A Slovak woman of Russian origin, Anastasia Kuzmina, won the gold medal in the women's biathlon 7.5-km sprint at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on February 13, the Sme daily wrote. On the 7.5 kilometre-long trail in Whistler, Kuzmina beat German biathlete Magdalena Neuner, who crossed the finish line 1.5 seconds later than the 25-year-old Slovak. Marie Dorin from France came in third, 10.9 seconds later than Kuzmina.
Kuzmina's gold medal is the first won by a Slovak at the Winter Olympic since its independence (1993). Before Kuzmina, figure skater Ondrej Nepela representing Czechoslovakia won a gold medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
Kuzmina said for the Sme daily she was thankful and glad she could represent her new homeland, and added she would probably not get the chance to train and concentrate on both her family and her sport training and form. She has been living in Slovakia for three years and feels at home here. She even learned the Slovak anthem so she could sing it after her victory. Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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