KZBlog

Elena Krustaleva took the silver medal Thursday in the women’s 15km biathlon. She had a perfect shooting record and was just a little too slow to beat Tora Berger of Norway, who came in 20.7 seconds ahead.

Khrustaleva is from Krasnyorsk, Russia and until recently raced for Russia but Kazakhstan apparently bought her and the investment paid off. Independent Kazakhstan has won a total of six medals at the Winter Olympics. Four of the medals were won by one person, cross-country skier Vladimir Smirnov. So this is a big deal.

Krustaleva also came in 5th in the 7.5km sprint in Vancouver but only 11th in the 10km pursuit. In the 2009 World Championships she finished 6th in the 15km biathlon. Long distances seem to be her thing then. At age 29 she has plenty more competitions ahead of her.

She also have a chance to beat US alpine skiing champion Lindsey Vonn and tennis star Ana Ivanovic! Both these athletes got some flack for posing in Sports Illustrated’s 2010 Swimsuit Issue. But Krustaleva posed completely nude–with her skis and her rifle (Kinky)–for Men’s Health. The photos are here and obviously not work or child-safe. While Vonn may be hotter, Krustaleva does show some serious muscle tone. As the article writers commented, this body is a working body.