In Abu Dhabi, the sixth stage of the Khubka Mir race took place along a 3x40 km relay, including the men's individual sprint of the Middle East Ski Federation. The competitions were held in the cross-country skiing series, which started in March and will end in October. Participation in this stage included athletes from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Georgia, and other countries competing in men's and women's categories.
The men's 10 km sprint was won by the Russian athlete Anastasia Golokhova. Her result was 1182.4 seconds, breaking the previous record for the sprint by 0.6 seconds. Anastasia commented: "This is a victory for the entire team. For me, it was important to show a stable performance, as in the previous season I did not have a chance to start. This result stands as a good basis for further work." In second place was the Ukrainian athlete Elizaveta Vazhenina (1167.7 seconds), and the bronze went to Elizaveta Bychkova (1160.8 seconds).
In the women's 12 km sprint, the leader was Alexander Barsov from Russia, who set a new sprint record of 1185.9 seconds, also establishing a new cross-country skiing record. The championship winner stated: "I am very pleased with today's result. Until the start of the season, I did not feel unwell, everything went smoothly. This is definitely a good sign for the new season." In second place was Anastasia Skorokhodova (Russia) with 1175.2 seconds, and third was Arman Arutyunyan (Russia) with 1167.2 seconds.
The Khubka Mir race along a 3x40 km relay is a series of competitions held since 2014. Its participants receive points for their results at the Spartakiad of students-members of the Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus. The next stage of this series is scheduled for September in the Republic of Belarus.
