Milano Cortina 2026: Zuyeva places 6th, Karaliova finishes in top 50

Maryna Zuyeva finished sixth in the 5000m speed skating event at the XXV Winter Olympic Games.



The Belarusian skated in the second of six pairs alongside Canada’s Laura Hall, posting a time of 6:57.70. Maryna Zuyeva had originally been scheduled to race against Dutch skater Bente Kerkhoff, but her opponent withdrew for medical reasons.

Victory in the 5000m went to Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida with a time of 6:46.17.

At the World Cup stop in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, the Belarusian finished ninth in this discipline with a time of 6:53.46.


Earlier at the 2026 Winter Games, Zuyeva placed 15th in the 3000m distance.


Maryna Zuyeva summed up her performance in this challenging event:

“I wanted to open with a faster lap, but I didn’t quite feel the speed. I let my opponent get ahead, then caught up pretty well. There were a lot of time swings. The last few laps felt good. But it’s the same for all the girls here: the second half is harder. The ice is soft, yet the blade edges in cleanly and is easier to control.”

The Belarusian noted that she always believes in herself when competes in this distance and resolved not to give in under any circumstances:

“Toward the end of the race, they started showing my opponent’s lap time, and I could see she was slowing down. Her seconds were dropping. I knew I had to hold my pace. She’s a young athlete, but I’m more experienced. I decided I wasn’t going to give up this race, and I managed to hold on. I always believe in myself on the 5,000m. I’ve competed in this distance so many times. So, no matter what shape I’m in, I know I can do good laps in the 5000m,” Maryna Zuyeva said after her race.

Cross-country skier Hanna Karaliova finished 45th in the 10km freestyle individual interval start race at the Winter Olympic Games in Italy.


The Belarusian covered the distance at a solid pace, finishing 3:10.01 behind Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, who claimed her second gold medal of the Olympic Games in Tesero. A total of 111 athletes took part in the interval start competition.

1. Frida Karlsson (Sweden)

2. Ebba Andersson (Sweden)

3. Jessie Diggins (USA)

Earlier at the Olympics, Karaliova placed 34th in the 10+10km skiathlon and 48th in the classic sprint.


Hanna Karaliova said today’s race was particularly hard:

“The race was quite hard. It’s a good thing the organizers at least salted the course to prevent it from turning into slush, because it’s very warm. If it had been slushy, it would have been much harder, ten times harder. We covered plenty of laps, all different, so there were a lot of climbs. The race took a lot out of me.”

When asked by journalists to assess her performance, Hanna emphasized:

“Like any athlete, my goal at the Olympics was to show my absolute maximum at this moment, to give everything I’m capable of, to leave it all out there, because this is the biggest start of all. This Olympics went by very quickly for me. Overall, I wouldn’t say everything went according to plan. The level here is completely different. The other girls are many times stronger. I need to improve in every aspect to get closer to them.”

Press service of the NOC of Belarus

Photos by the NOC of Belarus