Deedra Irwin's path to the Olympics wasn't paved with luxury training facilities or financial backing. The Green Bay native slept in her car and dog-sat to make ends meet while pursuing her biathlon dreams in Sun Valley, Idaho.
"Going into the last Olympics, I really didn't know how much it meant and how much you sacrifice and how much you give and how much you look back on the communities that helped you grow as a person and as an athlete," Irwin said.
The Wisconsin native credits her blue-collar upbringing for instilling the work ethic that carried her to Olympic competition.
"I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A very blue-collar family. They taught me how to just wake up and work hard every day and get stuff done, just from a very young age," Irwin said. "I was encouraged to be independent that I had to take responsibility for my training, my school, and everything like that."
After college, Irwin moved to Sun Valley to train but faced housing challenges that required creative solutions.
Watch: Olympic biathlete reflects on sacrifice, community support that shaped her journey
"I chose instead of renting a place, I decided to hop from dog sitting job to dog sitting job while mostly storing all of my stuff in my car," Irwin said. "I didn't have a place to dog sit at our anything like that until an amazing family took me in and let me store stuff in their garage."
The former cross-country skier discovered biathlon when her best friend encouraged her to attend a US Biathlon camp in Lake Placid. She was immediately drawn to the sport's unique demands.
"So Biathlon is this crazy combination of high-level endurance Nordic skiing and super focused, precise rifle marksmanship," Irwin said. "So, pretty much our race comes down to ski a loop, shoot prone, then you ski another loop, you shoot standing, and then you ski a loop and finish."
Irwin competed in five biathlon events, finishing 35th in both the 10-kilometer and 15-kilometer races. Her highest ranking was 14th in the mixed relay.
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