Canmore, Alberta, Canada, April 3. The final events of the 2004-05 Biathlon season, the North American and US Championships were held over the past four days, concluding today at Mount Shark.
These Championships were moved from the Canmore Biathlon Center, due to a lack of snow to the Mount shark location. The alternative site, although a 45 minute drive from Canmore allowed the events to be conducted successfully. At an altitude of 1800 meters in a remote provincial park,” the tracks and range were well prepared,” according to Art Stegen of the National Guard Sports Bureau. He added, “The organization committee did an excellent job in relocating and hosting the championships.”
The competitions included a Championship Sprint on March 31, Championship Pursuit on April 2, and additional Sprint competition today. The field of 95 competitors included 58 Canadian and 39 US biathletes.
The big winners over the three days for the US Biathlon team were Annilies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY) and Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY). Cook picked up three wins in the junior women’s category and Burke two in the senior men. Additionally, US Biathletes won five of the six North American Cup titles.
Burke opened by winning the Men’s 10K Sprint in 26:19, over the top Canadian men, David Leoni and Robin Clegg. Despite two penalties, Burke skied faster than second place Leoni, who had one penalty. Burke’s margin of victory was 36 seconds. In Saturday’s 12.5K Pursuit, Burke had four penalties and held his lead from start to finish. His 36:49 was 30 seconds ahead of second place Clegg, who also had four penalties. Despite his mastery over the Canadians on the first two days, Burke slipped to second in the 10K Sprint today as he missed four standing shots. Clegg, with one penalty took the win in 26:19
Cook, who trains at the Maine Winter Sports Center in Fort Kent, as does Burke, was able to claim three victories at Mount Shark. As the sole US representative in the junior women’s category, Cook was dominant. She won both 7.5K Sprint competitions, in 24:40 and 25:05.8 with two penalties in each. In Saturday’s 10K Pursuit, she was plagued by the tricky winds and had 10 penalties. Still she prevailed with a 40:16.8 victory with the second finisher 35.2 seconds behind. Ben Byrne (Bovey, MN) was the only winner for the US in the junior men’s competitions. Byrne won the 10K Sprint on Thursday in 28:52, with two penalties
Army WCAP athlete Jill Krause Beste (St. Cloud, MN) was the only US winner in the senior women’s events this week. Beste won the 7.5K Sprint today in 23:44.6 over Canada’s Zina Kocher. Kocher who won n the two previous days had three penalties to Krause Beste’s four today, but fell 23.4 seconds short of taking her third win. In the Championship Sprint and Saturday’s 10K Pursuit, Sarah Konrad (Laramie, WY) was the top US finisher with second place on both days. In Thursday’s 7.5K Sprint, Konrad, with six penalties, finished 1:08 behind Kocher. On Saturday in the 10K Pursuit, Kocher finished 1:03.7 ahead of Konrad. Kocher had four penalties in the 20 shot competition while Konrad had nine.
Full Results: Sprint1-pdf | Pursuit Men-pdf | Pursuit Women-pdf| Sprint2-pdf
Today’s Sprints at Mount Shark concluded the pre-Olympic season for the US Biathlon Team. The athletes will now head home, finally unpack their travel bags, and take a few weeks of rest, before beginning preparations for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.
The US Biathlon Team is sponsored by Banknorth and competes under the auspices of the United States Biathlon Association, the National Governing Body for the Olympic Sport of Biathlon. Lapua, adidas, and Exel Ski Poles are supporting sponsor the US Biathlon Team.