LAKE PLACID — Nothing stops Darwin Roosa. Not weather. Not age. Not injury.

At 57, Roosa is still going strong. He celebrated his 25th year of competition in the Empire State Winter Games this weekend.

A biathlete and cross-country skier, Roosa, who lives on Bozenkill Road in Altamont, was in top form at the games, competing in three events, and winning a gold and two silver medals.

In a year marked by adversity, he tore a tendon in his rotator cuff, an injury he believes was the accumulation of years of training and competing. After surgery, he rehabbed at Altamont Physical Therapy, where, with the help of Brian Thornton, he got back in shape.
Prior to the games this weekend, Roosa was unsure of how well he would hold up. "I didn’t know how well my shoulders would work," he said after competition. He was very pleased with his performance — his marksmanship and condition — and said that his shoulder hadn’t bothered him throughout three days of competition.

In his first outing at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Complex, Roosa displayed excellent marksmanship, hitting 14 out of 20 shots Friday, winning the gold. He completed the 12.5-kilometer race, which included four shooting stops, at 1:03:53 in the grand masters division. John Valera, of Windsor, N.H., was just behind, finishing at 1:04:16 and winning the silver, and James Mattingly, of Theresa (Jefferson County), finished at 1:04:57, winning the bronze.

Mattingly outraced Roosa on Saturday, finishing the 10-kilometer sprint event, which included two shooting stops, at 30:45; Roosa was three minutes behind, finishing the race in 33:44.

Roosa finished strong on Sunday morning, winning the silver in the 5-kilometer freestyle cross-country skiing event, finishing at 19:00. Thomas M. Moffett, of Peru (Clinton County) won the gold, finishing at 14:56, and Steve Smith won the bronze, with a time of 19:20.

Having competed and trained for half his life, Roosa’s years of experience aid him on the slopes. During the biathlon events, his rifle strapped to his back, Roosa approaches targets throughout the course and evaluates his heart rate.
"I know intuitively if I’ve gone too fast," Roosa said, adding that, before taking a shot, it may be a good idea to wait for his heart rate to drop. He called waiting before pulling the trigger "a good investment."

To shoot effectively, a biathlete needs to calm his heart rate down to between 120 and 130 beats per minute.

If a shooter misses, he has to make a penalty loop, which can take anywhere from 30 to 35 seconds.
"This year, it has been difficult training on snow," said Roosa. Since winter came late this year, Roosa trained using roller skis through December and part of January. Using roller skis on pavement is very similar to snow skiing, he said, and "is very close to the real thing, in terms of strength and aerobics."

Roosa said a good night of sleep before races is important.
"They’re not terribly long," he said of the races, "but they do take a lot out of you."

Roosa is a member of the Helderberg Rod and Gun Club in Knox and also belongs to the Saratoga Biathlon Club, one of five biathlon clubs in the state.

He said he competes because he is fascinated by the mental and physical aspects of biathlon, the athletes pushing their limits much of the time, then slowing to take careful aim at a target.

Camaraderie with biathletes from around the state, he said, also keeps him connected.
"It’s very satisfying," Roosa said, "to meet people from around the state of all ages and to promote the sport."

He plans to compete next year and will train in the summer, doing trail runs, events similar to the biathlon, where athletes run instead of ski through the courses.

Roosa was a nominee for the New York Biathlon Hall of Fame in 2006, and placed fifth in voting with 21 percent of the votes. This year, his nomination will be carried over, and inductees will be announced in March.