Russian biathlete Evgeny Garanichev won a bronze medal at the XXII Olympic Winter Games in the men’s individual 20-kilometer race, bringing the tenth medal to the Russian Olympic team. Garanichev clocked 50 minutes 6.2 seconds with one penalty in four shootings.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Garanichev on the bronze medal. “You managed to cover the entire difficult distance well, leaving many experienced and distinguished rivals behind,” says Putin’s congratulatory telegram posted on the Kremlin’s website on Thursday. “You demonstrated character and skill, deservedly went up onto the Olympic pedestal and wrote another bright page in the history of domestic and world biathlon,” the telegram says.
French biathlete Martin Fourcade won men’s individual 20 km race on Thursday with one missed shot, completing the distance in 49 minutes 31.7 seconds. The silver went to Germany’s Erik Lesser (49:43.9, no missed shots), and the bronze to Garanichev (50:06.2, one missed shot).
Evgeny Garanichev has been competing on the World Cup circuit since the 2010–11 season. He has had five Top 10 finishes in World Cup races in individual races. He got his first win in individual races on February 3, 2012.
Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service
