber, Jill (27 January 1988). "Targeting The Top". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Sports Illustrated
  4. ↑ "US Biathlon history page". Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  5. ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer - February 21, 1988 - D12 SPORTS
  6. ↑ Dallas Morning News
  7. ↑ Popular Mechanics March 1988
  8. ↑ Average Joe: God's Extraordinary Calling to Ordinary Men by Troy Meeder, pgs 138-145


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