FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Piotr Bednarski
Minnesota Biathlon
Community Olympic Development Program
[email protected]
January 31, 2002
Another Day for the Junior Men - Burke 11th, Ray 9th
The pursuit event is considered to be the most exciting biathlon event, and today proved no exception. In the Junior Men's (OJ 18-19) race, Tim Burke of Paul Smith's, NY put together a nail biter for the US fans. Shooting 2-0-1-1, Burke fell from a start position of 16th to 26th place, but as his shooting improved, clawed his way through the field to 10th place as he left his final standing stage. The final shooting stage put 5 athletes within 2 seconds of each other, setting up a great battle for the last 2.5km loop. With 500m to go, Burke had moved into 7th place. This turned out to be a tactical mistake, as 4 of his competitors were able to stay in his draft on a long downhill to the finish. In the sprint to the finish, Burke came out in 11th place, only 4 seconds out of 7th place.
After a fantastic race in yesterday's sprint, Walt Sheppard, Yarmouth, ME, dropped from 14 to 18th place, today. Walt had fantastic shooting, hitting 18 if 20 target. He moved up as high as 10th place after the third shooting stage, and left the last shooting in 14th, finishing 18th after a hard fought last loop.
Evan Ray, St Paul, MN put an exciting race together in the Youth (J1) Men's category, shooting the same as Burke, 2-0-1-1. Ray started in 7th place based on yesterday's results, and left the first prone shooting in 11th. He moved up to 8th after second prone, 5th after first standing, and then left in 7th after his second standing stage. With 2km to go, Ray was outskiied by his nearest competitors from the Ukraine and Italy, and fell to 9th place.
After finishing 15th in yesterday's sprint, Annelis Cook of Saranac Lake, NY, was able to hold on to a top 20 finish in the Youth (J1 16-17years) Women's race, shooting 1-0-3-3. "Things were looking really good through prone- Annelis had moved into 9th place- but shooting 40% over two standing stages really set her back" lamented Youth Team coach Gary Colliander. Annelis has been the top American Youth (J1) biathlete for the last two years, so the US Team coaches have high expectations of this talented young woman.
In the Junior Women (OJ 18-19years), the U.S. women all moved up several positions from yesterday's ranking for an encouraging, if not inspiring, performance. Tracy Barnes, Durango, CO, moved from 24th to finish in 20th place. Carolyn Treacy of Duluth, MN moved up 5 places to 27th, Lanny Barnes, Durango, CO, moved up 6 places to 31st place, and Beth Ann Ellingson, Grand Rapids, MN moved up one place to finish 46th.
There will be no competitions tomorrow, as the teams rest up for the weekends events. Saturday will feature the Individual format race, and on Sunday, the Relay, where national pride is really comes to the fore. With 28 nations competing, this World Juniors Relay will be the most competitive to date. For complete results go to www.ibu.at.
Junior Men Pursuit 12.5km
1 SLESINGR M. CZE 1011 37:10.1
2 TCHOUDOV M. RUS 0212 +28.0
3 DASHKEVICH S. BLR 1010 +47.3
11 BURKE T. USA 1022 +1:18.8
18 SHEPARD W. USA 0011 +1:47.6
49 OSTHUS A. USA 2233 +6:25.2
Youth Men Pursuit 10km
1 DOUBASSOV A. RUS 0111 30:01.9
2 STROHM T. GER 0013 +0.7
3 MORAVEC O. CZE 2212 +8.1
9 RAY E. USA 2011 +47.4
Junior Women Pursuit 10km
1 ADLER J. GER 0002 32:38.3
2 NIZIAK U. GER 0011 +31.1
3 PFISTERER K. GER 0022 +41.9
20 BARNES T. USA 1112 +4:12.0
27 TREACY C. USA 1121 +4:42.4
31 BARNES L. USA 3011 +5:43.2
46 ELLINGSON B. USA 1024 +7:54.5
Youth Women Pursuit 7.5km
1 DONG X. CHN 1021 27:38.7
2 LINDAU K. GER 0010 +18.3
3 RATHMANN A. GER 0110 +21.8
19 COOK A. USA 1033 +4:03.0
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