Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games: Kazakhstan and Canada Claim first biathlon gold medals

Vadim Kurales was one of only a few competitors to hit 19 of 20 targets at the shooting range on Saturday and the biathlete from Kazakhstan claimed the gold medal in the men’s 15-kilometre individual competition at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.

The 20-year-old student from the Kazakh Academy of Sport and Tourism secured his win with an impressive 42-second lead over Oerjan Moseng of Norway, who finished second thanks to an incredibly strong skiing performance after missing four targets.

France’s Axel Garnier, who studies at INSEEC Alpes-Savoie, took bronze. Kurales, who struggled with a leg issue during the race, was very satisfied with his performance.

“The shooting maybe was not completely perfect, but it was the best I’ve had all season and perhaps even in my career so far,” Kurales said.

While the sky was clear and wind barely perceivable, none of the 37 male athletes managed to leave the range with a flawless shooting.

Meanwhile on the women’s side, Canada’s Shilo Rousseau topped the 12.5-kilometer race by over 48 seconds, missing only two of twenty shots at the range.

Rounding out the podium were Poland’s Barbara Skrobiszewska and Tereza Jandova from the Czech Republic.

Rousseau, a University of Ottawa student, said she was very nervous before the race.

“But I was able to go through the course really well, calm my nerves and put it together on the range,” said the 22-year-old, who came in with a lot of experience from previous races at the highly competitive IBU Cup.

The first biathlon events at these FISU Games also saw two local Lake Placid athletes compete.

Nathan Livingood and Dulcie Tanguay, both students at Paul Smith’s College, finished the race in the exact same spot, ranking 33rd in men’s and women’s competition, respectively.

“I’m super proud representing my home country and racing on home soil,” the 19-year-old Livingood said. “It´s just amazing competing in Lake Placid.”

Both athletes could feel massive support on and off the tracks.

“I had so many teammates out there today, my parents, and also just so many locals were here cheering for me,” said Tanguay, a third-year student. “Having the opportunity to do biathlon full time is something I would never be able to do without the support of Paul Smith’s College. So a lot of credit for even being here and competing goes to them.”

The next event coming up in biathlon will be the Single Mixed Relay on Monday.

Written By Annika Saunus

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