In the history of the return of biathlete Olga Podchufarova to Russia, there is actually one and only thing that is interesting: will she be able to prove herself so that they will talk about her again, or will the athlete's good intentions remain at zero.
Other informational reasons had been exhausted in order even before leaving for Slovenia.
The girl flew away wounded, decently disappointed in the Russian training system, coaches, her own capabilities, which were undermined by her state of health.
And, perhaps, the most interesting fact in relation to the once bright junior (in 2013, Podchufarova won the pursuit, and also took silver in the sprint and bronze in the relay at the World Cup among biathletes under 22 years old) was her intention to try her hand at triathlon - Olga talked about this in one of her last interviews before leaving.
The Slovenian flag guaranteed the Russian athlete an unhindered entry into all major competitions, and this turned out to be quite a weighty reason not to rush to finish biathlon.
Moreover, there were no difficulties in obtaining Podchufarova's citizenship of another country at that time.
The problems started later.
“In December 2019, Olga started in the Alps Cup in Obertilliach for the Slovenian club.
Then I also wrote to her: they say, maybe in Antholz at the World Cup we will be able to run together, - said Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht, who for many years had very warm friendly relations with Podchufarova.
“Olga's plans were to start competing at the IBU Cup stages in January in order to qualify, compete at the World Cup in Pokljuka and prepare for the main tournament of the year, run at least one individual race there.”
Podchufarova's plans were significantly crippled by the coronavirus pandemic, which sharply slowed down government office work.
According to the 2015 world champion, the athlete had to collect more and more papers, while this was being done, the previous ones expired and had to start the process anew.
In the summer, Olga came to train in Toksovo and waited for a work visa to return to Slovenia.
This was done only in the fall.
And in December, Podchufarova returned to Moscow.
Absolutely.
Yurlova-Perkht, in whose biography there was a successful return to sports after the birth of a child, has no doubt that 28-year-old Podchufarova will be able to make an equally successful comeback.
“With the experience that Olga has, anything is possible.
There is no bright leader in the Russian team now, everyone is playing at about the same level.
With good preparation, Olya may well join the national team.
Now she trains without a coach, but I really hope that there is a specialist nearby who advises her, ”Yurlova-Perkht noted.
“It is difficult to work alone, but you have no problems with motivation to return to a high level, to prove to yourself that you can achieve a result.
In my case it was exactly like that, ”explained the 2015 world champion.
In her opinion, the biggest danger of individual work is not to overdo it with loads.
“When you work in a team, the coaches still make sure that none of the athletes overtraining, sometimes they even stop.
Does the national team need Olga?
I think yes.
Its huge advantage is stable shooting and stable motion.
It is clear that at a high level the factor of increased excitement turns on, but it was at important starts that Olga was distinguished by her ability to shoot well, ”added Yurlova-Perkht.
Three-time world champion Pavel Rostovtsev, who briefly worked with Podchufarova when he was a national team coach, turned out to be less optimistic.
“More than three years without serious competitions is too long a break for modern sports, especially since no one will undertake to predict how Podchufarova will perform at the Russian championship and whether this will be the basis for her inclusion in the national team.
Moreover, in the Olympic year.
It will be extremely difficult for Olga to break into the squad.
And, to be honest, I am not ready to say that such an aged athlete is capable of strengthening the current Russian team, ”Rostovtsev said.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that Wolfgang Pichler, who served as the head coach of the Russian women's national team, really wanted to work with Podchufarova even before the 2014 Games in Sochi: the famous German specialist considered Olga and Ulyana Kaisheva to be two of the most talented and promising athletes of the then Russian biathlon.
But long-term cooperation did not work out: according to rumors, the personal trainer of the athlete Yuri Lelin was too disapproving of the then Pichler's methods.
By the way, I would not rush to talk about the age of a biathlete as an aggravating factor.
In sports, a certain pattern has been confirmed more than once: the later an athlete begins an active career, the longer his life is.
Serious biathlon began for Podchufarova much later than for her peers.
She came to biathlon at the age of 16 from ... ballroom dancing.
Rostovtsev is absolutely right that three years without competition is a test, but Yurlova-Perkht does not share this opinion.
“Of course, when you fall out of the usual rhythm of performances - it doesn't matter whether because of the birth of a child, or because of something else, it can be hard to return.
But with some experience, skills quickly recover.
The main thing is to get into the national team's cage.
And there are already enough races for everything to fall into place, ”said Ekaterina.
“It is clear that our sport does not stand still, that the speed of skiing and shooting is constantly increasing, but Olga did not stop working on this.
I know this for sure, since we conducted many trainings together.
Therefore, I believe that she will succeed, ”the biathlete summed up.
Whether the national team needs Podchufarov is an open question.
Another thing is obvious: Olga herself really needs a return to the national team, and in fact, to her former life.
And she seems ready to do anything for this return.