By Dmitry Komashko
Her first was earned in the sprint race, where she faced tough competition but demonstrated that she’s in excellent physical shape. She was ahead on speed, but two misses on the shooting range pushed her into second place behind Olga Zaitseva of Russia. The narrow gap between the two presaged fierce rivalry in the pursuit race.
As ever, Darya reserved her strength for later in the race, although she skied confidently. Her shooting range miss earned her a penalty lap, alongside Kaisa Makarainen of Finland — also known for her speed. The Belarusian stood after Magdalena Neuner (who was third), separated by only five seconds.
Domracheva missed again at the second shooting range, keeping her behind Ekholm and Zaitseva. In her final shoot, Darya experienced the same disappointment; luckily, her opponents followed the trend, enabling her to outpace them and claim her medal. She now has a real chance of winning the major trophy: the Big Crystal Globe!
Other Belarusian athletes also did well in Hochfilzen. In the sprint, some of our girls won points — including former skier Anastasia Duborezova. “I feel that I’ve achieved a lot but I do realise that I have potential to improve,” admits Ms. Domracheva. “My main target this season — besides the World Championship, of course — is to win the Big Crystal Globe. I have the ability, so just need to do my best!” In the mixed relay, our quartet finished 10th, as the men lagged considerably behind their rivals.
