Ekaterina Avvakumova, a biathlon national representative who naturalized from Russia, won a gold medal. This is the 12th gold medal for the South Korean delegation and the first gold medal in the history of South Korean biathlon.
According to the Korea Sports Council and others on the 11th, Avvakumova crossed the finish line first among 26 competitors in the women’s 7.5 km sprint at the event held at the Yabuli Ski Resort in China, with a time of 22 minutes and 45.4 seconds.
In the early stages of the race, Avvakumova led through the 2.4 km mark, but later conceded the lead to China’s Tang Jialin. However, she regained speed in the latter half and recorded the first place. China’s Meng Fangqi took home the silver medal with a time of 22 minutes and 47.8 seconds, while Tang Jialin claimed the bronze.
This is the first time South Korean biathlon has won a gold medal at the Winter Asian Games. Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and shooting, with the best previous result being a silver medal obtained in the men's relay at the 2003 Aomori Winter Asian Games.
Avvakumova, who hailed from the Russian youth representative team, naturalized in 2016. She also achieved the highest ranking for South Korean female athletes by finishing 16th in the women’s 15 km individual event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, another naturalized athlete, Abe Mariya, finished in 10th place on the same day.