Tim Burke grabs silver at World Cup biathlon in Sweden

We’re gearing up our winter sports coverage, with the Vancouver Winter Olympics just a few months away.

No fewer than eight Adirondack-North Country athletes are expected to compete in Vancouver this year.

We’ll have a big profile of Billy Demong from Vermontville next week, one of the worlds premier Nordic combined racers (ski jumping and x-country ski racing).

And more good news today: Tim Burke from Paul Smiths snagged a silver at World Cup competitions in Oestersund, Sweden.

This from the AP:

Tim Burke has tied for the best finish ever for a U.S. biathlete in a World Cup event by finishing second to Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in the men’s season-opening race.

Hegle Svendsen and Burke each missed one target in the 20-kilometer race, but the Norwegian outskied the American to secure his 12th individual World Cup win.

Burke’s chance for victory disappeared when he missed a shot at the final shooting station. He earned his first world cup podium finish to match Josh Thompson’s silver medal in a 20K race at Canmore, Canada, in 1992.

See video and more info here.