Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Abakumova finished in the lower half of the field in her third Olympic appearance.
Abakumova, 35, placed 63rd among 90 starters in the women’s 15-kilometer individual at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday (Korean time) at the Biathlon Arena in Antholz, Italy. She finished in 47 minutes, 18.2 seconds.
She missed three targets — once in prone shooting and twice standing — hurting her overall time.
Abakumova, a former Russian youth national team member, became a South Korean citizen in 2016. She placed 16th at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, then finished 73rd at the 2022 Beijing Games, making Milan her third straight Olympics.
France’s Julia Simon won gold in 41:15.6. Despite one miss in standing, she led the field with her skiing and crossed first. After helping France win the mixed relay earlier, Simon became a two-time champion at these Games.
France’s Lou Jeanmonnot took silver in 42:08.7, and Bulgaria’s Laura Hristova won bronze in 42:20.1.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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