In Anterselva, the biathlon world championship is nearing completion, which is most likely to be remembered by the fans of the Russian national team as one of the most controversial. Despite the successes of Alexander Loginov and the medal plan that he actually completed, the level of pressure on the national team did not subside, but only increased during the tournament. This led to a number of correspondence conflicts and an increase in tension around athletes, which, among other things, could adversely affect their performance.

Despite the successful performance as a whole and the role of the leader of the Russian national team that was familiar from the moment Anton Shipulin ended his career, Loginov was the most pressured. True, not compatriots, but foreign rivals. The sensational and at first glance illogical victory of Alexander in the sprint caused a storm of emotions in the sports community, as well as indiscriminate criticism of the domestic athlete.

Extremely harsh remarks were made by the Norwegians Johannes and Tarja Be, the Frenchman Martin Fourcade and the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson, and representatives of the foreign press did not hesitate to ask frankly boorish questions. All the more sad that they actually remained without a decent first-person answer. Alexander continued to communicate at press conferences exclusively in Russian and thereby only increased the degree of pressure. There was no person next to him who would explain to him that responding to harshness from foreign media is easier directly, rather than through an interpreter.

The attacks did not stop in the following days, although they became noticeably smaller, but the reaction of representatives of the Russian biathlon was worthy of more attention here. By and large, few of them defended the 2020 world champion and tried to demand a response from foreign athletes. The team partners chose not to comment on the baiting of Loginov, and the head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) Vladimir Drachev said that the federation had already contacted the IBU on this issue, but there was no positive momentum. Thus, the defense was limited to statements by well-known in the past domestic athletes in the media.

At the same time, the personal trainer of the Russian Alexander Kasperovich shared his opinion on this issue. The specialist did not notice any insults from Tarja Boe, nor the arrogant questions of foreign journalists and noted that the tension around Loginov was increasing due to the Russian media.

“Pressure does not come from the French or Norwegians, but from ours. Who asks questions to foreign experts? Who writes about this? Ours are fueling this moment. I see Alexander’s relationship with the athletes, they shake hands. We ourselves are inflating, everything is in Russian, ”RIA Novosti quoted Kasperovich as saying.

Well-known Russian commentator Dmitry Guberniev could not but respond to such statements. The "Russian voice of biathlon" made harsh criticism of the specialist, recalling the suspension of Loginov due to the use of erythropoietin.

“The trainer Kasperovich, who argues about our journalistic doping incitements, better tell me who fed the Loginov EPO? Don't you know, coach? ” - wrote Guberniev on Instagram.

But if the situation with Loginov did not affect the microclimate inside the team and was more likely an irritant for the biathlete himself, then what was happening around Kristina Reztsova could really provoke a conflict. At the moment, she never got a chance to prove herself in the tournament, which once again led to a discussion of a possible change in sports citizenship.

“Christina is not the weakest in the team. They do not pick up the phone. I call both Khovantsev and Noritsyn. I ask her: “Why aren’t you running?” “Mom, like that. They don’t put it and don’t put it, ”Anfisa Reztsova told Sport Day after Day.

However, the three-time Olympic champion did not finish this and threatened the RBU with the possible departure of her daughter from the national team. And this is if Reztsova does not get a chance to speak at the championship of the planet. As the honored athlete said, in this case, her daughter will consider speaking for another country.

At the same time, the young biathlete herself added fuel to the fire. She not only disagreed with the decision of the coaching staff on the formation of the composition for the individual race, but also allowed herself to criticize her partner.

“At the World Cup, I’m an eternal fallback preparing for every race. And before each of them I find out that I still don’t run. Coaches know better. To the question, is it a sporting principle, I’ll answer that I don’t quite agree. Objectively, I would run no worse. I wouldn’t say that we have a super-worthy result in one of the races - Katya Yurlova-Perkht ran on average, ”said Reztsova on Match TV.

Apparently, Christina is unlikely to perform in the mass start and relay race, but she still will not consider the possibility of changing sports citizenship. This was stated by her mother, noting that Reztsova Jr. refused this undertaking. Perhaps she listened to the opinion of experts, rather skeptical about her prospects in this matter. So, two-time world champion Dmitry Yaroshenko expressed doubt that Reztsova is able to reach the “Olympic heights” in another team, if she cannot become the main one in the not-so-strong team of the planet. And this is not counting the fact that according to the rules she will not be able to speak at the international level for two years, which is guaranteed to close her doors to the Winter Games of 2022 in Beijing.

Apparently, the head coach of the Russian national team Anatoly Khovantsev also does not enjoy absolute confidence from Drachev, as a result of which the head of the RRF himself is directly involved in the training process and in the formation of the squad for individual races.

Among other things, the atmosphere around the Russian team is heated up by distinguished experts and stars of the past, who often do not express their opinions very correctly regarding the situation inside the team. So, the former head of the SBR, Alexander Tikhonov, continues to attack Drachev and the current leadership of the union as a whole, blaming him at the same time for lack of openness and also for excessive communication with the media.

“I would also like to draw your attention to this: all delegations are somehow in the thick of events, ours are individually. Separated, no one can approach the team, advise. What kind of team? This not normal. We probably know something. We did not lose ... I have complete order with the athletes, zero difficulties. And with what to talk about? Watch their interviews, analyze. Trade in mayonnaise! Starting from Drachev, Khovantsev, Belozyorov ... They are not speaking about the case, ”Tikhonov said.

But if outside criticism always accompanied the Russian team, then putting the problems within the team to the public eye was an unpleasant surprise. Thus, Vladimir Polkhovsky, vice president of the RBU, criticized the shooting specialist of the women's team Leonid Guryev for being too soft during the training process.

“It was amazing to listen to Guryev, knowing him. He is experienced, demanding, tough. If he failed, then I can’t understand: who is the boss in the house? ” - said Polkhovsky.

The reason for the discontent on the part of the leadership was the statement of a specialist about the sudden unwillingness of his wards to perform special exercises to improve the quality of shooting. According to the mentor, he offered the girls to perform a special exercise, but they refused.

In view of all this, the results of the Russian national team at the Biathlon World Championships can be considered at least satisfactory. Even before the tournament, the team was under serious pressure due to a long medal-free series in the World Cup, and during the championship the tension did not decrease at all. At the same time, serious progress can be noted not only in the work of the same Loginov, but also in girls. Of course, at the moment they do not count on medals, but at least they managed to solve the problems with the move and look decent at the tournament.