Russian athletes took sixth place in the overall standings of the World Cup ended in Doha. The national team has two gold, three silver and one bronze medals. The first line was confidently taken by athletes from the USA, who won 29 medals.
On the final day of the competition, sets of awards were played in long jump, 100 m hurdles for women, 1500 and 10 thousand m runs for men, as well as 4x400 m men's and women's relay races, but athletes from Russia did not participate in the finals of these disciplines. The last Russian at the tournament was marathoner Fedor Shutov, who made his debut at competitions of this level. He took 35th place and was pleased with his performance.
“If you measure by nervous tension, then this marathon is definitely in the first place, because this is the coolest start in which I have participated. There were races in my career and harder, but due to the fact that I was illiterate in distributing forces over the distance, ”the TASS runner quotes.
Despite the fact that many Russian athletes were not allowed to participate in the world championship, and the team was forced to play in neutral status, she managed to show the best performance in the last six years. The President of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) Dmitry Shlyakhtin positively assessed the results of the tournament, noting that the attitude to Russian athletes has changed significantly compared to previous starts.
“If earlier we all avoided, now with many teams a good relationship. From most teams - a friendly approach and a complete misunderstanding of why we still play without a flag. As for the results, all the medalists deserve the warmest words. Fighters! Beauties! ”, - quotes Sport-Express the words of the functionary.
According to him, the national team lost a number of athletes who also had a chance to compete for awards. At the same time, the situation in which Russia found itself in connection with the removal of the VFLA made it possible to demonstrate its strength to younger athletes.
“I don’t think that in four years, when the current leaders complete, we will have no one left. Moreover, today all the work is built specifically on the education of the reserve. For the second year, the “1000 Talents” project has been operational. It is focused on tracking and searching for promising young people. This is a sight for two Olympic cycles forward, ”explained Shlyakhtin.
A similar point of view was expressed by the head coach of the team Yuri Borzakovsky. He also noted the importance of the current championship of the planet for young athletes who debuted at a similar level.
“I consider the team’s performance successful, all the guys fought, fought to the end. I am very grateful to the winners and their coaches that they were in great shape for the tournament. The season was very long, and the preparation was two-peak: the first peak fell on the Russian championship, the second on the world championship, ”said the mentor.
At the same time, he noted the negative aspects associated with the tournament in Doha. In particular, we are talking about several judicial errors and ambiguous decisions. In addition, the organizing committee of the championship of the planet was criticized by the specialist. For ten days, many athletes complained about not very comfortable living conditions, poor quality food, as well as weather patterns in the capital of Qatar, which were not taken into account by the organizers.
“It was comfortable to perform at the stadium, the air conditioning system worked there, but if we talk about the track, this issue was not resolved. The fact is that this can adversely affect the guys in the future. I hope that everything will work out. The organizers made this championship without thinking properly. You can not do it this way. First of all, we need to take care of the athletes, ”said Borzakovsky.
One of the main disappointments for Russian fans was the absence of long jumpers Daria Klishina, who arrived in Doha, but was forced to withdraw before the start of the qualification due to a hip injury. She said that in the near future she will go through the recovery process in Germany, after which preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games will begin.
“I’ll rest, heal everything that I have, because I want to start preparing for the Olympic season without pain and injury. I am a person who likes to work, just give me, so you need to work healthy. In general, I’ll start training in the last week of November, ”the athlete said in an interview with Match TV.
On the eve of the World Cup, information appeared that Russia might not get into Tokyo due to the possible deprivation of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) compliance status. Like many other athletes, Klishina expressed the hope that this will not happen and the national team will take part in the summer Olympics in full force and under their own flag.
“Before this news, it seemed to me that everything was somehow settled down. There was no positive sign, but at least it was quiet. The situation with the removal of the VFLA is already very long, this has been going on since 2015. I would not want a repeat of Rio. Like other athletes, I am in standby mode, and I feel a little scared. Alas, we can’t influence anything at all, ”Klishina concluded.