5 Questions with biathlete Tim Burke

This 27-year-old native of Lake Placid, N.Y., is considered by most as the United States' best shot at its first-ever Olympic biathlon medal, as he leads the World Cup standings. Burke, who has overcome various injuries and illnesses in his career, recently spoke with Deseret News sports writer Amy Donaldson.

Question: What will you be doing between now and the 2010 Olympics, which begin Feb. 12 in Vancouver, to get ready for the Games?

Answer: We're working a lot on technique training. Between now and the games is a really important training time for us. Most importantly, we spent more time training at that venue than any other team than maybe besides the Canadians. I think we all feel really comfortable there with the venue. The trails there are definitely unique to biathlon.

Question: What has enabled this year's team to break that sort of glass ceiling of European dominance in this sport?

Answer: Our organization made some incredible changes in the last four years. We have a completely new board of directors, a completely new coaching staff, new team managers, new wax technicians. It's just been a complete change throughout our whole organization. And on every level, we have the most professional, talented people. I know for me personally, I'm surrounded by the best coaches in the world and I think that's made the biggest difference.

Question: What has sustained you and made you believe that you could be successful without American role models?

Answer: I really thrive on being the underdog. That's personally really motivating for me. Every time I've heard, "It's not possible for an American to get an Olympic medal in biathlon," that is incredibly motivating for me. That's all I've needed.

Question: What excites you about this team, and what does it feel like to get that official nomination to the Olympic team?

Answer: It's an exciting time for all of us, and now we're all together for the first time this year. I'm looking forward to Vancouver. I think this is definitely the most talented biathlon team we'll be sending to the Olympics. Hopefully that experience will help us to get results.

Question: You said being an underdog motivates you. Now that you're leading the World Cup, has it changed how you approach competitions?

Answer: No, it definitely hasn't changed how I'm approaching each race. I'm still going at every race the same way. I go out there trying to improve on something every day.