American Burke falls short in biathlon
from Daily News Wire Services/Philadelphia Daily News
Tim Burke will go home empty-handed.
America’s best hope for a winner in biathlon at the Winter Olympics finished a disappointing 41st yesterday in the men’s 20-kilometer individual race in Whistler, British Columbia.
Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen denied countryman Ole Einar Bjoerndalen his sixth Olympic gold, beating his mentor.
Sergey Novikov, of Belarus, tied Bjoerndalen for the silver medal. This was the first tie for a medal since biathlon was added to the Winter Games 50 years ago.
Burke, of Paul Smiths, N.Y., missed five targets, including three on his final shoot, and finished 5 minutes back in what he figured was his last shot at a medal.
He said earlier in the week that he didn’t think he could contend in the mass start because he’s not skiing well enough right now.
Burke is the first U.S. biathlete ever to don the coveted yellow bib as the overall World Cup leader, and he was hailed as America’s best hope for a breakthrough at Vancouver in the sport that combines cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship.
But Burke was done in by a midrace snowstorm in the 10-kilometer sprint Sunday, which served as a double-whammy because the start times for Tuesday’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit were based on results from that first race. He finished in 47th in the first race and 46th in the second.
“It’s a disaster,” Burke said. “The sprint race was not fair, but today I did not succeed.”
American Jeremy Teela, of Heber City, Utah, was a late scratch because of sinus troubles. He was replaced by Wynn Roberts, of Battle Lake, Minn., who finished 10 1/2 minutes back, in 86th place, two from the bottom.
Norway’s Tora Berger won gold in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race. Elena Khrustaleva, of Kazakhstan, won silver, and Darya Domracheva, of Belarus, took bronze.
