NATURALIZED MOLDOVAN BIATHLONIST WON GOLD MEDAL IN PURSUITATION AT EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN GERMANY

Naturalized Moldavian biathlete Alina Stremous won a gold medal in the 10 km pursuit race at the European Biathlon Championships in Germany. She ran the distance in 30 min. and 39 sec., ahead of biathletes from Germany and Norway. Two days prior, Stremous won a silver medal in the 15km, placed fourth in the 7.5km sprint and ninth in the 12.5km. Alina was born in the Volgograd oblast [region] of Russia, performed for its national team, and last year she received the Moldovan citizenship. She will also perform at the upcoming Winter Olympics, which open in Beijing on February 4. In addition to Stremous, biathletes Mikhail Usov, Maxim Makarov and Alla Gilenko will also compete for Moldova. All of them were born in Russia, but received the Moldovan citizenship. The only native of Moldova at the Olympics in China will be luger Doina Descaluy. She will carry the Moldovan flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.