Riding the wave of a historic performance in the Olympic women's 15k individual biathlon, Deedra Irwin is back in Wisconsin and is inspiring kids at Heritage Christian High School.
"I like coaching, I like giving back to the ski community," Irwin says. "Being able to go to these schools and talk to kids just about chasing their dreams is such a cool addition to what I'm able to do now as an Olympian."
Irwin loved inspiring these kids. She finished seventh in the women's 15k individual biathlon. It was the best finish in US history. She wouldn't mind making more.
"I definitely gained a lot of confidence," Irwin says. "And have really been able to reflect a lot on how the Olympics have now affected my mindset going into races and even after the Olympics, I had more top results on the World Cup that I didn't think was possible. Hopefully at the next Olympics I won't just go into it hoping for a top 40. I'll be hoping for that medal and I think that's something that I'm really excited about."
Irwin became a trending topic, hashtag bowl of cake, from her Olympic pre-race meal.
"For me, it was eye opening and fun to have my race come after a bowl of cake and, it's still just so funny," Irwin says.
Her journey to Olympic glory also includes serving her country.
"The Army's been awesome," Irwin says. "They are definitely super excited to get me at these school talks and talk about my journey, and how big of a part they've been in my journey. I wouldn't have made it to the Olympics without the Vermont National Guard."
And of course with students involved, she played a fun game of biathlon with a safer weapon.
Nerf guns.
"That was super fun, but yeah, after shooting that, I miss my biathlon rifle," she said.
Irwin says her mom instilled faith in her to get her through tough times, and that's also what she wanted to share with the Heritage Christian students.
