Malgina Ahead of the Team
Russia's Irina Malgina caused a big stir by winning the gold medal in the Women's 15 km Individual Event at the IBU World Cup Biathlon competitions in Ostersund, Sweden November 29, 2006. This is the first time that Malgina prevailed at the world level.
Irina Malgina won the women’s IBU World Cup Biathlon premiere yesterday. At the distance of 15 kilometers, the Russian was followed by Norway’s Liv Kjersti Eikeland, while Canada’s Zina Kocher was the third. But it wasn’t the stars that competed in Ostersund Wednesday. Russia's Svetlana Ishmuratova and Anna Bogaliy-Titovets, for instance, will join the team a bit latter.
Overall, four Russians were among the first 15 yesterday.
Malgina, 33, has been long in the squad of Russia, but she had never come off with flying colors until yesterday. Her best achievement was the fifth place at an event of the World Cup of 2001.
"Honestly, I felt I can win at the very beginning of the race,” Malgina said at the press conference just after the competitions. “But I believed in victory only after crossing the finish line.” Malgina said she had prepared well for this year’s competitions. She trained in Khanty-Mansiysk in November together with her husband, who is her personal coach.
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All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 30, 2006
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