"Tears welling up in my eyes": what did they say after the victory of the Russian national team in the relay at the KM biathlon stage in Oberhof

"The main thing is that it turned out to please the fans"

The victory of the Russian national team in the mixed relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof became a real sensation.

It seemed that it would be hard for the domestic four to compete with the strongest teams, but they managed not only to win a medal, but also to take first place.

The main hero of the race was Eduard Latypov, who at the finish was ahead of both Frenchman Kenten Fillon Maillet and Norwegian Sturlu Holm Legrade, who took second place in the overall KM standings.

After the end of the relay, the athlete admitted that he experienced violent emotions.

He also talked about how he felt at the last shooting range, where he made two mistakes, and how he was given the work in the last meters of the distance.  

“Thank God everything worked out.

I am glad that we have been able to win gold in such a long time.

Now I have tears welling up in my eyes.

On a stand in my head, various thoughts flew, but drove them to the side.

The main thing was to finalize.

Quickly fired off an additional round and went into the fight.

I felt that I could run.

And so it happened - they caught up with the Frenchman, and then came the final showdown.

I felt strong in myself.

My skis were a little better than the Norwegian.

I knew that I would get an advantage on the plains, and the coaches also gave tips on tactics.

It just remained to do it.

Thank God, it worked out, "- said Latypov on the air of the Match TV channel. 

Even the rivals were surprised by Edward's incredible finishing spurt.

So, Legrade admitted that he could not do anything with the Russian. 

“In the biathlon community, I am known as an athlete who does not perform well at short distances, so I needed a break on the rise.

But the Russian was strong, so, unfortunately, I finished second, ”NRK quotes the Norwegian. 

What a dramatic finish!

Latypov out-skies Laegreid on the last meters!

🙀 @russianbiathlon wins the Mixed Relay in # OBE21pic.twitter.com / 5ubXSZaId4

- IBU World Cup (@IBU_WC) January 10, 2021

Svetlana Mironova also had an excellent race, who managed to raise the Russian national team from ninth place to first.

She admitted: in this relay she decided to work at her own pace, and not strive to recoup the gap right away, and this tactic has borne fruit. 

“Today I decided that I would go at my own pace.

How many times already in relay races I rushed into the race, was driven - and the shooting turned out not very good.

She walked at her own pace, controlled everything.

At first she worked on shooting, and on the last lap she rushed into the race.

Everything was fine on the shooting range and I didn't have any thoughts at all, I just did my job right.

I didn’t look who was near, I plunged into myself.

The skis were on fire, thanks to the service, ”Mironova said. 

The leader of the national team, Alexander Loginov, had an especially difficult time, because, as the head coach of the national team Yuri Kaminsky said on the eve of the race, the biathlete recently lost his father.

Later, the head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Polkhovsky, clarified that this happened at the end of the year.

Nevertheless, the world champion did his job almost perfectly. 

"A good day.

The main thing is to please the fans.

I understand perfectly well that everyone expects this from us.

We are trying.

I am very glad that it was in today's relay race that we managed to rise to the podium.

I saw Mironova going to the finish circle.

A fantastic finish circle.

When I got a break from her, of course, it was more comfortable to walk.

But shooting with a miss is still impermissible for me.

However, the rivals allowed me to make a mistake, and my fortune helped me to fight and pass the baton to Latypov with a little scrappy, ”Loginov rejoiced.

Only Ulyana Kaisheva performed not very well in the Russian four.

The athlete ran the first stage and passed the baton to Mironova only ninth.

Nevertheless, Kaisheva managed to work hard on the last loop.

Thus, the biathlete denied the words of commentator Dmitry Guberniev, who on the air suggested that she would lose to the leader for about 45 seconds (30 was released).

Ulyana admitted that after the finish, the journalist even apologized to her. 

“Do I accept them?

Of course.

I am ready to accept an apology every time.

It turned out to be a rather problematic zeroing, for some reason it did not work out on it.

So it happened in the race.

Luckily, I got through with the extra rounds - and the misses didn't cause huge problems.

It seemed that there was no strength left for the last lap?

It just seems.

