You’ll usually get a smile and a good-natured laugh when you see Tim Burke. At least if he knows you. He’s reserved in unfamiliar crowds. Mindful of his manners. Respectful. He gives a good solid handshake. He’s the kind of guy girls want to bring home to their parents and say, “we’re getting married.â€
Growing up the youngest of three children to the Vice President of Business and Finance at Paul Smith’s College near Saranac Lake, New York, one discerns through his respectful tone and mannerisms that discipline and honest work are held in high regard in the Burke family. So was sense of humor. As a young skier and biathlete, Tim was often overshadowed by teammates. Somewhat slow to develop physically, his technique—both skiing and shooting—is nearly flawless. It’s almost as though Tim is wired to detect lack of motor efficiency, and stomp it out. Ultimately, however, it is his patience, focus, and utter faith in himself and his ability, after several significant setbacks as a young athlete, that has put him square in the spotlight at the Biathlon World Cup debutante ball.
Take a kid who was a good ski racer—but never the star—give him all the mental and physical tools to be a world class competitor—but hide them in a lanky, physically-underdeveloped body—make his best-friend-and-teammate the guy he always has to try to beat but rarely does, give him those few setbacks to temper his ambition just a bit, then top it all off with 10 years of uninterrupted focus and determination, and you have Tim Burke today.
Standing with his Rossignol skis and Exel poles, a broad smile across his 25-year-old face, in front of 30,000 mostly-German fans in the Antholz biathlon stadium, you can feel the anticipation of the moment—that point at which a performance is going to be recognized. Then the whisky-voiced Italian announcer yells, “Siebte platz, Seventh place; Tim Burke-ah…USA!†With arms stretched high in the air, skis in one hand, poles in the other, he jogs to his spot on the World Championship podium to a roar of 30,000. Thirty-thousand. A roar. An American biathlete. It may be as close to rock star as an American biathlete has ever been.
Tim Burke burst onto the 2006-07 Biathlon World Cup, best known in the sport to that point as the guy who lost Jay Hakkinen’s lead in the Olympic Relay in Torino. It wasn’t like anyone expected this 23-year-old green-horn to tag first after two legs anyway, and it in fact wasn’t even remotely a shameful performance. It was just that for the first time in his life, Burke had to lead some of the best biathletes in the world — AT THE OLYMPICS. He’d never been there before, but it was a great experience, and one that prepared him for what would come this season. In fact, before this season, he’d never scored a world cup point; never been on the World Cup Overall list at all. In the first World Cup of the year, Burke made his first tick on the World Cup list with a 30th place finish. He only got better from there. By the fourth race of the season, he was 10th — one of three top-ten finishes this season including a 7th in World Championship 20km. By the end of the season, he’d gone from non-existent on the World Cup points list to 25th ranked in the world. That’s a massive step, and one you won’t accomplish in anonymity.
If you consider there are only two athletes Burke’s age or younger ranked higher than 25th in the world, you begin to get the picture of the excitement surrounding Burke in Europe. Germany’s brightest male hope for the future is where Burke is at today. The biathlon world has been waiting for an American to step up, day in, and day out, to compete with the best in the world and put U.S. Biathlon on the map—or perhaps biathlon on the U.S. map? Tim did that in 2006-07. And the sport’s fans responded. The result is semi-stardom for Burke in this fanatic-laden sport-of-the-moment on the European continent. One senses the Germans want a Tim Burke more than Americans.
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TB: Definitely. I was very fortunate to grow up training with guys like Billy and Lowell. I think we all benefited tremendously from having such a competitive youth and junior program in Lake Placid.
FS: What are your relationships to this day with these two guys?
TB: Lowell lives in Lake Placid as well, so we train together pretty much everyday. We also spend a lot of time together in training camps and on the road all winter.
I don’t get to see Billy as often but we always keep in close contact. We also train together as much as possible when he is home visiting in Lake Placid. I get to see Bill the most during the winter, when he is on Eurosport television throwing down!
