March 15, 2013 (Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia) – American Tim Burke was on form for a 9th-place finish in the men’s 10km Sprint today at the final round of the IBU World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. Burke suffered one penalty at 1:03.7 behind winner Martin Fourcade (FRA), the World Cup leader, who shot clean on his way to another solid victory in 24:22.6.

Burke’s teammate Lowell Bailey from Lake Placid, NY, shot clean in both stages and crossed the finish at 1:05.7 back for 11th place. Claiming second on the day was Italy’s clean-shooting Lukas Hofer at 39.6s back, with Germany’s Andreas Birnbacher in third at 43.8s behind also shooting clean.

“Today was a great day for our team and we are thrilled to move back into 10th place for the Nations Cup rankings,” said Burke. “This guarantees us five start spots for next season! Personally, I am happy with my 9th place. Most importantly, I am only about 20 seconds out of second place for tomorrow’s pursuit, so it should be a very exciting race.”

The USA’s Russell Currier from Stockholm, ME, shot clean to finish 43rd at 2:11.7 behind while teammate Leif Nordgren was 53rd with three penalties at 2:30.4 behind. Scott Gow was the top Canuck in 55th suffering two misses at +2:33.7 with Scott Perras in 83rd with four penalties at +3:48.9 behind Fourcade. Jean Philippe rounded out the Canadians in 90th also with four misses at +4:15.9.

Full results from today’s 10k sprint are available HERE.