Famous Ukrainian biathlete Anastasia Merkushyna, 31, whose younger sister Oleksandra made the team for the Olympic Games, won a gold medal at the European Championships in Shushen, Norway.
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The athlete from Ternopil won the individual 15 km race. Anastasia, with not the fastest pace over the distance, shot brilliantly (no errors on four firing lines) and with a result of 45 minutes 33.9 seconds, she was 3 seconds ahead of the Italian Samuela Komola (0+0+0+1) and 4.8 seconds ahead of the Frenchwoman Voldia Halmas-Polin (0+1+1+0).
“It's unbelievable. I'm in seventh heaven with happiness,” Anastasia Merkushyna admitted. “I had a little feeling that it was impossible, a feeling that it was a dream. But I'm very happy.”
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What did I do when I heard that I had won? I just screamed, many people heard. I thought: yes, this is a good race, but there are a lot of strong athletes here, I have an early starting position, maybe a podium, maybe not. But then I realized that I had won, and that changed everything. Emotions just washed over me in waves. I realize that this is real, not a dream.”
From now on, Merkushyna Sr. is a two-time European biathlon champion. She previously took gold in 2023, winning the sprint in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
By the way, Anastasia Merkushyna, a participant in two Olympic Games, has four world championship medals in her collection. She won a silver and three bronze medals as part of the Ukrainian relay team.
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Previously, “FACTS” reported that Anastasia Merkushina, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, went to defend the country with a machine gun in her hands.
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