Tim Burke (biathlete)

Timothy John Burke is a retired American biathlete and coach, born on 3 February 1982 in Paul Smiths, New York. On 20 December 2009 he became the first United States biathlete ever to lead the overall Biathlon World Cup. During his career he competed in 11 Biathlon World Championships and four Winter Olympic Games, won a World Championship silver and took six podiums in World Cup races. He first took up biathlon in 1997 and first competed for the United States at the Junior World Championships in 2000. His formative years were plagued by ill health, with career-threatening hip problems in 2002 that he recovered from after surgery, and he also suffered from mononucleosis. He made his first United States Olympic team in 2006, and under the Swedish head coach Per Nilsson, who took over the American team that year, his results improved markedly. In the opening 20 km individual of the 2009-10 season at Östersund he finished second, only the second American ever to do so in a World Cup competition.