KRASNOYARSK, Russia, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian skiier Alisa Zhambalova clinched the first gold medal of the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade on Sunday by winning the 5km individual lady's cross country event.

The Russian team swept the medal podium as Zhambalova claimed the gold with 14 minutes 48.6 seconds and her teammates Ekaterina Smirnova took silver with 14:52.5 and Yana Kirpichenko third in 14:52.4.

There are 68 skiers took part in the event including four Chinese. Zhao Yuan clocked the best time with 23:03.5, ranking 64th.

The 2019 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk offers 76 sets of medals in 11 sports. The tournament is scheduled for March 2-12, 2019.