Biathlon World Cup: Ukraine earns place in women's mass start
Christina Dmytrenko (photo: Getty Images)
For the first time this season, Ukraine will be represented in the women's mass start at the Biathlon World Cup. Christina Dmytrenko qualified for the prestigious race based on her performance in the Czech Republic, according to the competition results.
Dmytrenko's breakthrough in Nove Mesto
The Ukrainian biathlete earned her spot in the mass start thanks to a strong performance in the short individual race.
Dmytrenko achieved her best result of the current season, finishing 21st.
Her high placement was made possible by accurate shooting — she made only one mistake across four shooting stages.
Dmytrenko entered the start list through the selection system. This was facilitated by the absence of eight athletes from the top 25 overall standings, who skipped the Czech stage. In total, 13 biathletes were added to the start list through this selection process.
Historical context and lineup
This will be Dmytrenko's first mass start of the current competitive year. Her previous participation in a similar race was in Pokljuka, where she finished 20th.
For the Ukrainian women's team, this is also the first appearance in mass start races after a long pause — the last time the "blue and yellow" were represented in this discipline was in Holmenkollen, with Yuliia Dzhyma and Olena Horodna competing.
It is worth noting that Ukraine will have double representation in Sunday's mass start.
Earlier, Vitalii Mandzyn also qualified for the men's race similarly, finishing 15th in his individual race.
Among Dmytrenko's main rivals on the course will be this season's leaders: French athletes Julia Simon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Italians Lisa Vittozzi and Dorothea Wierer, and Germany’s Franziska Preuss.
