Dzinara Smolskaya. Photo by the Belarusian Sports Ministry
MINSK, 11 February (BelTA) - Dzinara Smolskaya of Belarus came within striking distance of a medal in the women’s sprint at the fifth leg of the 2025/26 Commonwealth Cup in Sochi, BelTA has learned.
A total of 47 biathletes took part in the women’s sprint race. At the first shooting stage, Smolskaya recorded one miss and ranked tenth at that point, while she shot clean in the prone stage. At the finish line, Dzinara posted the fourth-fastest time, finishing nine seconds behind Russian Natalia Shevchenko, who took bronze. Anastasiya Halili claimed victory, while overall standings leader Kristina Reztsova finished second.
A total of eight Belarusian representatives started the sprint. Irina Shakleina finished 12th, Hanna Sola placed just behind her in 13th, Kseniya Varabei was 22nd, Alena Kulak 34th, Alina Zaitsava 40th, Viktoryia Shashkova 43rd, and Hanna Pestserava 45th. Earlier, in the men’s sprint, Belarus’ Maksim Varabei rounded out the top ten, while Anton Smolski finished 15th.
The fifth leg of the Biathlon Commonwealth Cup in Sochi continues with pursuit races. The men’s pursuit starts tomorrow at 11:00 am, followed by the women’s race at 1:00 pm. Athletes will have a rest day on 13 February, with mass start races scheduled for Saturday. Team sprints are planned for 15 February.
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