Staff
- US Biathlon
Jack Gierhart
President & CEO
Jack Gierhart has been part of the Olympic movement for over 20 years. He has held the role of CEO with three separate NGB’s including US Sailing and USA Fencing. During his tenures, he led these organizations through cultural, organizational, governance, and strategic transformation. Among other things Jack has focused on membership growth, expanding revenue through fundraising and sponsorship, building education platforms, establishing youth development pipelines, and establishing high performance cultures. He enjoys being part of organizations with bold goals and diverse constituents that require teamwork and collaboration to succeed. Jack enjoys the outdoors and spending time alpine and backcountry skiing (he did take a biathlon lesson from Susan Dunklee this past winter!), hiking, sailing, and cycling. He lives in Marion, MA with his wife, one of their two daughters and son. Jack graduated from Tulane University with a BA in Economics and from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business with an MBA.
+1 (617) 413 6187
Lowell Bailey
Director of High Performance
Lowell was born in Siler City, NC, and grew up in Lake Placid, NY. He skied for the University of Vermont Catamounts for four years while finishing his undergraduate degree. While attending UVM, he placed 2nd in two successive NCAA Championships ('03,'04) and was a three-time NCAA Academic All-American. Lowell competed for U.S. Biathlon from 2001 until he retired after the 2017/18 season. He competed in four Olympic Winter Games, three Junior World Championships, and 11 World Championships. At the 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, Lowell became the first American in history to win a biathlon World Championship, taking the gold medal in the men's 20-kilometer individual. He was also the first athlete to qualify for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team. Aside from biathlon, Lowell has a passion for music and plays both guitar and mandolin. Lowell currently resides in Lake Placid, NY with his wife, Erika, and two daughters.
+1 518 637 6005
Tim Burke
Director of Athlete Development
Tim grew up in Paul Smiths, New York, where he ski raced from a young age and started biathlon at age 12. What began as a hobby turned into a long career in biathlon as Tim went on to compete in 14 World Cup seasons, 11 World Championships, and four Olympic Games. Along the way, Tim had multiple World Cup podiums, a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships, and became the first American to wear the Yellow Bib as the overall leader of the World Cup. Tim currently resides in Lake Placid, New York, with his wife, Andrea, and dog, Heidi.
+1 518 637 1719
Sara Studebaker-Hall
Director of Operations
Sara is a two-time Olympic biathlete and three-time World Championship team member for U.S. Biathlon, competing on the National Team between 2007-2014. Previous to her work with U.S. Biathlon, Sara was the Assistant Nordic Coach for the University of Alaska Anchorage, and the Nordic Program Manager and Head Coach for Team Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She also served as USBA Athlete Representative on the Board of Directors and the USOPC Athlete Advisory Council from 2016-2019. Sara earned her Technical Delegate certification from the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in May 2022, and was elected to the IBU Technical Committee in September 2022. Sara enjoys her work giving back to the biathlon community, and is especially passionate about youth development, officials education, events, and growing the sport. Sara graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in International Relations, and earned her MBA from Keller University Graduate School. She has also completed the Team USA Leadership Certificate Program, and the IBU Women's Mentorship Program. Sara enjoys traveling and the outdoors - especially hiking, cross-country skiing, and backpacking. Sara is originally from Boise, Idaho and now lives in Latham, NY with her husband and two children.
+1 208 340 5489
John Farra
Director of Sport Development
John comes to U.S. Biathlon as a former National Champion and 1992 Olympian in Cross-Country skiing from Lake Placid, NY. Since retiring as an athlete, he has built a successful career in sport performance, including Nordic Director for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, as well as Nordic skiing High Performance Director for U.S. Paralympics, overseeing both Cross-Country and Biathlon, and most recently he served as High Performance GM for USA Triathlon where his Olympic and Paralympic teams led the medals count for the sport in Tokyo. John now serves as the Director of Sport Development for U.S. Biathlon with goals to grow the number of participants, clubs and educated coaches across the country. John lives in Heber City, Utah, next to the Soldier Hollow biathlon venue where he often serves as a Technical Official & volunteer.
+1 719 744 2842
Sara Donatello
Communications Manager
Sara was born and raised in Lake Placid, New York, and currently lives in Saratoga Springs, New York. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she studied Communication, Business, and Anthropology. Prior to working for U.S. Biathlon, Sara worked in the Communications Department for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games' Organizing Committee. Sara enjoys reading, walking her dogs, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
+1 518 524 5354
Georgia Rabin
Business & Membership Manager
Georgia was born and raised in Rockport, Massachusetts and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is a 2020 graduate of the University of Michigan where she was a contracted Army ROTC cadet and majored in History of Art. Prior to her work with US Biathlon, Georgia was an adaptive alpine and nordic ski instructor with the National Ability Center in Park City, as well as an adaptive mountain bike, rock climbing, and archery coach in the summer. She went on to collaborate with US Ski and Snowboard Para-Sports to develop off-snow adaptive training programs for the US Paralympic Mono-Ski team. She is now a 1st Lieutenant with Utah National Guard, serving as the Adjutant General officer in charge with the 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion in West Jordan, Utah. Georgia enjoys backcountry skiing with friends and is a competitor on the only all women’s Skijorring team in the U.S.
+1 978 968 8551
Federico Fontana
Team General Manager
Coaches
Armin Auchentaller
National Team Head Coach
Armin is from Antholz, Italy and has been involved with Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing since he was nine years old. He raced on the Italian Biathlon and Cross-Country Regional Team and was a member of the Italian Biathlon National Team. Armin began his coaching career in 1992 at a Ski Club in Antholzertal, Italy. He has since been the Coach for the Regional Biathlon Team Süditrol-AltoAdige, Coach and Wax Technician for the Italian Biathlon National Junior Team, Head Coach of the Italian Women's Biathlon National Team, Coach of the Italian Men’s Biathlon Team, Coach of the U.S. Biathlon Team from 2009-2014, Head Coach of the Swiss Women's Biathlon National Team 2014-2018, Head Coach of the U.S. Biathlon Women's National Team 2018-2022, and has been the Head Coach for the U.S. Men/Women National Team since 2022. He has coached four Olympic teams, one Swiss Team and three American Teams. Outside of Biathlon, Armin enjoys reading, skiing, biking, hiking, and spending time with his wife, Lisa, and two daughters, Hannah and Leni, who are both active in Biathlon.
Emil Bormetti
National Team Assistant Coach
Emil has been skiing for as long as he has been walking. He began biathlon at the age of 14 in his home valley of Livigno, Italy. After a career of competing both domestically in Italy and internationally at IBU Cup events, Emil retired at the age of 21 to begin his coaching career. Over the course of five years, Emil coached multiple athletes from various countries to international heights in biathlon. Emil, who continues to reside in Italy, joined the American staff in 2022. He travels regularly to the United States and assists Head Coach, Armin Auchentaller, on the World Cup/World Championship circuit throughout the winter.
Brian Halligan
Junior National Team Head Coach
Brian is a retired biathlete turned coach and content creator. As a former U.S. Biathlon Junior Team member, Brian competed at numerous international events, including the Youth and Junior World Biathlon Championships and Open European Biathlon Championships. After retiring from racing, Brian began coaching in New York and eventually became Program Director at the ASC Training Center in Lake Tahoe, California and was even contracted by NBC during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a Biathlon Statistician. Brian takes pleasure in mentoring the nation's up-and-coming Youth and Junior biathletes. Along with coaching, Brian is passionate about creating biathlon-related content on his YouTube channel, which boasts over 3,100 subscribers. His channel offers engaging, informative, and analytical content on our niche Olympic sport.
+1 518 321 6471
