Beginning of my British Biathlon Journey

Hi, my name is Lucas Rhodes and I need your support. I’m now 15 and have enjoyed my journey with British Biathlon for the past 2 years. I am hoping to compete for team GB this season at my first international competition.

Biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting over various distances (roller skiing over the summer) and requires excellent levels of endurance, speed and accuracy. Biathlon is an Olympic sport. At my first competition, in June 2023, at the British roller ski Championships, I claimed silver for the under 14s category over 7.5km. I have since competed at various roller ski events and have seen big improvements with my performance.

However, in the UK, Biathlon is a small sport and doesn't receive the adequate funding needed to support its athletes. This means that all of my training camps, equipment and travel to them are self-funded which creates a significant cost for me and my family.

I am aiming to push myself as far as possible in this sport and compete at the highest level alongside the most elite athletes. For me to continue training, developing and competing I need to purchase some specialist equipment. This includes racing and training skis, boots, poles, race and training clothing for the summer and winter conditions alongside travel costs, competition entries, flights, and camp costs to Wales, Scotland, Germany and Austria this year alone.

I would be immensely grateful for any support given which would help me achieve my goal of competing internationally and giving me the very best start to a promising biathlon journey.

My target amount would contribute towards costs of equipment, training and competing.