Two-time Olympian joins Seawolf coaching staff

Sara Studebaker at a 2013 World Cup biathlon race in Italy. GEPA/Daniel Goetzhaber

ANCHORAGE – Alaska Anchorage head ski coach Sparky Anderson announced the addition of two-time Olympian Sara Studebaker to the 2014-15 Seawolf coaching staff. Studebaker will serve as the assistant Nordic coach.

Studebaker, a biathlete from Boise, Idaho, comes to UAA after wrapping up her professional career in the World Cup circuit last spring and at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia as a member of Team USA. She was also a three-year member of the U.S. World Championships Team and competed collegiately for Dartmouth College.

“We’re extremely excited about adding Sara to our coaching staff,” said Anderson. “As a two-time Olympian and a key component of the 2007 Dartmouth ski team that won an NCAA Championship, Sara understands what it takes to compete and succeed on the biggest stage.”

“I’m honored to join the UAA staff and I look forward to working with such talented athletes,” said Studebaker. “Having spent the last few years training in and out of Anchorage, I am very excited to have this opportunity to give back to the Alaska ski community. UAA has so much to offer student-athletes, especially skiers, and I am eager to help them succeed, both on and off the trails.”

At Sochi, Studebaker competed in three individual races, including a 44th-place showing in the 7.5km sprint, while helping Team USA to a seventh-place result in the 4x6km relay. Most recently, she competed in Oslo, Norway, in her final World Cup competition. Overall, Studebaker concluded the 2013-14 with a No. 93 ranking.

After graduating from Dartmouth College in 2007, Studebaker moved to the Lake Placid, N.Y., to begin training as a member of the U.S. Biathlon Team. She made her first Olympic Team in 2010 and headed to Vancouver, B.C., where she furnished four top-50 results – including a season-best 34th in the 15km race.

Release courtesy of UAA Athletics