FS: Biathlon is still a very esoteric sport in the American public eye, and even among Nordic skiers. But in Europe, the sport enjoys a fanaticism akin to the American NASCAR following. What does biathlon have that makes it so popular in Europe, and what makes you want to be a biathlete as opposed to just simply being a fast Nordic ski racer?
TB: Biathlon is an extremely spectator friendly sport, with head to head competitions, a variety of athletes capable of winning and many lead changes throughout each race. I think this unpredictability creates a drama that the fans are drawn to.
I guess I am drawn to biathlon for the same reasons as the fans. There is never a boring moment in any biathlon race, especially when you can easily move up or down 30 places in one shooting stage.
FS: Last season, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became the first biathlete ever to win a FIS Cross Country Skiing World Cup. What implication does Ole Einar's feat have on both biathlon and cross country ski racing?
TB: I don’t think anyone ever really doubted Ole’s ability to win a cross country world cup but I do think this feat brings more credibility to the ski speed of biathletes. Obviously Ole wins many biathlon World Cups throughout the season, but he is by no means always the fastest skier in biathlon. I think that says a lot about the quality of skiers on the biathlon World Cup.
FS: The men's U.S. Biathlon Team ended the 2007 season in 10th place in the world, the highest ranking in history. Where are you and your teammates physically, psychologically, and emotionally right now?
TB: This is by far the most professional team that I have ever been on. Everyone on this team expects big results and we all train accordingly. This type of focus has created a positive atmosphere that everyone benefits from. It’s really hard to even compare what’s going on now with the team as apposed to a few years ago.
FS: Where are you as a team, 3 seasons from the next Olympic Games in Vancouver?
TB: I think we are in a good position with three seasons to go before Vancouver. We have four guys on the team who have had international success in the past (Jay Hakkinen, Jeremy Teela, Lowell Bailey) and we are all motivated to succeed in the future. With that said, we realize that we need to bring our level up another step if we are going to be true medal contenders in 2010.
FS: Last year, you became a relative celebrity on the Biathlon World Cup almost overnight, garnering regular coverage by television production and a significant increase in fan adoration. Has this changed your life in any way, or perhaps the way you see yourself and how you act in the public eye?
TB: Of course it’s nice to get recognition for my hard work and I really appreciate all of the support, but I am in biathlon because I love to compete. If I started changing the way I act because of my recent success, then I would be in biathlon for entirely the wrong reasons.
FS: Do you feel your popularity among the sport's big fans is in essence you filling the role of a modern American star in the sport?
TB: I think the European fans really enjoy rooting for someone who is not from one of the “major†biathlon nations, like Norway, Germany, or Russia. I don’t think I would get as much attention if I were competing for a European country.
FS: How do your teammates respond to your popularity in Europe?
TB: We all get a good laugh over it.
FS: You have Swedish coaches and you are currently spending a lot of time in Sweden and training in Europe. How are the coaches at dealing with you and the rest of the team as Americans?
TB: I think the coaches have adapted very well to working with us. Per and Mikael are the perfect fit for our team so we really didn’t need much time to adapt to each other. I was definitely a little nervous for our first training camp last year but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
FS: How do you see the living situation and extended stays in Europe as helping or hurting your performance, motivation, and enjoyment of what you're doing?
TB: There are definitely pluses and minuses to spending so much time in Europe but I wouldn’t be here if I thought my time in Europe hurt my performance. For me, being in Europe is a great opportunity to train next to some of the best biathletes and skiers in the world. Europe also has some incredible venues to train at as well as a multitude of summer skiing options. When a European camp is set up right, these factors easily outweigh the negatives of extra travel and time away from home.
FS: Thanks for your time Tim, and good luck in the coming season.
TB: Thanks, my pleasure!
To check out more on Tim Burke and follow his 2007-08 preparation and competition season go to: www.timburke.us
For more about U.S. Biathlon: www.usbiathlon.com
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