In fact, I just have such a rolling technique.

But the skis just go well, you can roll.

I went through the first two laps at my own pace, so I was able to deliver speed on the last one, ”summed up Kaisheva. 

"It is my fault that I announced the information about the death of Loginov's father."

After the victorious race, Kaminsky, who was the first to tell about the death of Loginov's father, admitted that he might have taken offense at him for it. 

“How Loginov managed to pull himself together, you have to ask him, not me.

I want to say that yesterday I announced this information and I am guilty before Sasha, he did not want to do this.

It seemed to me that it is better to throw this burden off him.

Maybe he even took offense at me, I don't know.

At least I am to blame for him, "- said the specialist on the air of the program" Biathlon with Dmitry Guberniev ".

The coach explained that the decision to put Latypov on the last stage turned out to be connected, among other things, with Loginov's unimportant psychological state.  

“Realizing Sasha's condition, we decided to take care of him and remove responsibility from him.

Only Edward remained.

He always says he is not nervous.

Latypov and I discussed tactical options in case of a struggle at the finish line.

One is on the rise, the second is a sharp, sprint finish.

He did everything well.

There was a decent lead from the fourth place, so it became clear that we needed to try to take the situation and squeeze the maximum.

Is it a surprise that Latypov won at the finish line?

Maybe yes.

We worked on it, ”added Kaminsky.

Polkhovsky denied the words of his colleague and emphasized that the decision to put Latypov in the fourth stage was dictated by the desire to "create a reserve" in the relay races in this segment.

“Athletes must be able to run any stage in the relay.

Loginov worked all the time on the fourth, but we need to have a reserve, a person who could hedge in this or that situation.

The first one we identified is Latypov.

Edik showed today that he is ready to compete and perform with dignity at the final stage, "- quotes the words of the head coach of the Russian national team TASS.

The specialist also told how the medalless series within the World Cup, numbering 43 races, affected the domestic biathletes.

“Statisticians are engaged in counting, athletes work on themselves, the team conducts systematic preparation, gradually solving their problems.

Everyone in the national team, including the athletes who did not start today, will now believe in themselves even more, that they can compete at a higher level, ”added Polkhovsky.

"Let's hope, now the results will go uphill."

The experts were also pleased with the performance of the Russians.

In particular, the three-time world champion Ivan Tcherezov compared the reaction in the country to this success with the reaction to the triumph at the world championship or even the Olympic Games.

“I think the guys will feel better psychologically now.

It is very significant when you cannot show the result for a long time, and then you immediately win.

Too much negative information constantly comes from the world of biathlon, but now we get good news: first, Matvey Eliseev and Evgenia Pavlova won the Christmas race, and now they won the mixed relay, "Sport-Express quotes Cherezov.

And two-time Olympic champion Anfisa Reztsova expressed hope that winning the mixed relay will instill confidence in domestic biathletes and help them perform even more successfully in the future. 

“Long-awaited event, pleased.

Hopefully, now the results will go uphill.

The season is still in full swing, so it's gratifying.

I was not just expecting a triumph, but I really wanted it, I said: "Start to break through at least a little."

I always expect success from our team.

I think the best results are yet to come.

They raised their spirits, I wish them the same performances in the future, I will be sick and worried.

Not everything is lost with us, hope never dies, ”Reztsova summed up.

In turn, another two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev singled out Loginov at the end of the race.

According to him, the biathlete, having entered the start, accomplished a feat.

“It's just a man's act.

He could quite calmly refuse to run, no one would say a word to him.

But Alexander decided to start - just great.

We will believe that today's victory is only the beginning, "- quotes Vasiliev as" Championship ". 

Even the four-time Olympic champion and former president of the SBR, Alexander Tikhonov, praised the domestic team, who, as a rule, evaluates everything that happens in the domestic biathlon extremely harshly. 

"Very nice!

Pleased for such a long time.

God grant that everything will work out!

Finally, biathlon lovers in Russia will rejoice humanly.

It is difficult to say whether we will keep our form until the World Cup.

It all depends on the wisdom of the coaches.

Great joy!

Just a fairy tale, ”said Tikhonov.