Westervelt Makes History at Lake Placid World University Games

University of Vermont junior Bjorn Westervelt (Stowe, Vt./University of Vermont & USBA) became the first American to medal in men’s biathlon at a World University Games when he captured the silver medal in last Wednesday’s 10-kilometer sprint. A day later in the 12.5km pursuit, Westervelt won gold…the first international biathlon victory for the U.S. since Lowell Bailey’s world championship title in 2017.

The double-medal performance for Westervelt at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games was made even sweeter by achieving the feat on the home snow at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

"It was really an amazing experience to have international races here in the U.S.," Westervelt said. "It was really a team effort from all of my coaches, teammates, organizing committee, and volunteers to make it all happen and come together in such a special way in front of a home crowd."

The men’s pursuit started based on results from the previous day’s sprint, with sprint winner Bekentay Turlubekov from Kazakhstan starting first and Westerfelt chasing eight seconds later. But Turlubekov missed two targets on his first trip through the shooting range while Westervelt shot clean.

The only obstacle now standing between the American and the gold medal was Ukraine’s Dmytrii Hrushchak. Westervelt knew he had to pass the Ukrainian in either the shooting range or on the final lap. While Hrushchak missed one target—sending him into the penalty loop before the final lap—Westervelt cleaned all five targets and crossed the line 48 seconds ahead of Hrushchak for the gold medal.

“Bjorn showed incredible composure in the pursuit race by shooting clean on the last stage,” said U.S. Biathlon Director of Athlete Development Tim Burke. “I'm sure Bjorn will benefit from that experience for many years to come.”

Said Westervelt: "I knew going into the race that I had the ski speed but really had to focus on racing my own race and not getting caught up in the head-to-head action of a pursuit race, and I was able to do just that, and it all came together, especially in that last standing shooting."

The mechanical engineering major also took great pride in winning the world’s largest multi-sport event for collegiate athletes, ages 17-25.

"It is very special and feels pretty amazing to be both a gold and silver World University Games medalist representing all the student-athletes out there pursuing higher education and professional athletics," Westervelt added.

The 11-day Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games featured 1,443 collegiate athletes from 540 universities across 46 countries. The competition consisted of 12 winter sports and 85 medal events.

“The World University Games were a great experience for our entire team,” added Burke. “It was special for our athletes to experience an international race atmosphere on our home course. All the athletes left motivated and inspired for the rest of the season. We had some exceptional performances at these games, including Emma Stertz shooting clean in both the sprint and pursuit and, of course, Bjorn Westervelt's gold and silver medal races.” 

When the final results were in, the U.S. team notched 10 top-20 finishes at the World University Games.

Van Ledger (Lake Placid, N.Y./Crosscut Mountain Sports Center Elite Team), Cale Woods (Bozeman, Mont./Crosscut Mountain Sports Center Elite Team) and Matej Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn./Minnesota Biathlon) all finished in the top-20 of the men’s 15km short individual, with Ledger placing 12^th, followed by Woods and Cervenka in 16^th and 17^th place, respectively. Ledger also finished 11^th in the mass start and 20^th in the pursuit.

Emma Stertz (Grand Rapids, Minn./College of St. Scholastica) notched two top-20 finishes in the women’s competition, placing 13^th in the pursuit and 20^th in the mass start. Westervelt added and 8^th place in the men’s mass start, while Cheresa Bouley (Zimmerman, Minn./Minnesota Biathlon & Team Birkie) finished 14^th in the women’s mass start. Bouley and Ledger also teamed up for an 8^th-place showing in the single mixed relay.