Ostersund, Sweden, August 31. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) finished third today in the 12.5K Pursuit competition after winning the 10K Sprint on Saturday.
Magnus Jonsson and Mattias Nilsson of Sweden both slipped ahead of Burke today, with Jonsson taking the victory in 1:01:07, 23 seconds ahead of Nilsson and 2:03 ahead of Burke. The Swedish teammates had three and four penalties, respectively, while Burke picked up six.
Burke told US Biathlon Coach Per Nilsson that he skied with the two Swedes early in the competition, but felt they were stronger than he was today. To this, Nilsson commented, “The Swedes are now a little stronger, especially Magnus and Mattias. I think they rested some this week, while we did not. That is fine, as we will be ready when the important races come this winter. They also did more intensity with shooting recently which we have not done at this stage of the year.â€
Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) finished seventh, with four penalties, 3:59 back. Jeremy Teela, recovering from dental surgery, had three penalties, in 10th, 5:02 back, while Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME) was 18th, with nine penalties, 10:29 back. Nilsson called Teela’s performance, “…very good shooting for him. Jeremy is a little behind now in the skiing, but he had a good shooting day.â€
In the Women’s 10K Pursuit, Haley Johnson had a personal best one penalty in the 20-shot competition. She missed a prone shot in the first stage and finished sixth, 2:53 behind Helena Jonsson, who had three penalties. Jonsson’s time of 1:02:42 topped Anna Maria Nilsson of Sweden, with three penalties, by 20 seconds. Jenny Jonsson, with one penalty finished 25 seconds back.
Nilsson described Johnson’s effort. “Haley was great on the shooting range. On the final loop, she was in fourth position, but she tired a bit and two other girls just slipped ahead of he before the finish.â€
Laura Spector (Lenox, MA) finished ninth with six penalties. Spector missed all five prone shot sin the first stage, but recovered well, missing one of the final 15 shots. She finished 8:16 back.
The US Biathlon Team now moves into the final week of this training camp, with several days of skiing and ski testing in the ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden, before heading back to the US.
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