Lyle Barber Nelson (born February 9, 1949, in McCall, Idaho) is a retired American biathlete. He represented USA at four Olympics. At his last Olympics in 1988, he was the flag bearer.[1]
In 1976 he finished 35th in the Individual 20K biathlon. He led off the American team with Dennis Donahue, John Morton and Peter Dascoulias as they finished 11th place in the 30K relay.
In 1980, when USA hosted at Lake Placid, he finished 19th in the new 10K sprint biathlon and joined Martin Hagen, Donald Nielsen Jr. and Peter Hoag Jr. in finishing 8th in the 30K relay.
In 1984, he returned to the Individual 20K biathlon, finishing 26th. He joined Nielsen again along with Bill Carow and Josh Thompson in finishing 11th in the 30K relay.
In 1988, as the 39 year old veteran, he was selected to carry the flag at the 1988 Opening Ceremonies held just north of his home in Calgary. In the 10K sprint, he finished tied with Sverre Istad for 30th place and joined Thompson, Curt Schreiner and Darin Binning in finishing 9th in the relay.