The family joke is that Darin Binning Jr. started skiing from the womb.
The youngest of six children born to Darin and Aimee Binning of Laramie has a goal to be an Olympian one day — just like his dad.
The senior at Pinedale High School recently swept statewide cross-country ski competition on Casper Mountain taking a 5K classic race in a time of 12:52.5 and the freestyle event the next day in a time of 11:34.2.
In December, he was at the U.S. Biathlon Youth and Junior Nationals & International Team Trials at Lake Placid, New York, and except for a few missteps, proved he has the potential to compete on a national and potentially international stage.
Darin Binning Sr., 59, a native of Pinedale, represented the U.S. in the 1988 Olympics as a biathlete and was a member of the U.S. Biathlon team from 1983 to 1991. Now his son’s coach, he said he initially tried to discourage him from following his own ski tracks.
“I wanted it to be his choice, not my choice,” Darin Sr. said. “Kids have to do it for themselves not their parents. I’m a firm believer in that.”
And when father looks at his youngest of six children, he sees a biathlete who “eats it, breathes it, sleeps it.”
“I decided I wanted to start chasing this goal in first grade,” Darin Jr. said. “I’ve proceeded to chase it ever since.”
The younger Binning had his first biathlon competition last year and does not plan to look back. He was set to go to Sweden this winter to compete, but that door was shut because another coach he was going with had to cancel.
Snow Search
One of the struggles this winter is finding races in the West that have snow, the elder Binning said. He was planning to call a Canadian venue earlier this week to see if they would let his son enter competition even though they missed the registration deadline.
The pair spent the last few days of December at Lake Placid, New York, where Darin Jr. competed in four races that were qualifiers for the U.S. Junior biathlon team. In his first race he had a freak incident where his binding came off a ski after getting up from shooting, costing him time.
His second race, new boots from his new sponsor Atomic caused a blister that again hurt the final result. In the third race, Darin Jr. was doing really well but shot at a competitor’s target creating a penalty.
“That cost him a top five finish,” Darin Binning Sr. said. “I mean he only started biathlon last year in March, so what he’s doing already is outstanding. … He’s got the coaches’ attention; they all know his name.”
One event they hope happens this winter is in March at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah, where the U.S. Biathlon team trains. Currently snow at the venue is an issue. If snow happens, the last races of the season will include opportunities for biathletes from youth through senior-level competitors to show their stuff.
“We’re all going there to compete and win,” Darin Jr. said. “But I think my other goals would just be to show coaches that I can shoot straight this time and be able to show them how I’m able to ski.”
The son said “it means the world” to him to have his dad, an Olympian, for a coach. His dad’s sister, Holly Thayne, coaches him on the high school team in Pinedale. She, too, is a national ski champion and World University Games athlete in the biathlon.
Both father and son agreed in Darin Jr.’s junior year of high school that moving to Pinedale to compete where the snow and training is better would be a good idea. That decision has proven true this winter.
Darin Binning Jr. said he likes to ski with his cowboy hat on when he is not competing. Here he is in Lake Placid, New York. (Courtesy Darin Binning Jr.) 
Darin Binning Jr. in red takes a shot at his target while competing in a race at Lake Placid, New York, in December. (Courtesy Darin Binning Sr.) 
Darin Binning Sr. was a member of the U.S. Biathlon team from 1983-1991. (Courtesy Photo) 
Darin Binning Jr. moves through the biathlon course during a race in Lake Placid, New York. (Courtesy Darin Binning Sr.) 
Darin Binning Sr. races in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games. (ABC via Getty Images)
Dad’s Story
Darin Sr. said he got into biathlon in the early 1980s after skiing on a junior intermountain team and then competing at junior nationals. One of the kids who made the junior biathlon team was someone he knew he could beat on skis on a “regular basis.”
He borrowed a rifle, tried a biathlon event and within a few races was beating the members of the junior biathlon team. That led to qualifications to join the junior team and then the senior team.
“I have two junior medals in biathlon in the World Cup and I have one senior bronze medal in the relay for the U.S. biathlon team,” Darin Sr. said.
When his son wanted to compete, Binning, a builder, built a new stock for his own biathlon rifle from 1991 and wrapped it in carbon fiber and tried to lighten it up for his son. A new rifle can cost $8,000 or more.
During his first competition, Darin Jr. said that he and his dad practiced putting the weapon on and off but didn’t know the rules had changed. He almost got disqualified. Under rules, the weapon must be always pointing up over the back of the athlete except when shooting.
Biathlon competitors ski a course and then shoot at targets from a prone and standing position. To miss a target or shoot another person’s target brings a penalty.
Darin Jr. said prior to his first competition last year his only practice in shooting was trying to take out prairie dogs at the family ranch. That has now changed, he spent the summer working with his dad daily to work on marksmanship. A former shooting coach for Darin Sr. also visited the pair and provided Darin Jr. with shooting pointers.
Marksmanship and skiing are equally required if one wants to compete.
“If you miss a target, you are not in the race, you are not winning,” Darin Sr. said.
The senior Binning said his son has to step up to be able to compete at the national and international level. While the sport does not generate a lot of interest in America, Europeans have made biathletes their “rock stars,” the senior Binning said.
The December World Cup for the sport in the French Alps drew more than 60,000 people.
Sister’s Perspective
Amelie Binning, Darin Jr.’s sister has tried to help her brother by starting a GoFundMe to help cover travel costs for races this winter. She said she started it to help him achieve his Olympic dreams.
“He has nothing else on his mind, and I have had to hear about it for the last 17 years,” she said. “He’s one of the only kids out of my dad’s kids that really had the heart and drive to go. And so, he kind of deserves having the help.”
Training for the younger Binning consists of shooting practice daily in the summer and roller skiing and cycling in the afternoons. This winter as a member of the Pinedale High School team he puts in kilometers at the local White Pine Ski Resort and for biathlon practice on the family ranch outside of town. He has a biathlon course that he has created for himself.
Darin Jr. said not making the junior team this year was a missed goal, but he is hoping to do well enough to become a member next season and “ski in Europe with those guys.”
“I just want to keep learning more about the sport and following (the) next year, I’d love to make the senior team,” he said.
His dad said it typically takes several years to get to the top of the sport. He sees the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps as a realistic goal.
“It takes these young athletes that long to get developed,” he said. “It’s what he loves, there is no doubt about it.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
