Tara Geraghty-Moats started jumping when she was 9 years old and was named to the Visa Development Team by 15. When she was 16 she suffered two knee injuries. After being told by doctors that she would never ski jump again, she took four years off to do biathlon (cross-country skiing and rifle shooting) and Nordic ski racing. She was a student at a winter sports school in Sweden called the Sollefteå Skidgymnasium where she studied biathlon in 2012-2013. During her time there she earned a National title for biathlon. Tara is a multi-time medalist in Junior Nationals for cross-country skiing and was on the biathlon Junior World Championship Team and Junior National Team from 2011-2014. She mountain bikes and trail runs in the summer, tele-skis in the spring, and enjoys spending time in the Vermont woods.

We caught up with USA Nordic athlete, Tara Geraghty-Moats, in the midst of competition season to find out how she got into the sport and how she maintains a high-performance lifestyle.
 
How did you get in to nordic skiing/jumping?

My mom was sick of me jumping off furniture so she signed me up for ski jumping. Then she thought I needed to burn more energy, so she also signed me up for cross-country skiing.
 
Tell us about a day in the life:

I live in a really small town in Vermont that has one paved road and no stoplights. I work on a vegetable farm that supplies a lot of the local restaurants and food coops. I babysit and also work in a ski and bike shop, and I coach junior skiing when I can. Sometimes when I’m home I work 60h weeks, sometimes 20hrs. It’s all about balance, and I love being outside – any day, all day.
 
How do you balance your personal life with all the demands of being a world-class athlete?

It’s tough. I try to be good friends with my teammates but also stay in touch with the people back home, like my boyfriend. In reality it doesn’t always work out that well with crazy schedules and different time zones. Sometimes it’s best to just live in the moment and relate to the people around me.
 
How do you stay focused during the off season?

Ahh..what off season? In the month we have off, I try to ski as much as possible. So ya, in my break from skiing I go skiing. I may me a little obsessed.
 
What is your favorite aspect of being on the USA Nordic Team?

Traveling the world, getting to live my dream, trying to be a better athlete every single day, and having the support to achieve that.
 
Dogs or cats? Both
 
Tinder or Bumble? I guess Tinder because I don’t know what Bumble is, but I think I prefer that spending time with friends I already have thing.
 
Sunrise or Sunset? Both and as many as possible.
 

Check out Tara’s flavor of the week:

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