3rd CISM World Winter Games : First day of competition

SOCHI (RUS) – The first day of competition of the 3rd Sochi World Winter Games started yesterday, January 24, and several medals were already attributed.

Germany won the first medal of the 3rd Sochi World Winter Game as Theresa Eichhorn managed to win the gold medal in the cross-country 10km women individual race ahead of Coraline Thomas Hugue (FRA) and Francesca Baudin (ITA). Russia (Korostoleva, Durkina and Iljina) won the gold medal of the cross-country 10km team event.

In the cross-country 15km men individual race, Alexey Chervotkin (RUS) took the second gold medal for his country as he defeated the French athletes Damien Tarantola and Paul Goalabre. The French team (Tarantola, Goalabre and Arnault) took the first place of the cross-country 15km team event with a 1,7 second lead on Russia (Chervotkin, Spitsov and Maltsev). Finland (Kittilae, Mikkonen and Harkonen) finished on the third step of the podium.

In Ski Montaineering, France showed its superiority with two new gold medals in the men and women individual events. Adele Milloz took the first place of the women individual events while Gloriana Pellissier (ITA) took the silver medal and Nathalie Mieuzet (FRA) the bronze medal. In the men individual event, Alexis Sevennec performed a tremendous race and deserved its title as the silver and bronze medallists Manfred Reichegger (ITA) and Miguel Caballero Ortega (ESP) couldn’t do anything against him. In the men team event, Italy (Reichegger, Antonioli & Tiraboschi) won its first gold medal of the games. France (Sevennec, Fleury and Asserquft) finished second while Spain (Caballero Ortega, Hernando Alzaga and Navarro Jimenez) took the bronze medal. The Russian Mitiaeva, Berezan and Burlakova won the gold medal in the Ski Mountaineering Women Team Event.

In biathlon, Maxim Tsvetkov (RUS), the medalists of the last World and European championships, won the gold medal of the individual 10km sprint race. The two Bulgarian biathletes Vladimir Iliev and Krasimir Anev are completing the podium. “It was possible to almost completely implement all plans for the race. If I had not made any mistake at the shooting, I would have been completely satisfied. Perhaps the gold medal at the World Championship gave me more responsibility and psychological stress!” declared the new World Military Champion Tsvetkov.

Maxim Tsvetkov, together with his teammates Eliseev and Klyachin, also won the men’s 10km sprint team event ahead of Austria (Komatz, Brunner & Plessniter) and Italy (Chenal, Romani & Demetz).

In the women’s individual 7,5 km sprint race, Teja Gregorin gave Slovenia its first medal of the Games as she finished ahead of the two Russians Tatiana Akimova and Uliana Kaisheva. The two Russian athletes, with the help of their teammate Nechkasova, took the first place of the women’s 7,5km Sprint team event. France (Latuilliere, Varcin, Mougel) finished on the second place of the podium while China (Chun, Zhang, Wang) finished third.

Finally, the Gold Medals of the 500 meters event in short-track went to Italy and China! Ariana Fontana won the women individual event. Yang Yang finished second while Zakharova took the third place. In the men event, Hingzhi Xu (CHN) defeated hi teammate Yang Shuai while Denis Ayrapetyan took the bronze medal.