Biathlon World Cup - the world turned upside down

[jon_norstog]

Here's something to cheer you up:

"OBERHOF, Germany (AP) -- American Tim Burke has retaken the lead in the biathlon World Cup by finishing second to five-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway in a men's mass start race.

Burke finished 1 minute, 2.9 seconds behind the Norwegian, who covered the 15 kilometers in 38:57.3 after one shooting error. Burke missed two targets. Tomasz Sikora of Poland was 1:40.6 back with three misses.

Burke leads the standings with 329 points, three more than Evgeny Ustyugov of Russia, who finished fourth.

Andrea Henkel of Germany, Burke's girlfriend, won the women's mass start race. She had two misses in her 17th career victory, covering 12.5 kilometers in 40:53.6.

World Cup leader Helena Jonsson of Sweden was second, 23.4 seconds behind with one miss."

This is news, guys. When was an American in contention for the podium in this event? Not since the '70s at least. Frank Ullrich used to **own** this event, back when there were two Germanys. Bjoerndalen has been on the podium every year since 1997, including six wins. Burke and the guy chasing him, Ustyagov, are both newcomers to the top places. Lets see how it plays out!

jn

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