Imagine being 17 or 18 years old and traveling the world, living your life out of a duffel bag while pursuing the sport you love. That’s the life of Alaskan Elias Soule and Utah native Emily Caldwell. Elias and Emily are two of the top U.S. Biathlon junior athletes, rising up out of outstanding club programs and now taking their skills on the road. Heartbeat caught up with them at the IBU Junior World Championships in Estonia, just weeks after competing in the Youth Olympic Games in South Korea.

Soule, now 17, grew up in Anchorage, discovering biathlon around age 10. He was able to grow his skills through both the Alaska Winter Stars and Anchorage Biathlon Club programs, skiing in the shadows of role models like Gus Schumacher, who recently won a FIS Cross Country World Cup in Minneapolis. He competed in 2023 at the IBU Youth World Championships in Kazhakstan and this February at the IBU Junior World Championships in Estonia, as well as the Youth Olympic Games in Korea.

Campbell, who just turned 18, had many sport opportunities growing up in Park City, and she tried them all. She started in alpine skiing before moving to cross country with the Park City Nordic Club. Then she found biathlon and now trains with the program at Soldier Hollow. Like Soule, she made her international debut a year ago in Kazakhstan, this year competing at the Youth Olympic Games and IBU Junior World Championships.

This episode of Heartbeat comes to you on the eve of the IBU Junior World Championships in Estonia as Elias and Emily recap their adventures on the road and look ahead, with each of their careers on a different pathway for the future.