Southwest Life

For Olympic hopefuls, it’s all about maximizing performance. Lanny Barnes, a two-time Olympic biathlete who is gunning for the 2014 Olympics in Russia, trains at Durango Performance Center. “We are measuring the amount of oxygen she can use during peak performance,” says exercise physiologist Molly Hummel, middle, who is working with Mercy Regional Medical Center’s Dr. Bruce Andrea. They’re accumulating information about heart rate, VO2 max (maximal oxygen volume consumption per minute) and longevity, among other useful information. The center is also working with Lanny’s twin sister Tracy Barnes, Nordic skier Tad Elliott and mountain bikers Todd Wells and Willow Koerber – all Olympic hopefuls with Durango ties. Among the center’s missions is health screenings for the maintenance of peak health and the identification of health issues.