The world’s top biathletes competed in a 7.5 km sprint event, with 91 athletes participating and 60 qualifying for the 10 km pursuit race scheduled for Sunday.
Judita Traubaitė achieved the best result among Lithuanian competitors, finishing 49th with a time of 23:00.2 minutes and incurring only one penalty. This performance secured her a spot in the final stage of the competition.
Traubaitė’s qualification marks the first time a Lithuanian athlete has reached the women’s biathlon pursuit race since Diana Rasimovičiūtė competed at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
However, the other three Lithuanian athletes did not advance. Lidija Žurauskaitė finished 64th after incurring two penalties, while Sara Urumova, despite a flawless shooting performance, placed 84th. Natalija Kočergina finished near the bottom of the rankings in 90th place, after missing five shots.
Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide won the race with a time of 20:40.8 minutes, followed by France’s Oceane Michelon (+3.8 seconds) and Lou Jeanmonnot (+23.7 seconds). This result highlights the competitive landscape of international biathlon.
In Friday’s men’s 10 km sprint, Vytautas Strolia also qualified for the pursuit race on Sunday, finishing 49th. The women’s pursuit will be a shorter distance of 10 km.
Prior to the Milano-Cortina Winter Games, Natalija Kočergina was the only Lithuanian athlete to have competed in the Olympics, having participated in Pyeongchang in 2018. While three of the team members are Olympic debutantes, both Judita Traubaitė and Lidija Žurauskaitė have already competed twice at these Games.
The Lithuanian team, including Vytautas Strolia and Nikita Čigakas, placed 20th in the 4×6 km mixed relay race. In individual events, Judita Traubaitė finished 47th, Sara Urumova 77th, Lidija Žurauskaitė 81st, and Natalija Kočergina 87th in the 15 km event.
