Western Colorado University Athletics

A four-time W Mountain Race winner and Olympic biathlete who went on to teach thousands of children and adults how to ski was one of two Lifetime Athletic Achievement Award winners honored at the 2009 Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Oct. 2, 2009. John Burritt, a 1957 graduate, never skied before attending Western State but helped the Mountaineers to a pair of NCAA championships.

“He was partially responsible for introducing me and my family to skiing, both alpine and Nordic,” said Dr. Don Rigway in one of several accompanying nomination letters. “As a result, my wife and I, children and grandchildren have enjoyed many, many days together in the outdoors with all of its tangible and intangible benefits.”

Burritt graduated from Hotchkiss (Colo.) High School in 1952, where he was the 156 lb. West Slope Champion in boxing. He turned in a two minute, five second half-mile in his junior season and was team captain for the wrestling, boxing and track teams and earned all-conference honors in football.

Apart from his athletic achievements, Burritt was also the student body president, participated in the junior and senior one-act plays and was active in the Future Farmers of America. He earned the Elk’s I Dare You Leadership Award and was named to Who’s Who in High School Athletics.

Burritt attended Western State on an athletic scholarship. Apart from his four W Mountain titles, one of which was a record, he placed well in the 880-yard, mile and two-mile races in his track and field career. A first-time skier when he became a Mountaineer, Burritt led Western State to three consecutive NCAA Division I Regional Championships in the cross country event and back-to-back national championships. Also a member of the football squad, he completed a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1957.

Burritt implemented a number of weight-training and resistance techniques to improve arm strength and skiing speed. He introduced using dowel rods to represent ski poles during training hikes and runs and used loaded backpacks on hikes to make hikes more strenuous.

From 1957-59, Burritt served in the United States Army Medical Corps.

Burritt earned a spot on the United States Biathlon Team and competed in world championships Courmayeur, Italy, in 1959. In the same year, he finished fourth at the North American Biathlon Championships and was part of the 1960 Colorado 4x10 Championship Team. Burritt also placed third in the first biathlon race in the state of Colorado, held at Camp Hale.

In 1960, Burritt finished No. 14 at the 1960 Winter Olympics in the biathlon in Squaw Creek, Calif. It was the best finish by any American in the event until Jay Hakkinen finished No. 10 in the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.

After the Olympics, Burritt started a 20-year career at Delta County Memorial Hospital, where he retired as Supervisor of the Medical Lab and X-Ray Departments in 1980.

From 1967 to 1971, Burritt operated a small ski area with a small rope tow. He cleared more than five acres of spruce forest to build a lodge on the slope.

Burritt was instrumental in securing the first Forest Service permit for cross country skiing on Grand Mesa. With a five-year permit, he laid out and constructed the Ward Cross Country Ski Trail. Since then, Burritt has taken thousands of people, mostly children, on introductory cross country ski tours. He has lent equipment to children to ensure that no child is denied the chance to learn skiing.

“John is a true sportsman; a person with values living an exemplary life as a role model for young people,” said four-year Mountaineer skier Steve Rieschl in one of his nominating letters. “He has volunteered many years of work, time and resources to help people see the joys and the benefits of the outdoors in the winter.”

During the 2002 Olympic torch run towards Salt Lake City, Burritt received a hero’s welcome when he carried the torch through Aspen, Colo.

Burritt has been married to Barbara for more than 50 years, and the couple have three sons: Jim, Brad and John, Jr.