The head of the FBU also expects great progress from Kristina Dmitrenko
The president Biathlon Federation of Ukraine Ivan Krulko expressed hope that the leader of the Ukrainian women’s team Julia Jima will continue performing at least until the next Winter Olympics.
“Yulia Jima has been performing at all major competitions for quite a long time, in fact, continuously. She is the only member of the national team for the four of our “golden” relay of the 2014 Olympics. Yulia and I had a rather long conversation on this topic, and I understand everything perfectly. As you know, she trains according to an individual plan – and this is the only exception in the team that we made, realizing that Jim still has a lot to help our team.”
“I hope that Yulia will make a decision for herself and will compete before the Olympics. If circumstances are such that she absolutely does not want or cannot continue her career, then we will rely on our youth – we have no other choice. But I would really like for Yulia Dzhima to loudly remind herself at the next Olympics as one of the leaders not only of the Ukrainian team, but also of world biathlon.”
“As for Kristina Dmitrenko, I believe that she is a very talented and hardworking young athlete. Can she become a team leader? Maybe, but I wouldn’t get ahead of myself just yet. Kristina Dmitrenko is taking steps forward, but she still has room to grow: she needs to work on her physical capabilities, as well as her psychology during shooting. And I believe that Christina has a wonderful biathlon future if she doesn’t slow down.”
Jima occupies the highest position among Ukrainian women in the 2023/24 World Cup standings – 25th place. Dmitrenko had a strong performance at the 2024 World Championships, finishing eighth in the individual race.
There will be two stages at the 2023/24 Biathlon World Cup. The next competition will be held in the USA from March 8 to 10.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
