Dzinara Smolskaya. Photo courtesy of sport5.by
MINSK, 15 March (BelTA) – Belarus’ Dzinara Smolskaya came within one step of a medal in the pursuit race at the Russian Biathlon Championship in Tyumen, BelTA has learned.
Dzinara started Sunday’s pursuit in eighth place, trailing the leader by 25 seconds. The Belarusian missed one target in the first prone shooting stage, then cleared the next three shooting ranges. After the final standing stage, Smolskaya was leading the race, but on the last lap she was overtaken by three rivals. Ultimately, Dzinara finished 4th, four seconds behind bronze medalist Natalya Shevchenko. Anastasia Khalili claimed victory, edging out Kristina Reztsova by 0.1 seconds.
Belarus’ Hanna Sola skied four penalty laps and finished in the top six, placing 6th, while Yelena Kulak, with one missed shot, showed the 8th result. A total of six Belarusians took part in the pursuit: Kseniya Varabei took 32nd place, Irina Shakleina finished 37th among 56 competitors, and Viktoryia Shashkova did not finish the race.
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