Burke 14th in 20K Individual

            Pyeongchang, Korea February 17. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) finished 14^th in this afternoon’s 20K Individual competition at the Biathlon World Championships.

            Going into the final standing stage, Burke was in a position to catapult on to the podium. At that point, he was in sixth position, and a clean shooting stage, would easily put him in the top three. Unfortunately, he missed two shots, each worth one minute of penalty time. As Burke was shooting the final shot (which he missed), Coach Per Nilsson commented, “I am so nervous, I cannot look.” Burke continued to ski fast over the final 4K loop, and finished 14^th, 1:57.9 behind Ole Einar Björndalen, who won his third Championship of the week and a record 13^th Biathlon World Championship. Second went to Christoph Stephan of Germany, with one penalty, 14.1 seconds back. Surprising with a Bronze medal was 21-year-old Jakov Fak of Croatia, with one penalty, 17.1 seconds back.

            At the finish, Burke was frustrated, but optimistic. “I feel like a guy climbing a ladder and when I get to the top, I keep missing the final rung. If I would have missed a shot in the first stage and then two more in the second stage, instead of two in the final stage, I would feel much better. However, I know that I am going to hit those someday and get the big result. I am skiing well now, so it will happen. And, I have two more chances this week, in the Mass Start and the Relay.”

            Burke’s teammate, Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) matched his result from the Pursuit competition, with another 22^nd place finish. He finished 2:38.3 back with two penalties. Bailey actually surprised himself. “I woke up this morning with stomach cramps. During the second loop today, I was thinking about stopping, especially if I shot poorly. Then I thought that this is World Championships and I came here to race and hung in. I felt terrible skiing all day. Every time I came into shoot, I just wanted to lie down on the mat and go to sleep. All that said, I am not complaining, I am happy with my race. I just wish I felt better today.”

            Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK) had one of his best days of the season today finishing 44^th, with four penalties, 4:20.4 back.

            The Women’s 15K Individual, the next competition, is scheduled for Wednesday, starting at 18:15 local time (4:15 AM EST).

             Watch live results and streaming video of the World Championships and all World Cup competitions at www.biathlonworld.com.

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