Judd Bankert (b. September 9, 1949) is a former biathlete who represented Guam at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
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Bankert is a Michigan native, born in Grand Rapids,[1] raised in Lake Orion[1] and a graduate of Michigan State University. He worked in Detroit and qualified as a Certified Public Accountant.[1] He moved to Guam in 1981 with his wife and baby daughter, later working as a computer consultant.[1] He broke his hip in a serious rock climbing accident in 1984. His subsequent exercise program included swimming,[1] weight lifting and roller skating. He was active in a triathlon club.[1]
In 1986, the Guam National Olympic Committee was accepted into the International Olympic Committee.[2] Bankert resolved to qualify for the biathlon and become its first Olympian.[1] He took a year off work to train,[1] and in August 1987[3] moved with his family to Bellingham, Washington,[1] training at Western Washington University with the cross-country skiing team[1] under coach Richard Domey. Later he spent time away from his family at West Yellowstone, Montana with the U.S. Olympic biathlon team.[1] He needed to complete two biathlons to be eligible to compete at the Olympic Games. He finished his second on February 7, 1988, three days before the Opening Ceremony,[1] at which he carried the flag of Guam as its sole representative.[4] At 38, Bankert was one of the oldest Olympic athletes at the 1988 Winter Olympics Games. This, combined with the fact that he represented a tropical island, made a human interest story reported extensively in the media.
In the men's 10 km sprint event, Bankert missed eight out of the ten rifle targets and as a result had to ski eight penalty laps,[1] totalling 1200 m.[3] He also cut his face after falling on an ice patch.[1] He finished 71st of 72 starters in 45m37.1s, between Gustavo Giro of Argentina (36m38.1s) and Elliot Archilla of Puerto Rico (47m47.4s).[5] Archilla had suffered severe burns in an explosion in July 1987.[3] Bankert's exploits cost him $15,000.
After the Olympics, Bankert returned to Guam as a consultant but soon returned to the United States. In 1996, as part of the Klondike Gold Rush Centennial Celebration, he organized and led "Klondike Bound", a month-long expedition by three fathers and their teenage daughters to retrace the route taken by the original "Stampeders".
He is an accountant in Staunton, Virginia.[6] He is a member of Kiwanis[7] and Albemarle County Historic Preservation Committee,[8] and has portrayed President Woodrow Wilson as part of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library's living history program.[6]