Italian biathlete's golden act of fair play shakes up European Championships

The European Biathlon Championships are currently taking place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Though not as prestigious as the world championships, these competitions still garner considerable interest.

The championship primarily provides an opportunity for those biathletes who aren't regularly competing for the highest honors in the World Cup. One such example is Michela Carrara.

Carrara has gained recognition in Europe, not primarily for her sports performance but due to the events following her gold win in the 15-kilometer individual start, during which the athletes shoot four times.

Despite winning the competition, it turned out that the Italian biathlete did not step on the podium entirely due to a fair play gesture. The judges managed to miss two of Carrara's misses at the shooting range, which should have earned her a two-minute penalty.

The Italian athlete decided against having an undeserved medal around her neck and reported the mistake. It was eventually discovered that the misses were not counted because one of her competitors also shot incorrectly at Carrara's target.

Germany's Liska Maria Spark is undoubtedly the most grateful for the Italian's gesture. In the preliminary results, Liska Maria Spark was slated to win the silver, falling short of 1st place by just 48 seconds. After the Italian reported the error, the German biathlete claimed gold, while the big news ultimately dropped to the 11th spot.

"I am pleased that the best athlete eventually won. Under these circumstances, my victory would not have been fair," the Italian emphasized in an interview for "Fondo Italia" - said Carrara.