TIM BURKE TIM BURKE

Biathlon 2006 Olympian 2010 Olympic hopeful

Personal Specs Height: 5’11” Date of birth: Feb. 3, 1982 Hometown: Paul Smiths, N.Y. Residence: Lake Placid, N.Y.

Short List Performance 2006 Olympic Winter Games – 9th (relay), 35th (10k sprint), 36th (12.5k pursuit), 58th (20k) 2004 World Championships – 61st (individual), 71st (sprint) 2005 World Championships – 63rd (individual), 66th (sprint) 2007 World Championships – seventh (individual), 24th (mass start), 32nd (pursuit), 35th (sprint) 2008 World Championships – ninth (sprint), 10th (pursuit), 25th (mass start), 29th (individual)

Vancouver Watch Burke has snuck into the top 10 three times at recent World Championships, once in 2007 and twice in 2008. That’s quite an accomplishment for an American in , a sport dominated by European countries. Jeremy Teela, Jay Hakkinen and will help Burke anchor the U.S. Biathlon Team in Vancouver. Burke was ranked No. 25 in the world following the 2006-07 season, the highest of any biathlete in American history, and credited his ascension to the help of U.S. coaches Per Nilsson and Mikael Lofgren, who are Swedish. In 2007-08, Burke posted four top tens on the World Cup circuit. He spent the previous three seasons training in Fort Kent, Maine, before moving back to Lake Placid for the 2008-09 campaign.

Personal His hobbies include fly fishing, hunting, biking and hiking, and his favorite musician is Neil Young. Burke’s girlfriend is , a German biathlete and Olympic champion. He always travels with books.

Did You Know…? • Grew up in Lake Placid with fellow biathlete Lowell Bailey and Nordic Combined skier Bill Demong • Favorite food is Mexican • Collects bikes • Dream vacation spot would be where he can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon