Russian women shoot their way to silver
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) quartet of Irina Kazakevich, Kristina Reztsova, Svetlana Mironova and Uliana Nigmatullina have earned a long-awaited Olympic medal in Beijing, finishing second in the women’s relay race on Wednesday.
The Russian biathletes earned silver behind Sweden, while Germany completed the podium to leave pre-race favorites Norway outside the medals.
The Russians got off to brilliant start in the race, with Kazakevich and Reztsova creating a 20-second lead for their team.
However, a similar scenario to the one which struck the ROC men’s team a day earlier repeated itself during the third lap when Mironova struggled with the standing shoot, and was forced to take a penalty lap.
But mistakes by other competitors helped the Russian team to stay in contention as Mironova finished third after her leg, ensuring teammate Nigmatullina was among the leaders for the last leg.
The 27-year-old Russian had struggled with her shooting previously in Beijing, missing 10 targets in the women’s individual race.
However, this time around Nigmatullina kept her cool and needed just one additional bullet to hit 10 targets before coming home second.
The medal is Russia’s fourth in biathlon in Beijing but a first silver, with the previous podium finishes being bronzes in the mixed relay, men’s pursuit and men’s relay races.
