US Para biathlete Dani Aravich is leaning into her horse-loving, country girl, western roots to boost her confidence as she prepares for her second Paralympic Winter Games.
A running joke with her coach about being the “Biathlon Bandit” has morphed into a “persona” Aravich channels to keep focused, have fun at training and raise awareness about Para sports on social media ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
“I’m realistically still somewhat of a newcomer… I (barely) started in the sport before Beijing (2022 Paralympics) so I’m in a different place than a lot of my competitors who grew up doing it, who have a lot more experience,” Aravich told the IPC. “I’ve always been feeling like I’m not out there enough or confident enough to make some big claim in the sport.”
The making of the Biathlon Bandit
It has been a learning curve to find validation beyond results, she said.
“Sometimes maybe my athlete side is a little like ‘I’m a little scared’ or ‘I don’t feel like I should be here’ and you get some impostor syndrome. I kind of have to let my business-person persona amp my athlete’s side up and say: ‘No, you deserve this. You deserve to be here’,” Aravich said.
Inspired by US Paralympic sprinter and high jumper Ezra Frech’s social media 100-day countdown to winning Paralympic gold at Paris 2024, Aravich is posting positive affirmations about her adventures as the “Biathlon Bandit”.
“Western culture is definitely a part of who I am. I am already wearing my cowboy boots to every race,” she said.
This summer, in addition to her grueling endurance training on roller skis and shooting range sessions, Aravich is undertaking horseback riding refresher lessons with a goal of one day owning her own horse.
“The biggest thing is being able to prioritise, something that’s just for me right now,” the Montana resident said.
She said there are surprising similarities between skiing and riding, such as thinking about body positioning.
“One thing that the instructor was catching me on was I was looking a little bit right in front of me instead of looking where I’m trying to go,” she said.
“If we’re initiating a turn on the horse, that’s something that’s super similar to skiing… You don’t want to be looking right in front of you. You’re trying to look where you’re about to turn so your body follows along with your eyes.”
‘Coins in the piggy bank’
Aravich, 29, was born without her left hand and forearm. She made her Paralympic debut in Para athletics at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which were held following a one-year delay because of COVID-19. She raced in the women’s 400m T47 event.
A mere six months later, she was at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics competing in Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon events as a relative newbie to the sport. Her background in cross-country running had resulted in her being talent-spotted and asked to join a ski development camp in 2019.
Aravich has focused on getting race experience and developing her consistency with shooting as she prepares for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics, which take place from 6-15 March 2026.
“The description my coach uses is, ‘We’re putting coins in our piggy banks and they’re adding up, you know, day after day’,” she said.
In March, Aravich had her first Para biathlon podium finish – a bronze medal in the 2025 IBU Para Biathlon World Cup season climax in Torsby, Sweden.
The result capped off a season of highs and lows, including a battle with a viral infection that caused extreme fatigue.
Hopes and dreams for Milano Cortina 2026
Looking ahead, Aravich’s hopes and dreams for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics are broader than personal performance. Para biathlon is one of the six sports on the programme, along with Para alpine skiing, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling.
“My biggest hope is that the Paralympics receive the most broadcast time it has ever received for a Winter Games and that tickets for the Games sell really well and that media coverage steps up,” she said. Aravich has teamed up with US Paralympians to create a media collective called Culxtured that aims to raise the profile of Para sports.
She shrugs off the hype around medals.
“I just want to walk away and know that it was a great performance, whether it’s a clean shooting day, whether it’s making a sprint final in classical technique,” Aravich said.
‘Peter Pan world’
Recently, Aravich, who works for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee as a social media coordinator, decided she would keep training and aim for the French Alps 2030 Paralympic Winter Games.
She was also part of the bid to bring the Olympics and Paralympics to Salt Lake City-Utah, in 2034. Asked if she would hang on for a home Games, Aravich said: “I’m either going to compete at Salt Lake or I’ll work for the Organising Committee”.
“As women athletes, we have to think about where I will be at in terms of (having) a family,” the former Utah Jazz NBA team staffer said.
“We’ll have to just see how life shake out too, because sports often are this, somewhat Peter Pan world where none of us want to grow up and go into the big world… some people have managed to have both and do it well. So I’ll just have to see where life is at.”
Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less.
For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org