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Ukrainian biathlete wins medal at Paralympics after house destroyed by Russian shelling

One of the Ukrainian biathletes who swept the medals podium at the Paralympic Games in Beijing did so a day after his house was destroyed by Russian shelling.

Dmytro Suiarko, the bronze medalist in the middle distance vision impaired, said he had to make up 10 seconds on the final skiing loop Tuesday because he’d missed shots – errors he blamed on the difficulty in focusing on competing while war is occurring back home in Ukraine. Vitalii Lukianenko and Anatolli Kovalevskyi won gold and silver, respectively, to complete the sweep.

“I am happy, but you know the situation in Ukraine,” Suiarko said, according to the Olympic Information Service.