BEIJING — Pulaski's own Deedra Irwin has had a successful Olympics in Beijing after finishing 7th in the 15km biathlon, and in the top 25 for mass start.
The mass start event was around 1 a.m. local time on Friday, where Irwin placed 23rd out of 30. The U.S. Biathlon team shared her accomplishments on Twitter following the event, saying "What an Olympics for [Irwin], who had an amazing day in her first-ever mass start to take a top 25. Wow."
23rd place!!!
— US Biathlon (@USBiathlon) February 18, 2022
What an Olympics for @deedrablu, who had an amazing day in her first ever mass start to take a top 25. Wow.
📷 Nordic Focus pic.twitter.com/K6aUNKzYKg
Irwin participated in five events for the 2022 winter games, the first Olympic games of her career. Her best results came from the 15km individual biathlon where she placed 7th.
Fun fact, Irwin ate an entire bowl of cake the night before that event.
The other races Irwin took part in were the 7.5km spring, the 10km pursuit, and the 4x6km relay. She took 37th in the 7.5km, 47th in the 10k pursuit, and 11th in the relay.
What makes all this even more impressive is Irwin is not a life-long skier. She only picked it up in high school while trying to stay in shape for the running season.
Congratulations on your accomplishments, Deedra!
