Latvian biathlete Baiba Bendika achieved the second fastest speed on the track in the women’s 15km individual competition, but unfortunately four shooting errors proved costly and prevented her from competing for a top position.

The national team leader eventually finished in 22nd place, 3 minutes and 5.2 seconds behind new Olympic champion Junia Simopn of France. France also scooped the silver medal thanks to Lou Jeanmonnot, while Bulgaria claimed the bronze through Lora Hristova.

The other three Latvian biathletes each missed three times in the shooting. 20-year-old Estere Volfa took 36th place (+3:52.1), Sanita Buliņa was 58th (+5:39.9), and Annija Keita Sabule was 64th (+6:05.5).

Bendika performed flawlessly in the first five prone shots and for a while occupied fourth position in the rankings. However, her speed around the track came at the expense of accuracy in the latter stages of the shooting.

Previously, in the men’s 20km individual distance competition, Renārs Birkentāls won the highest place among Latvian athletes, finishing in 31st place. Medal hope Andrejs Rastorgujevs was ten positions lower, also the victim of wayward shooting despite his usual speed in the skiing. 

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