Sin places 5th in 12.5km biathlon
Sin Eui-hyun prepares to shoot at the men’s 12.5-kilometer biathlon sitting event on Tuesday where he finished fifth clocking 50 minutes 1.09 seconds. [YONHAP]
Though Sin skied remarkably, rifle shooting was what stopped him from medaling.
Sin was in the lead 2.37 kilometers into the race, but missed one target out of five during the first shooting. As a penalty, he had to ski an additional 100 meters.
During the short- and middle-distance races, biathletes must ski an additional penalty loop for every target they miss.
Still, Sin caught up to be second in the lead just 5.04 kilometers into the race.
But again, he made a profound mistake during his second shooting session and missed four out of five targets, bringing him down to eighth place.
First place went to Ukraine’s Taras Rad, while Daniel Cnossen of the United States took second. Both had clean shooting sessions and missed no targets. Bronze went to another United States athlete, Andrew Soule, who missed two targets in the third session.
Korea’s Lee Jeong-min finished ninth, clocking in at 51 minutes and 51.50 seconds.
Korea had high hopes for Sin, as he brought home Korea’s first medal at the PyeongChang Paralympics. He placed bronze at the cross-country sitting event on Sunday.
“I think I have to go back and review shooting to be better,” admitted Sin after the race. “I was confused when I missed the first shot, and the blue sky started looking yellow.”
Starting tomorrow, the Paralympian will compete in three more races, including both the 1.1-kilometer and 7.5-kilometer events in cross-country skiing, and the 15-kilometer biathlon event.
“I wanted to put on my best performance for my fellow Koreans at this race,” said Sin. “For the 15-kilometer biathlon event, I will practice shooting more and definitely hope to medal.”
BY KIM HYO-KYUNG [song.hankyul@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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