BRILLION, Wis. — After more than a decade competing at the highest levels of biathlon, Wisconsin native Paul Schommer is trading the international circuit for a new role closer to home.
Schommer was part of the U.S. men's relay team that delivered the country's best-ever Olympic finish in the 4x7.5km event — placing fifth — and competed in five world championships and two Winter Olympics before stepping away from the sport.
Watch: Wisconsin Olympian Paul Schommer returns home to inspire next generation of biathlon athletes
"A little over 10 years ago when I started my biathlon career, I didn't really know how long I was going to be in the sport," Schommer said.
But as last season approached, he knew it was time for a change.
"I knew it was my time to step away from the sport, to move on to something new," Schommer said.
Years of competing took Schommer across the country and around the globe, temporarily living in dozens of places.
"Lake Placid, New York, Duluth, Minnesota, Fargo, North Dakota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Bozeman, Montana… I mean I could sit here and name off all these places that we went back to year after year after year," Schommer said.
Now, he has returned to the family farm in Wisconsin — the same place where his father grew up — and taken on a new role at the Ariens Nordic Center, the U.S. Biathlon National Training Center that helped shape his own Olympic journey.
"I just moved back into the family farm. It's where my dad grew up," Schommer smiled.
He also has a new puppy, Mico, named after his final Winter Olympics.
In his new role, Schommer is focused on growing the sport at the grassroots level, including working with local schools to get more young athletes on skis.
"My big goal is just to get more people out on skis and really share the sport that's given me so much with other people. To show them that there's a great opportunity to have a healthy, fit, active lifestyle outdoors, right close to home," Schommer said.
He hopes the Ariens Nordic Center can continue to serve as a foundation for the next generation of skiers and biathletes.
"I'm hoping to be working with local schools, getting kids on skis here at the Nordic Center," Schommer said.
"We want to just give them the building blocks here of learning how to ski and know that this is a facility where you can do just that," Schommer said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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