December 5, 2009 (Östersund, SWE) – It’s been an extraordinary start to the season for the USA’s Tim Burke, who finished atop the podium again on Saturday at the Biathlon World Cup 10km sprint for the first-ever medal for an American in a biathlon sprint competition, making it back-to-back podiums for the top US biathlete from Paul Smiths, N.Y. Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won the race in 23:30.1 – both Bjorendalen and Burke shot clean, but the Norwegian was 37 seconds faster over the course. In 2nd place Thursday’s winner Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) had one miss, and was only 12 seconds ahead of Burke’s time of 24:07.3.

“I was so excited after the 20km race I don’t think I slept more than an hour,” said Burke after today’s race. I was a little tired yesterday, but came back today and couldn’t be happier. I’m super excited about the podium.”

Traditionally strong in the sprint discipline, Burke has gained even more confidence from this week’s strong finishes and accuracy on the shooting range. “Normally the sprint is more my competition, so I was ready to go today,” explained Burke. “Hopefully, I won’t only be doing well in the sprint now. I feel super comfortable out there right now. I feel like it’s just another training day. I’ll keep on taking it one race at a time and focusing on the things we’ve been working on in practice.”

Tim Burke Takes 2nd Podium in World Cup


U.S. Biathlon’s High Performance Director Bernd Eisenbichler was even more satisfied with today’s result than Thursday’s finish. “We knew within the team that Tim was able to repeat his result. But now everyone knows that the second place wasn’t just a coincidence! I am really proud of him because he managed to handle all the stress with the press conferences and inquiries that followed after the individual and still came back as strong as before. He stayed focused and he made us enormously proud! “

Canada’s Jean-Philippe Le Guellec finishing 12th in his quest to match Burke and be the first Canadian male to win a World Cup medal in biathlon. The 24-year-old Le Guellec from Shannon, Que. posted his best-ever result in a individual competition on Thursday when he was 10th.

“Everything went really good today. The skis were fast, bombing actually, which made the down hills scary,” said Le Guellec, who missed just one shot standing in his second and final trip to the shooting range under warm conditions. “The light wind was constantly changing and blowing in sideways on the range which made shooting difficult, but I am happy with this result.”

The USA’s Jay Hakkinen (Anchorage, AK) finished in 43rd, Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) was 53rd, and Jeremy Teela (Heber City, UT) was 99th. Three other Canadian men also hit the start line in Sweden. Ottawa’s Robin Clegg, who races out of Quebec, finished 50th at 25:43.6, while Brendan Green, of Hay River, N.W.T., was 58th (25:55.7), and Edmonton’s Jaime Robb was 70th (26:20.9).

Women’s Race
In the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint competition Norway’s Tora Berger set the time to beat in the women’s sprint at 21:21.5. Russia’s Olga Medvedtseva was second at 21:28.3, while Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen was third with a time of 21:31.5. Each of the athletes on the podium shot clean.

27-year-old Zina Kocher, of Red Deer, Alta. lead the North American women missing one shot in each of her two trips to the range to post a time of 22:53.5. Sara Studebaker was the top US biathlete in 59th.

While Kocher continues to find her way back to the World Cup podium, Canadian youngster, Megan Imrie, is making steady progress with her best-ever World Cup result on Saturday. The 22-year-old Imrie, of Falcon Lake, Man., finished 41st with a time of 23:05.8. Imrie missed just one shot in her first bout at the range.

“After the race on Wednesday I was a bit calmer today,” stated Studebaker after her 59th place in today’s sprint competition. “I was mad at myself for not hitting all targets. I had good conditions on the range but still didn’t manage to use my chance. It was a great experience and I think it will give me more confidence for the next stages.”

With the fifth fastest shooting time and place (64) Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) proved today that she found a new confidence on the shooting range. “Of course I am sad that I missed that one target but I felt quite good on the range anyhow. The only thing I still have to improve is my skiing. But for me it always takes some time to get faster. The more competitions I raced the better I get!” A statement that gives new motivation for the races still to come. An even bigger motivation though seems to be Burke’s results. “I think the whole team gets inspired by his results. His success helps us to be more successful as well,” added Barnes.

Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, NY is still struggling with her shooting but in the meantime also looking forward for the next chance to prove her current form. “I still have to get in the competition mode. It always takes me some time but I am feeling more confident with every race I skied.”

The opening Biathlon World Cup of the season wraps up on Sunday with the relay competitions.

Full women’s 7.5km results here.
Full men’s 10km results here.

Results (brief)

Men

1. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, NOR, (0+0), 23:30.1
2. Emil Hegle Svendsen, NOR, (0+1), 23:55.2
3. Tim Burke, USA, (0+0), 24:07.3
4. Christoph Stephan, GER, (0+0), 24:15.6
5. Michael Greis, GER, (1+0), 24:18.4

12. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Shannon, Que., (0+1), 24:40.6
43. Jay Hakkinen, Anchorage, AK, (1+1), 25:31.7. 53
50. Robin Clegg, Ottawa, (0+2), 25:43.6
53. Lowell Bailey, Lake Placid, NY, (1+0), 25:45.9
58. Brendan Green, Hay River, N.W.T., (0+2), 25:55.7
70. Jaime Robb, Edmonton, (1+2), 26:20.9
99. Jeremy Teela, Heber City, UT (2+2), 26:56.3

Women Top
1. Tora Berger, NOR, (0+0), 21:21.5
2. Olga Medvedtseva, RUS, (0+0), 21:28.3
3. Kaisa Makarainen, FIN, (0+0), 21:31.5
4. Helena Jonsson, SWE, (0+0), 21:31.6
5. Chaoquing Song, CHN, (0+0), 21:38.7

34. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., (1+1), 22:53.5
41. Megan Imrie, Falcon Lake, Man., (1+0), 23:05.8
59. Sara Studebaker, (2+0), 23:27.4
64. Lanny Barnes, (0+1), 23:51.7
99. Hailey Johnson, (5+2), 25:59.4