Tomshin's impatience, Serokhvostov's answer and Reztsova's ambitions: what are they talking about before the start of the second stage of the KM biathlon

Debutants should enjoy participating

Russian biathletes continue their preparations for the second stage of the World Cup.

It, like the first one that took place last weekend, will also be held in Östersund, Sweden.

Unlike colleagues for Vasily Tomshin and Alexander Povarnitsyn, who replaced the failed Matvey Eliseev and Evgeny Garanichev, these starts will be special.

The first will make his debut in the "high society", and the second will return to the main team three years later.

The 23-year-old native of the Sverdlovsk Region, who won two medals at the IBU Cup in Idra, admitted that he is overwhelmed with pride and joy in connection with the upcoming debut.

“I've always wanted to run at the highest level.

Not many people remember, but two years ago I earned a quota to compete in the last stage of the World Cup.

It was a huge disappointment for me that it was canceled due to covid.

But from that moment on, the thought of performing at KM became especially strong.

It took almost two years to earn a spot in the first line-up again and of course I'm very, very happy about that.

I look forward to the first race for myself, "Tomshin said to the Championship.

Another debutant of the Russian national team, Alexei Serokhvostov, remained in the team.

Formidable rivals do not yet take the young athlete seriously.

The current winner of the Big Crystal Globe, Johannes Boe, even joked about the 22-year-old biathlete.

“Is this a new Russian star?

Look, my legs are already shaking, ”the Norwegian said on Match TV.

Serokhvostov, in turn, reacted with irony to the phrase of Beo junior: “He’s afraid,” laughed the Russian, who took 15th place in the individual race and 23rd in the sprint.

However, the senior coach of the men's team, Yuri Kaminsky, was pleased with Alexei's performance and noted that he had reserves in shooting, due to which the result could be improved.

“I would like it to grow further in this direction, but the task now is to stabilize at this level.

If Serokhvostov can, it will be great!

Serokhvostov in the sprint showed good speed in the last segment, there he ran almost at the same time with Latypov and Loginov, which is good, especially in light of our relay prospects.

Naturally, we supported him, said: "This is the World Cup, no one will execute you, enjoy the participation, from the competition with the strongest athletes in the world, try to show yourself."

And so it happened, "- quotes the words of a specialist Metaratings.ru.

Kaminsky was asked not only about his charges.

He had to once again fight off the attacks of the Norwegians, according to which the Russians allegedly continue to use fluorine in the lubricant, which is prohibited by the rules. 

“I would not have performed like this if I were Norwegians, because Norwegian skiers were also involved with manipulations in the sport.

Let us recall the cases with the leaders of cross-country skiing: Sundby, Johaug, Bjorgen ... It is not worth slandering Russians like that: many teams have a stigma in the cannon.

Today it is absolutely not profitable for the SBR to get into another scandal either morally, ethically or financially, "Kaminsky emphasized.

Reztsova wants to win Olympic gold

The Russian women's team at the first stage of the World Cup was a little more encouraging, although the performance of Irina Kazakevich in general and the move of Svetlana Mironova in the sprint caused bewilderment. However, the coaches decided not to make any changes to the roster. Obviously, they want to take a closer look at those on whom the stake in Beijing will be made. The athletes themselves set ambitious goals for themselves. So, Christina Reztsova will strive to win Olympic gold.  

“We are moving towards this goal, we are trying.

But, there are also micro-goals, and they are more important.

First of all, you need to defeat yourself in all aspects.

Get better at speed, shooting, psychology.

This year, the biggest plus in my preparation was that no one terrorized me.

I did not depend on anyone, I did everything myself, and the training went smoothly.

I learned a little more to struggle with myself, although there is still work to do.

The most important thing is that when you work alone, you don’t watch others, ”said the athlete in an interview with the YouTube-channel Lapshin Live. 

At the same time, Christina noted that she would have changed a lot in the formation of the national team and, first of all, would have introduced the sports principle.

“Our selection is almost entirely at the discretion of the coaches, and this is at least wrong.

The team has about 18 people.

It is stipulated that one is selected based on the results of the starts, and five more - by the coaching decision.

Can you imagine?

Only the one who won deserves his place.

And the other five may be at the very end.

What is this nonsense?

There must be a sporting principle.

We are not in politics and should not try to please someone.

Smile to be taken for it.

If we train, we need to show results at the starts, ”said the athlete.

According to the two-time Olympic champion Anna Bogaliy, Russian biathlon is going through a difficult period and there is no reason to count on a scattering of medals in Beijing.

“We can immediately bury the team, laugh at its flaws, the situations are actually ridiculous, but we have no other team, and we must support it.

They have been preparing all summer in order to remove the previous mistakes.

But I’ll say right away that I don’t believe in excuses that everything should be decided at the World Championships or the Olympic Games.

Athletes who did not realize themselves in January can hardly claim victories in the future, ”the former TASS biathlete quotes.

As her friend in the gold relay in Vancouver-2010 Svetlana Sleptsova noted, it is difficult for the Russian women's team to compete, because there is no clear leader in the team.

“Such a person is absolutely necessary. For example, we have always had many leaders: Olga Zaitseva, Olga Medvedtseva, and Albina Akhatova. It was difficult to break into the team. If there was one among the girls who entered the top 10 every race, others would immediately catch up to her. It's always easier with a leader, motivation appears, ”the biathlete said in an interview with Match TV.

In the meantime, there is not very positive news from the IBU Cup.

Russian woman Tamara Derbusheva passed two positive tests for COVID-19.

She was quarantined in Shushen, Norway, where the biathletes arrived to participate in the second stage of the tournament.

As noted on the official website of the RBU, the disease is mild.

The rest of the Russian national team underwent additional testing for coronavirus, its results are still unknown.

By the way, at the first stage of the IBU Cup, Derbusheva missed two races out of three due to cold symptoms.