Alina Stremous remains the best in the national team of Moldova according to the results of the Winter Games in China and Italy // Photo: instagram.com
Biathlete Stremous successfully performed in the 15 km individual race, taking 14th place. She did not make a single miss and was ahead of many world-class competitors.
In the sprint, the 30-year-old missed three times and eventually took 73rd place. This prevented her from qualifying for the pursuit race, where the top 60 biathletes qualify for the sprint.
Compared to the Olympics four years ago in Beijing (China), Stremous improved her performance in the individual pursuit (she finished 37th then) and worsened in the sprint (last time she was 10th and qualified for the pursuit, where she finished 16th).
The biathletes were pumped up
Two other biathletes – 37-year-old Pavel Magazeev and 30-year-old Maxim Makarov – also failed to qualify for the pursuit race. Magazeev, who finished 29th in the individual pursuit in Beijing, finished 45th in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. Makarov finished 84th among the 89 competitors in the race; he was not represented in this discipline at the last Olympics.
In the sprint, Magazeev and Makarov finished 78th and 86th, respectively. The finish line was crossed by 90 biathletes. Magazeev moved up only one position compared to the last Olympics, while Makarov moved up seven positions.
Mikhail Usov, who went to the Games as a reserve athlete, did not take part in any of the races.
The skiers are “raw”
Elizaveta Hlusovic, for whom the Olympics in Italy was the debut in her career, finished in 104th place among 108 participants in the 10 km freestyle ski race.
Earlier, the 19-year-old athlete, daughter of prominent biathlete Natalia Levchenkova, was criticized by Moldovan fans. The national biathlon, skiing and luge federations spoke in her defense. The skier was born in Russia, but by right of blood was given a passport as a Moldovan citizen at an early age.
Yulian Lukin was the last to enter the Olympic race. Among 111 competitors in the 10-kilometer cross-country ski race, the 21-year-old Games debutant placed only 96th. He was more than six minutes behind the winner, Norway’s Johannes Klebo.
Lukin is the only Moldovan native on the national team at the Olympics in Italy. The others were born in Russia but became Moldovan citizens by order of the authorities.
