Lora Hristova is the first winner of the State Biathlon Championship in Bansko.
The competition started on Friday. A wintry atmosphere greeted the participants, who competed in sub-zero temperatures, snowfall, fog, wind and 20 cm of new snow cover.
In the Banderishka Polyana area, the weather conditions required the individual disciplines to be held in a shortened version - 15 km for men, 12.5 km for women and youth and 10 km for senior girls U19.
In the women's category, the top three were for national competitors and participants in the Olympic Games last month in Milan Cortina. Lora Hristova won the gold, beating Maria Zdravkova by over 3 minutes, and Valentina Dimitrova won the bronze - all three biathletes are representatives of the Bulgarian National Athletics Federation.
Milena Todorova did not participate in the competition. In the junior girls' category, Raya Adzhamova from Ajax won, ahead of Desislava Mincheva from Sapareva Banya, and Nikol Klenovska from Bansko 2019 came third. The men's and youth competitions will take place later today.
Tomorrow, the national biathlon championship continues under Mount Todorka with the starts in the sprint disciplines, and will end with the pursuits on Sunday.