Burke finishes 22nd at World Cup Sprint
Biathlon World Cup: Kontiolahti
Sun, Mar 14, 2010 - By US Biathlon Team
Kontiolahti, FINLAND (March 13, 2010) Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.) returned to World Cup competition today with a solid 22nd place in the men's Sprint in Kontiolahti, Finland. With two misses he finished 1:07.5 minutes behind today’s winner, Ivan Tcherezov of Russia. Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.) cleaned all ten targets but struggled at the track, finishing 1:20.6 minutes behind the leader in 38th place. Following today's finishes, Burke and Bailey have both qualified for tomorrow's Pursuit.
Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN) missed the qualification for tomorrow's Pursuit competition by just a few seconds, ranking 65th, with one penalty loop.
Burke Moves Up in Overall Ranking
Burke hopes to finish his historic 2009-10 season with a Top 10 Overall World Cup ranking. Following today’s solid result, Burke is currently ranked 11th, leaving German competitor Michael Greis behind him. As Greis did not qualify for tomorrow's Pursuit, Burke now has the chance to gain a extra points ahead of the 2006 Olympic Champion. Studebaker Qualifies for Pursuit
In the women's Sprint Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) finished in 58th place with just one miss at the shooting range. She qualified for tomorrow's Pursuit and will start 2:55.5minutes behind today's winner Darya Domracheva (BLR). With three misses overall, Lanny Barnes Durango, CO) finished 78th and did not qualify for tomorrow's competition which features the top 60 athletes from the Sprint event.
World Cup racing continues tomorrow with the Women's Pursuit beginning at 4:30am (EST), followed by the Men's Pursuit at 7:00am (EST). Watch World Cup racing from Kontiolahti live, online at http://tiny.cc/u96nv. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/ykckknj for a complete list of today's race results.
Kontiolahti World Cup Schedule
Start Time Date (EST) Distance Discipline 14.03. 4:30am 10 km Pursuit -Women 14.03. 7:00am 12.5 km Pursuit - Men