Iryna Kryuko, having the best season of her career is the home team favorite at the IBU Open European Championships in Minsk - Raubichi. A year ago she was a member of the Olympic Gold medal winning Belarusian Relay team in Pyeongchang. She first came to the Winter Olympic Sports Center Raubichi at the age of sixteen and since then been fine-tuning her skills there. That is why she calls it a second home.

Despite skipping BMW IBU World Cup Weeks 7 and 8 in Canada and the USA, Kryuko is currently 8th in the World Cup Total Score. She and her teammates decided to prepare well for the home Open European Championships and then fine tune her form for the IBU World Championships. After falling sick and spending six days in bed, Kryuko decided on a day of the 15K individual to give it a try and... finished in third place!

“It was great and somehow strange for me to hear people support me so loudly,” she said with a smile while filming  with the IBU TV Team. “I also felt more responsibility because of that. But it was great to see my people so happy after my medal.”

The Belarusian star is doing everything within her powers to keep her performances strong throughout the season hopefully peaking in Östersund.. Success at the IBU Open European Championships is a welcome boost to her plans and confidence.