Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova finished 55th in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
Avvakumova, 35, clocked 35 minutes 33.0 seconds in the race held Saturday (Korea time) at the Antholz Biathlon Arena in Italy, placing 55th among 58 finishers.
After placing 58th in Friday’s sprint, she earned one of the pursuit berths awarded through 60th place and started near the back under the rules.
She missed two shots — one in prone and one in standing — but could not move up significantly because of her skiing time.
Avvakumova, a former Russian junior national team member who obtained South Korean citizenship in 2016, is a veteran who posted South Korea’s best Olympic biathlon result by finishing 16th in an individual event at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
At the Milano Olympics, she previously placed 63rd in the 15-kilometer individual race.
Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi won gold, crossing first in 30:11.80. Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide took silver, followed by Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen with bronze.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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