Reason for optimism: why the performance of Russian biathletes at the KM stage in Östersund gives hope

Fair selection system

It is not entirely correct to judge the readiness of the Russian biathlon team in the first stages of the World Cup in Ostersund.

The main goal of the team this season is to successfully perform at the Olympic Games in February, and therefore the athletes are still far from ideal shape.

Nevertheless, certain conclusions can be drawn already now.

The main one is that the results of the national team set up a positive mood.

And the point is not only in the medals won by men in the relay and battles of Eduard Latypov for awards in personal races, but also in changing the principles of the formation of the composition.

In recent years, fans have become accustomed to the fact that this process is as opaque as possible.

Qualifying tournaments were held regularly, but most of the places were still won by "trusted people", some - solely for their past merits.

The most striking example is Evgeny Garanichev and Matvey Eliseev.

Both had not shown good results for a long time, but remained in the national team.

At the same time, the latter quarreled with the coaches and there was a feeling that he had become uncontrollable.

However, after a failure in the first stage of the WC, they were sent to the IBU Cup.

So the leadership of the RBU demonstrated that there are no “sacred cows” for it, and even the most honored athletes will have to prove their importance to the team.

And the main thing in this situation: there were those who calmly replaced the expelled, although it seemed that worthy biathletes had not appeared in the reserve for a long time.

22-year-old Daniil Serokhvostov made his debut at the starting stage of the World Cup and immediately took 15th place in the individual and 23rd in the sprint.

For comparison, Eliseev in the last race was placed 78th, and Garanichev - 113th places.

Then the coaching staff was not afraid to put the young biathlete on the baton, and he did not disappoint, demonstrating the best move in the second stage and making only two mistakes.

So Serokhvostov, who until recently did not even think about the World Cup, made a serious application for getting into the four at the Olympic Games.

Eliseev and Garanichev were replaced by Alexander Povarnitsyn and Vasily Tomshin, who also coped with their task.

The former initially guaranteed himself a place in the main team through the national selection and at the second stage in Östersund finished twice in points - 28th and 37th lines of the protocol.

The second made his debut at the KM at 24 and also did not fall outside the top 40, twice taking 39th place - in the sprint and pursuit.

Yes, the newcomers could not immediately impose the fight on the favorites, but it was naive to expect this from them.

But they got invaluable experience and became stronger.

And most importantly, by introducing them to the main team, the mentors demonstrated that other Russians who are now playing at the IBU Cup also have a chance to get into it.

First of all, this concerns the 2017 world champion in the relay, Anton Babikov, who won the sprint and mass start in Shushen, and the young Anastasia Shevchenko, who won a full set of awards in Norway.

In some sense, having made a choice in favor of the sports principle, the biathletes followed the path of skiers, where a place in the squad was not provided for anyone.

But in Lillehammer, the 20-year-old debutante of the relay Veronica Stepanova easily closed the last stage in the main four and helped the team win the historic gold at the KM.

It seems that now there is no personal armor in biathlon either.

Moreover, one failure should not be a reason for leaving for the IBU Cup.

Every athlete has the right to prove that a misfire is an accident, as Irina Kazakevich and Svetlana Mironova did in Ostersund.

But an unsuccessful streak may become a reason for a replacement, and not a single even the most honored athlete will rest on their laurels, and the competition will increase.

Decent performance of men

The main event of the stage in Ostersund for the Russian fans was the bronze medal of the men in the relay.

Yuri Kaminsky's wards fought on equal terms with the Norwegians and the French and won an absolutely deserved award.

At the same time, due to the departure of Eliseev and Garanichev, the composition of the domestic four turned out to be experimental.

Eduard Latypov and Alexander Loginov were accompanied by young Said Karimulla Khalili and Serokhvostov.

And both did not disappoint.

What surprised me most was their amazing move.

As already mentioned, Daniil showed the best speed in the second stage, and his partner showed the second in the starting segment.

And in general, the athletes coped with the work at the borders.

Their total five misses on the stand can be attributed to psychology, but they got over their nerves and avoided going into the penalty loop.

Loginov also performed excellently, perfectly shooting and demonstrating the third move on the stage.

Only Latypov upset, who "shot himself" on the last stand and missed the chance to fight for victory.

However, there were no questions about Edward's speed either.

Thus, the men unexpectedly formed an efficient, fast young team, which in Beijing will be able to fight the Norwegians if they make fewer mistakes on the lines.

Let Latypov performed imperfectly in the relay, in personal races he is still as stable as possible and does not fall below the 11th place, which allows him to occupy a high fifth line in the overall KM standings.

Twice he came close to winning a medal.

As an individual, he was prevented from rising above the seventh position by an annoying mistake at the finish line, when the athlete went to the wrong "corridor".

And in the sprint at the second stage, the Russian went third for a long time, until his result was improved by Kenten Fillon Maillet.

But Edward, for the first time in his career, shot to zero in the sprint at the KM stage and proved that, provided that he worked perfectly at the lines, he was able to fight the strongest.

It remains only to add the move.

But now he can be called the leader of the men's team, because Loginov is still far from ideal form.

Gradual progress of women

In recent years, Russian biathletes have shown much more modest results than men, however, they also include an athlete who pleases the fans. It's about Christina Reztsova, who returned to the main team after the decree. The daughter of the three-time Olympic champion Anfisa Reztsova did not prepare with the first team, but this does not prevent her from beating all her compatriots. In the sprint at the second stage in Ostersund, the 25-year-old athlete showed 17th speed, and in pursuit - 14th.

True, so far she does not always manage to add accurate shooting to good footwork - in the second stage, KM Reztsova made a total of seven misses in personal races. Moreover, in the relay, she closed all ten targets and was the first to complete her stage. But most importantly, Christina is very different from other Russian women mentally. She is not afraid of anyone and is extremely confident in herself. It is no coincidence that Christina announced immediately after the start of the season that her goal was Olympic gold.

The performance of some other biathletes also evokes restrained optimism. For example, Ulyana Nigmatullina is ranked above the rest of her compatriots in the overall ranking of KM - in 12th position. Let her move she is not able to compare with Reztsova, but she is relatively stable on the lines - only two misses in the sprint and pursuit. It is noteworthy that the world junior champion also did not prepare for the season with the main team, which does not prevent her from being the best in the team.

Mironova and Kazakevich deserve special mention, who failed the starting stage, but looked much more confident in the second.

Svetlana bypassed all the Russians in the sprint, showing the 20th result, and only an offensive misfire on the counter prevented her from climbing higher.

Irina missed two targets at the second stage and placed 45th in the final protocol.

But in the pursuit, she climbed to 32nd place and scored her first cup points this season.

It is important that an undoubtedly talented athlete, in addition famous for her high speed, managed to work on her shooting.

And if at the first stage she made a total of 14 mistakes in personal races, then at the second - six.