“I couldn't give up without a fight.” Merkushyna won “gold” at the Junior World Championships in the mass start-60 despite menstrual pain

Ukrainian biathlete Oleksandra Merkushyna spoke in an exclusive commentary for Suspilne Sport about the impact of the menstrual cycle on her results in the mass start-60 at the 2026 World Junior Championships.

Merkushyna won her second medal at the 2026 World Junior Championships. First, the biathlete won silver in the individual race, then won the mass start-60, despite three misses on the firing lines. Also in the winning race, the Ukrainian showed the best rate of fire and lap time.