GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Four years ago, Appleton native and biathlete Paul Schommer made his first Olympic appearance. It was quite the journey getting there.
Now, Schommer has once again qualified and will begin competition in just a few days in Italy and, like last time, his road was not easy.
"It's been a ride, I'll just say that," Schommer said.
Hear from Schommer about his journey back to the Olympic stage!
Schommer said one takeaway from the 2022 Olympics was that the racing doesn't change, but it made him how special the event is.
"I think I finally started to understand why the Olympics are so special, what makes them so unique," Schommer said. "You're representing the U.S. at this event that only happens every four years, with some of the best athletes in the world."
But the journey to Cortina was never meant to happen.
Schommer said after the 2022 Games, he envisioned retiring two years later after an event in the U.S., on his home turf. That plan changed when he had knee surgery in 2023. The knee has given him trouble for about 15 years, and he struggled to fully recover.
"I just remember sitting across from my coach with tears in my eyes and saying, 'I'm going home, and I don't know when I'm coming back,'" Schommer said.
It wasn't just his knee. Schommer said he was also going through personal issues back home.
"I was in a tough place because you saw how important biathlon was, but at the same time, you saw how it's just a sport—it's just skiing and shooting," he said.
He was scheduled to have another surgery in spring 2024, but he chose not to. Instead, he wanted to see how far he could push his knee.
"Just kind of slowly kept getting back into training," Schommer said. "Just slowly started to feel better and my knee got stronger, and eventually I got to the place where I thought, 'Man, I'm going to be able to do this.'"
Schommer said he felt the call to compete again. He worked his way back to international competition at the beginning of last year.
"I was just kind of like, alright, we're going one more year, we're going through the Olympics, and we're going to give it everything I have and try to enjoy it as best I can," he said.
Heading into his second Olympics, Schommer admits the journey wasn't perfect—but it was worth it.
"To be able to call my mom and say, 'Hey mom, you can spend all your money to come watch me now,' that was such a great feeling," Schommer said.
