Steven James Burke MBE (born 4 March 1988) is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded Team Wiggins Le Col cycling team.[6] He represented Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics, beating his pre Olympics personal best in the individual pursuit by eleven seconds, to take the bronze medal. He stood on the podium alongside his cycling idol, gold medallist Bradley Wiggins.
During 2012, Burke was part of the Great Britain team that won the Olympic and World Championships, in the Team Pursuit discipline. He was part of the GB Team, that retained the team pursuit title at the 2016 Olympics. Burke was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours on 29 December 2012, for services to cycling.[7]
Early life
editBurke was born in Burnley and lived in Colne, Lancashire during his early life, attending Park High School and later Nelson and Colne College[8][9] (which named its sports centre after him).[10] Born into a cycling family, both Burke's grandfather Brian Wesson, and his mother Sharon, have competed at national level. His dad Alvin also was a cyclist and competed in many time trials.
He began attending Manchester Velodrome as a teenager, previously being more interested in football.[11]
Career
editDespite specialising in the team pursuit, Burke has an impressive turn of speed, demonstrated by his success as a junior in the scratch and kilo events. He was consistently beating Mark Cavendish in sprints, during training in 2007.[12]
Burke has an impressive Olympic Games record having never been beaten in the Team Pursuit. Burke took the decision to retire in 2019 after achieving his Olympic goal of retaining their TP title.
Major results
editTrack
edit- 2005
- National Junior Championships
- 1st
Kilo - 3rd Points race
- 3rd Scratch
- 1st
- 1st
Team pursuit, UEC European Under-23 Championships - 2nd
Team pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships - 2006
- 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 3rd
Team pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships - 2007
- UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 1st Team pursuit
- 3rd Individual pursuit
- 1st
- National Championships
- 1st Scratch
- 1st Team pursuit
- 1st
- 1st Individual pursuit, National Junior Championships
- 3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Manchester
- 2008
- National Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit
- 3rd Kilo
- 1st
- 3rd
Individual pursuit, Olympic Games - 2009
- 1st Individual pursuit, UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 1st Kilo, National Championships
- 2011
- 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit, National Championships
- 2012
- 1st
Team pursuit, Olympic Games - 1st
Team pursuit, UCI World Championships - 2013
- 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
- 2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
- 2014
- UCI World Cup
- 1st Team pursuit, London
- 2nd Team pursuit, Guadalajara
- 2nd
Team pursuit, Commonwealth Games - 2nd Individual pursuit, National Championships
- 2015
- 1st
Team pursuit, UEC European Championships - 3rd Kilo, National Championships
- 2016
- 1st Team pursuit, Olympic Games
World records
edit| Discipline | Record | Date | Event | Velodrome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team pursuit | 3:53.295 | 4 April 2012 | World Championships | Hisense Arena (Melbourne) | [13] |
| 3:52.499 | 2 August 2012 | Olympic Games | Lee Valley (London) | [14] | |
| 3:51.659 | 3 August 2012 | [15] | |||
| 3:50.570 | 12 August 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio Olympic | [16] | |
| 3:50.265 | [17] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Colne parade for Olympic gold cyclist Steven Burke". bbc.co.uk. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Athlete Biography – BURKE Steven". Beijing Olympics official website. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008.
- ^ "Team 100% ME 2007 Cycling Team". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Steven Burke: Rider Profile". Cycling Weekly. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ Fotheringham, William (8 January 2014). "Bradley Wiggins unveils new team to be sponsored by Sky". theguardian.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Steven Burke Biography British Cycling; Accessed 16 August 2008
- ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 24.
- ^ Family's pride at Colne cyclist's Olympic medal, Lancashire Telegraph, 18 August 2008, retrieved 11 August 2012
- ^ "FE students add to Team GB Olympic medal haul". FE Week. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ Pendle cycling hero opens college's new facilities, Lancashire Telegraph, 3 December 2008, retrieved 11 August 2012
- ^ Family's joy at gold medal win, Lancashire Telegraph, 3 August 2012, retrieved 11 August 2012
- ^ "GB RIDER PROFILE: STEVEN BURKE". Cycling Weekly. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
- ^ "Track Worlds: Great Britain beat Australia with world record". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Brendan (2 August 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: GB pursuit quartet demolish world record in heats". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Bevan, Chris (3 August 2012). "Olympics cycling: Team GB defend men's pursuit title". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ "Men's Team Pursuit First Round Results" (PDF). Rio2016.com. International Olympic Committee. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Men's Team Pursuit Final Results" (PDF). Rio2016.com. International Olympic Committee. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.