Burke Named “Star of the Year” by U.S. Biathlon

page 2

Everything started to fall together again in Oberhof, Germany, when Lowell Bailey had a clean shooting day in the sprint, going on to collect his first World Cup points of the season in the Ruhpolding sprint/pursuit. That same weekend, Hakkinen scored 17th and 16th places in the sprint/pursuit, and Burke came back, feeling fully recovered, and placed in the thirties in both competitions.

In Antholz, Burke continued his comeback jumping back into World Cup points with 26th in the sprint, following with 16th in the pursuit. With Hakkinen having a clean-shooting day, the U.S. Team seemed set for a big World Championships in Ostersund, Sweden.

Burke was again the U.S. star at the Biathlon World Championships. Burke had two top 10 finishes -- ninth in the sprint and 10th in the pursuit. He placed 29th in the individual and 25th in the mass start.

Three other athletes had significant performances at the championships. Lowell Bailey showed that he is probably the permanent leadoff leg for the men’s relay, skiing with the leaders in the last few World Cup competitions.

Caitlin Compton, a U.S. cross country national champion, showed strong biathlon skills in her first year. (Photo courtesy U.S. Biathlon)

Two women from the development team also had strong performances at the world championships. Caitlin Compton, a first-year biathlete but national champion cross country skier, shot 80 percent in the women’s 15K individual and scored a stunning 37th place. Haley Johnson shot 80 percent in the sprint, taking 53rd in her first-ever World Cup competition, the women’s 7.5K sprint.

After the 10 days of competition in Ostersund, everyone needed a break. This year, the time was short as the Pyeong Chang/ Khanty Mansiysk/ Oslo trek loomed in less than a week. The trip to Korea was long and tiring. Yet the person most disappointed in his year to that point, Lowell Bailey had a career weekend. He had one penalty in the sprint to finish 29th, then scored a personal-best 11th place in the pursuit.

At the end of the long road trip, in Oslo, Burke finished seventh in the pursuit and eighth in the mass start on consecutive days. In the pursuit, Burke recorded the fastest scratch time in Saturday’s pursuit, finishing in 34:01, 24.9 seconds faster than winner Ivan Tcherezov.

Leif Nordgren took a bronze at the junior world championships. (Photo courtesy U.S. Biathlon)

Athletes from the national junior team made their own headlines, with a series of outstanding performances from 18-year-old Leif Nordgren at the Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. Nordgren won a bronze medal, with a strong sprint finish in the pursuit. This was just one day after he narrowly missed a medal by 24 seconds with a sixth-place finish in the sprint, after a rifle malfunction.

Nordgren also placed 10th in the individual and produced an excellent leadoff leg for the junior relay team. Nordgren’s medal was first ever for the U.S. in the youth category and the first U.S. medal in the youth/junior world championships since 2002.

Laura Spector and Russell Currier produced top results in both Ruhpolding

and in Europa Cup competitions, which earned them spots at the Biathlon World Championships in Ostersund.

Currier had three top-20 finishes in the strong junior men’s category (15th sprint and individual; 20th pursuit) while Spector had three top-25 results (20th sprint, 24th individual and 25th pursuit). She also had the best finish of her career with a sixth at the European Championships. “This is such a great way to end my junior career,” Spector said. “I will really appreciate this flower ceremony.”