February 12, 2010 (Whistler, BC) -The US Biathlon team held their traditional Olympic Press Conference on Thursday afternoon in downtown Whistler.  In both their formal statements and in on-on-one interviews, all of the athletes confirmed their preparedness for the Olympic competitions which kick off on Saturday.

The US Team has been training on the Whistler Olympic Park venue for the past four days. Prior to that, they, along with many of the top biathlon nations had a final preparation camp at Mount Washington on Vancouver Island.

Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), currently ranked fifth in the overall Biathlon World Cup commented on the Mount Washington camp.  “Conditions have been tough at Whistler Olympic Park, with fast conditions one day and then heavy snow with very slow conditions the next. Mount Washington was much harder. It either rained really hard or there was heavy wet snow coming down all of the time. For me, it was a great camp as I was somewhat isolated from the media and I was able to stay focused on my training and recharge my batteries a bit.”

Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) is on his fourth Olympic Biathlon Team and said he is still aiming for the podium, although he deferred some of the podium inquiries to Burke. Hakkinen said, “I found out at my first Olympic in Nagano that there two kinds of people at the Games; those who win medals and those who do not. I still want to be a part of the second group. Just like always, the key to getting that medal is shooting clean and having one of the best ski times. That is still my goal. However, Tim is more of an expert in that area has he has been on the podium several times in World Cups this year and I have not. (Hakkinen’s 10th place in the 20K Individual in Torino is the best-ever Olympic Biathlon performance.)

Four of the nine US Olympic Biathletes are first-time Olympians. Laura Spector (Lenox, MA) is among the “rookies.” Just two years ago, the Dartmouth student placed sixth in the European Open Junior Championships Pursuit and now is an Olympian. Spector commented on being an Olympian. “It is extremely exciting for me but I think my parents are even more excited. They know how hard I have worked to achieve this and are extremely proud. Even though I am excited, I am just trying to keep everything as normal as I can . . . it is just another race (with a bit of understatement).”

Veteran Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK) kidded first-time Olympian Wynn Roberts (Battle Lake, MN) about his hair. Teela said, “The veterans always pick on the rookie and Wynn is the lucky winner this year.” Continuing in a more serious mode, Teela added, “I skipped the final World Cup in Antholz, Italy to go home to Heber City, Utah to get in 18 days at altitude before the Mount Washington Camp. That is what I needed to get ready for these Games.”

Burke feels that the US Team is as prepared as any for Whistler Olympic Park. “We have trained more there than any team and our technicians have been coming there for three years. We have done enough there that it does seem like a home course.”

The US and the home team Canadians will find out if they do have any advantage starting with the Women’s 7.5K Sprint, followed by the men’s 10K sprint on Valentines Day.

A short interview with Tim Burke follows. In the interview he talks about his girlfriend Andrea Henkel of Germany, who is ranked second in the world currently.