Olympic Twins Shoot in Biathalon
Colorado biathletes are inseparable
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
CESANA, Italy (AP) — About the only difference between biathletes Lanny and Tracy Barnes is their bib numbers.
The 23-year-old identical twins from Durango, Colo., have shooting and skiing styles that are nearly indistinguishable to the casual observer — and often to their coaches, as well.
And, of course, they look alike, which explains why the opposition will see double in Thursday’s women’s 4×6km relay, when the Barnes twins make up half the U.S. entry.
The goal for the Americans is to make sure the rest of the field doesn’t need a rearview mirror to see them finish. At Salt Lake City in 2002, the U.S. team finished last, more than 12 minutes behind gold medalist Germany.
A team relay is a bit of an anomaly in the cross country skiing and shooting hybrid of biathlon, where even athletes from the same country rarely train together. But the Barnes twins run counter to that tendency.
“This sport is just such an individual sport that you don’t see people hanging out together, training together.” Lanny Barnes said. “And I think one of the advantages for Tracy and I is we have very, very similar physiology. We can use that to our advantage and help each other go faster and stronger.”
Even U.S. national development coach James Upham finds it hard to tell them apart.
“Very rarely are they separated,” Upham said. “Usually at the beginning of the training we do a couple of shootings separated so that gets them in their own rhythm and I can see all the shots. But then they work together the rest of the workout. They ski together, shoot together, test the skis together.”
On the course, it’s even harder to tell who’s who unless you get a good look at their training bibs. Lanny is No. 242. Tracy is No. 243.
“The way they move is different but they’re almost always within a second or two of ski time and shooting time, so the results are very similar,” Upham said. “Any time we test heart rates or lactates or anything like that, it’s almost the same. It’s like testing the same person, same blood.”
Each has her edge, however.
“I think she usually ends up shooting a couple seconds faster than me and I end up skiing a couple seconds faster than her, so in the end it usually works out,” Tracy Barnes said. “But most of the time, we’re pretty equal skiing and shooting as far as the number of targets hit.”
The Barnes grew up in an outdoors family that hunted and fished and skied and hiked together. Their father, Thad, taught them how to bag turkeys, elk, grouse.
“We had a bow and arrow at 6 and a BB gun at 7,” Tracy said.
World-class shooters now, they’re still honing their skiing skills.
“I think when you finally get those two to come together,” said Lanny, “that’s when you …
“Have mastered the sport,” interjected Tracy.
“Definitely,” Lanny nodded, not in the least troubled by the interruption.
In addition to hunting and fishing, they also took up downhill skiing in the Rockies when they were kids. Cross country skiing came later.
“We were playing soccer so we thought it would be a good idea in the winter to get in shape through Nordic skiing,” Tracy said. “And it really stuck with us.”
They were at a shooting range one day in high school when someone told them about biathlon. They tried it and were immediately hooked.
Both won medals in the 2002 Junior World Championships and set their sights on the Turin Games and the mile-high altitude of San Sicario. Though the venue has been a source of complaint for some biathletes, it suits the twins just fine after years at the 6,500-foot elevation of Durango.
“Lanny and I are from altitude, so we feel comfortable up here,” Tracy said. “We love it up here. It’s like home for us.”
The Barnes have been getting their college education piecemeal, attending schools in Colorado, Utah, Minnesota and Maine — wherever they happen to be training at the time.
They’re about a year from getting their degrees, which for once have taken them on separate paths. Tracy plans to go into business, while Lanny is studying biology.
Still, they have shared plenty of core classes, allowing them to study together.
“That’s helped a lot,” they said in unison before skiing off.
Together, of course.
AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton also is a twin. His brother, Drew, is a university professor in Wisconsin.
Updated on Wednesday, Feb 22, 2006 7:24 am EST
