Alexander BokulevDeputy Head of Editorial Board SportAll materialsThe first biathlon race of the Beijing Olympics was incredibly dramatic. In the most difficult struggle with rivals and weather conditions, the Russian team was as close as possible to the gold medal, but was content with bronze. We present the magnificent four that brought our team the first Olympic medal in the mixed relay race. Ulyana Nigmatullina (27 years old) The Russian national team fighter under the name Kaisheva from a young age was considered one of the most talented domestic biathletes of her generation, but to fully realize her talent at the highest level she failed for a long time. Only in the last couple of seasons, Uliana has established herself among the leaders of the women's national team. At the same time, the Beijing Olympics is already the second for a native of a sports family from Udmurtia. In 2018, Nigmatullina became one of four Russian athletes who received an invitation to the Games in Pyeongchang. Of course, she also took part in the mixed relay, where the Russian team took only ninth place. By the way, at the moment, Nigmatullina has a reputation as a reliable relay racer. However, at the dawn of her career, «mixed» brought the girl one of the main embarrassments in her career. At the 2012 Youth Olympics, Uliana violated the markings of the track in this race, which led to the disqualification of the Russians. Fortunately, ten years later, at the adult Games, everything turned out much better.
