SOCHI, March 08, 12:51 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian biathlete Alena Kaufman on Saturday won gold in women’s 6-kilometer standing race at the XI Paralympic Winter Games Russia hosts in its Black Sea resort of Sochi. Kaufman finished in 18 minutes 27.2 seconds with no missed shots.

Russia’s Anna Milenina (18:57.4; shots missed: 2) secured silver, and Ukrainian Yulia Batenkova (19:17.7; 1) won the bronze medal.

Russia’s Natalia Bratiuk (21:24.0; 2) came ninth.

Team Russia currently has four golds, six silvers and two bronzes.

Kaufman was born on June 30, 1987 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in the Urals. She holds the national sports title of an Honored Master of Sport in Russia.

The 2014 Winter Paralympic Games kicked off in Sochi with the opening ceremony at the Fisht Stadium on Friday and will run until March 16. Over 1,350 Paralympic athletes from 45 countries are competing for 72 sets of medals at Russia’s first ever Winter Paralympic Games.