Biathlon World Cup: Ukraine finished sixth in the mixed relay.

The first competitive day of the new season of the Biathlon World Cup has concluded in Kontiolahti. The second race on the program on Saturday, November 30, was the mixed relay.

The Ukrainian team started their performances at the World Cup by reaching the top-10 of the mixed relay. The tandem of Olena Horodna and Artem Tishchenko finished ninth in the race.

The Ukrainian quartet for the classic mixed relay consisted of Kristina Dmytrenko, Yulia Zhuravok, Anton Dudchenko, and Vitaliy Mandzin. Women were the first to enter the distance, while Mandzin ran the final, fourth leg of the relay.

How did the race go?

Kristina Dmytrenko approached the first shooting range in 10th place. At the prone position, the Ukrainian used one spare cartridge, while she passed the second shooting range cleanly. As a result, Kristina moved up to the top-5 but handed the relay to Yulia in seventh place.

Zhuravok used one spare cartridge at the first shooting range, losing her top-10 position — she approached the standing position in 12th. However, the team leader made no mistakes at the second range and managed to improve her position by six spots.

Despite using two spare cartridges at the prone position, Anton Dudchenko, who went out on the distance after Zhuravok, did not lose his position before the standing range, which he ran without errors. The Ukrainian was fifth in his stage, leading Mandzin in sixth place.

Vitaliy was the first from the 'blue-yellow' team who did not miss in prone shooting, while he used two spare cartridges at the standing position. Mandzin crossed the finish line in sixth place, with a lag of 3:38.9 minutes from the leaders.

There were 24 teams starting in the distance, but only 16 managed to finish it. The rest were withdrawn due to a lap behind.

Norway won the mixed relay, overtaking France at the finish. Sweden completed the podium.

Biathlon World Cup (Kontiolahti). Mixed Relay

1. Norway (0+10) - 1:09:59.9
2. France (0+4) +0.8
3. Sweden (0+7) +21.5
4. Germany (1+9) +2:38.4
5. Italy (1+8) +2:43.4
6. Ukraine (0+6) +3:38.9

The new season of the Biathlon World Cup officially started on November 30 with a single mixed relay in Kontiolahti. Ukraine was represented in the race by the tandem of Olena Horodna and Artem Tishchenko. They finished in ninth place.

Earlier, the composition of the biathlon team for the opening round of the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti was determined. The team includes: Artem Tishchenko, Olena Horodna (they will compete in the single mixed relay) and Vitaliy Mandzin, Anton Dudchenko, Kristina Dmytrenko, and Yulia Zhuravok (in the mixed relay). Team leader Dmytro Pidruchny will not assist the team.

It should be noted that Russian biathletes are facing a serious shortage of quality foreign cartridges, which significantly affects their results.