Paralympics: Kendall Gretsch wins biathlon gold, six months after triathlon gold

Kendall Gretsch won a Paralympic biathlon gold medal in China on Tuesday, just over six months after winning a Paralympic triathlon gold medal in Tokyo.

Gretsch, 29, won the 10km sitting biathlon event, edging countrywoman Oksana Masters by 8.7 seconds despite having one shooting miss to Masters’ none over 20 shots.

Four years ago, Gretsch won the first U.S. gold of the PyeongChang Paralympics, marking the first U.S. women’s biathlon medal of any color at the Olympics or Paralympics. She later added a cross-country skiing title at those Games, two years after taking up Nordic skiing.

In her first event at this year’s Games, she took bronze while Masters won the first U.S. gold last Saturday.

Gretsch, born with spina bifida, was the 2014 USA Triathlon Female Para Triathlete of the Year. Though triathlon was added to the Paralympics for the 2016 Rio Games, it would not include Gretsch’s classification. Still wanting to compete at a Games, she became a biathlete and cross-country skier. Gretsch’s triathlon classification was added for the Tokyo Games.

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Masters now has three medals in three Nordic skiing races at the Paralympics, with the opportunity for four more medals to break two major U.S. records.

Masters owns 13 career Paralympic medals among four sports between the Summer and Winter Games. Masters has gone a perfect 30 for 30 in shooting in her two biathlon races, in addition to a cross-country skiing silver medal.

Like Gretsch, Masters won gold at the Summer Games six months ago. Two in cycling.

It’s her winter medals — now 10 — that are the focus for history this week.

Masters is halfway to the record for most medals for an American at a