THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

PERSONALITIES PersönlichkeitenShooting StarDarya DomrachevaDarya Domracheva of Belarus was one ofthe most consistent women on the WorldCup circuit starting at the Pokljuka WorldCup in December, when she finished fourthin the Sprint and sixth in the Pursuit. Includingthose competitions, she finished in thetop ten fourteen times in the final seventeencompetitions of the season. She won aBronze medal in the Olympic 15K Individual,then in the final trimester of the season, wonthe Sprint and Pursuit in Kontiolahti whilefinishing second in the same two competitionsin Oslo. When all of the points were talliedin Khanty Mansiysk, her name appearedin sixth place in the Overall World Cup standings.This year was amazingly successful for this23-year old Belarusian, whose first brush withfame came when she won the Sprint and Pursuitat the 2005 Youth World Championshipsin Kontiolahti. Her Sprint victory, with twopenalties, by 10.8 seconds over clean-shootingMarion Blondeau of France was typical ofthe younger Domracheva, a fast skier.However, Domracheva’s earliest days on skis were notquite so successful. “My career started with the help of mybrother, who is now an architect. I saw him skiing and said Iwanted to do that too. I was six years old. My first skis weregreen and by the end of my first day, they were broken. Iwent down a hill and crashed.”Despite her rather embarrassing debut on snow, shepersisted as a cross-country skier until she finally took upbiathlon as a teenager. She laughed as she recalled herfirst Youth competitions in Khanty Mansiysk as a 13 yearold. “My shooting was very very bad! That first competitionwas a Sprint and I did seven penalty laps. In some Sprintsafter that, I think I had nine or even ten.” Of course, therewas a good reason that the novice Domracheva was an erraticshot. “My city had just started a biathlon school andwe did not shoot very often, maybe one day and then notagain for a month; there were always problems with riflesand ammunition in those first days.”Obviously, those days are gone for the now steadyshootingDomracheva. This year in Kontiolahti, she shot 40rounds in the Sprint, Pursuit, and Mixed Relay. She missedjust one of them, in her Pursuit victory.Her climb from penalty loop expert to skilled shooterhas not been easy. There have been days, like when shecross-fired while leading the Oberhof Mass Start this pastseason, that her shooting coach Klaus Siebert simply cov-58 biathlonworld The official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010