Three Ukrainians entered the scoring zone following the short individual race in Kontiolahti.
On Wednesday, December 4, at the opening stage of the 2024/25 Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, the first women's individual race of the season, the short “individual”, took place.
Ukraine was represented in the race by Kristina Dmitrenko, Yulia Jima, Anastasia Merkushina, Oleksandra Merkushina and Anna Krivonos.
The best result among the Ukrainians was shown by Oleksandra Merkushina, who took 33rd place. This is her best performance in her career at the World Cup level.
A total of three Ukrainians made it into the scoring zone. In addition to Oleksandra, Dzhima (38th place) and Dmitrenko (40th place) managed to score points.
The Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonneau won the race. She was joined on the podium by Swedish biathletes Ella Halvarsson and Elvira Oeberg.
Biathlon World Cup 2024/25: results of the women's short individual race in Kontiolahti
1. Lou Jeanmonneau (France, 0+0+0+0) 35:52.3
2. Ella Halvarsson (Sweden, 0+1+0+0)+12.3
3. Elvira Oeberg (Sweden, 0+1+1+1) +56.4
4. Natalia Sidorovich (Poland, 0+0+0+0) +1:08.2
5. Franziska Preuss (Germany, 0+1+0+1) +1:09.6
6. Lisa-Therese Hauser (Austria, 0+1+0+0)
…
33. Alexandra Merkushina (Ukraine, 0+1+0+0) +3:22.0
38. Yulia Jima (Ukraine, 1+1+0+0) +3:32.5
40. Kristina Dmitrenko (Ukraine, 1+0+1+0) +3:35.0
49. Anna Krivonos (Ukraine, 0+2+0+0) +3:36.5
94. Anastasia Merkushina (Ukraine, 3+0+1+1) +7:27.0
It should be noted that the day before in Kontiolahti there was a men's short individual race, in which three Ukrainians finished in the top 15, and Vitaliy Mandzyn stopped one step short of the podium, taking fourth place.
The stage in Kontiolahti will continue on Friday, December 6, with the men's sprint race. The start is at 17:20 Kyiv time.
Where to watch the Biathlon World Cup races
On the territory of Ukraine, all Biathlon World Cup races will be broadcast on live on the website and TV channel Suspilne Sport, as well as on local TV channels of Suspilne.
You can also watch the races on the online television platform Kyivstar TV on the channel Suspilne Kyiv. And with the promo code TSNUA, get premium access to the cinema and television for 7 days.