March 16, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – They are calling it Russian Revenge the way in which the team’s Paralympic athletes are making up for their dearth of medals at the 2010 Olympics. In the men’s standing 20km freestyle, Kirill Mikhaylov took the gold – his second of the Games after winning the 3km pursuit in the biathlon on March 13.

Kirill Mikhaylov (RUS) celebrates © Heinz Ruckemann

Mikhaylov skied to a 54:18:0 “real time” which was adjusted to 52:07:7 when the level of his disability (96%) was factored in. Norwegian Nils-Erik Ulset took the silver while Mikhaylov’s teammate Vladimir Kononov scooped bronze at 2:01:5 back. Belarus skier Siarhei Silchanka was 4th, 2:49:0, while a third Russian, Rushan Minnegulov took 5th, 2:57:5 back. There were no Canadians or Americans in this race.

Anna Burmistrova (RUS) celebrates © Heinz Ruckemann

“In the biathlon, I wasn’t very sure, but here, I was really sure of myself and confident I could win. The next race is biathlon. If I am lucky I will win. But no one can say. I’m really good at skiing but biathlon is also about shooting. Then after that, is the 10km [classic cross-country] and I am more confident about that one,” said Mikhaylov. He started to laugh. “I have two kids. One of them told me if I don’t win a gold medal, don’t come back home. And I won two medals, one for each son.”

Jody Barber skis on course. © Heinz Ruckemann

Silver medalist Ulset, who also won silver in the biathlon two days earlier, commented, “I knew after a while we had stablized the race. After two and a half laps, I started focusing on the silver. I knew the gold was too far away. It was over 40 seconds. Twenty seconds I could try, but forty is too much.”

Belarus skier Kononov, who fell at one point, said it was difficult to negotiate the hills, but that “the weather is good.” He wears prosthetic legs and they freeze when it is -10 or colder. He added, “I feel the joy and happiness of the win.”

Women’s 15km Race

The women’s 15km Standing Freestyle event saw the Russians dominate once more. Anna Burmistrova of Russia finished the event with adjusted time of 49:16:3 for the gold, while Luliia Batenkova of the Ukraine followed for the silver 7.5 seconds back. Katarzyna Rogowiec of Poland took the bronze in an amazing display of guts, skiing with no poles. Batenkova and Burmistrova had one pole each.

Canada’s Jody Barber was 6th, 6:32:5 minutes back, while teammate Mary Benson did not finish. America’s Kelly Underkofler was 8th at 9:45:0 minutes back.

The Eastern Europeans dominated this event with Oleksandra Kononova of the Ukraine placed 4th while Western Europe slipped into 5th place as Switzerland’s Chiara Devittori-Valnegri skied in 3:51:8 minutes back.

Burmistrova also won the gold in the 3km pursuit in the biathlon two days earlier. “Eighty percent of this medal is my coach’s work. He taught me a lot of tactics for this race. Thank you to my coach and parents and family for their support.”