“There will be nothing left of the form for the Olympics”: Latypov risks missing the KM biathlon stage in Antholz due to quarantine

“This is an egregious story, it needs to be dealt with”

On the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Russian biathlon team faced a serious problem - Eduard Latypov was diagnosed with a coronavirus.

One of the team leaders passed positive tests on January 6 and has been forced to be in quarantine since that day.

The coaching staff was expecting the return of the athlete in the near future, but it may be delayed.

According to the men's team coach Yuri Kaminsky, it is possible that the ward will be forced to comply with the restrictions until January 28.

“The Chinese announced that Latypov had to be quarantined for another eight days.

In addition to the 14 that he has already served ... Eduard has already passed about five antigen tests negative and is still in quarantine.

God only knows what the medical services of China will show us, ”the specialist complained.

He noted that in this case, he would not be able to fly to China on the 26th with the team, but would leave on the 28th.

However, according to the head of the SBR media service, Sergei Averyanov, the biathlete still has a chance to start at the World Cup stage in Antholz.

On Wednesday, he passed a second PCR test, and if it turns out negative, he will be able to take part in the races.

“Latypov should arrive at the location of the national team by car tonight, there can be no question of any extension of isolation in the event of a negative result,” Averyanov explained to the “Championship”.

The coaching staff initially counted on him.

On Monday, when announcing the composition of the Olympic team, RBU President Viktor Maigurov promised that a native of Grodno would take part in the last stage of the Planet Cup in Antholz before the Olympics, which would take place on January 20-23.

“Today we cannot say how this will affect.

He continues to train, but the load is reduced.

His condition is monitored daily - it is stable, there are no problems.

We plan his participation in one or two races, ”the functionary emphasized.

Now Latypov runs the risk of being left without competitive practice until the Olympics.

And taking into account the skipping stages in Oberhof and Ruhpolding, the forced pause will be a month and a half.

The last time a Russian went to the start was on December 19 in Annecy.

In the same place, he became the second in the sprint and pursuit, which testified to the excellent form of the athlete.

He maintained good chances even of winning the Big Crystal Globe, but the quarantine crossed out these hopes.

Against this background, the decision on Johannes Kühn looks even more unfair.

The German passed a positive test for COVID-19 later than the Russian, but he will be able to perform in Antholz, since he was vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine approved in Europe, while Latypov was vaccinated with the domestic Sputnik.

According to well-known journalist Dmitry Guberniev, in the situation with the biathlete from Germany, the IBU violated the protocol, because he also suffered a mild illness and, accordingly, had to spend the prescribed two weeks in quarantine.

“It is quite obvious that Latypov is already healthy, but he does not have the opportunity to go anywhere.

It's not that Kuhn is training - he's putting people in danger... Question to the IBU: "What's going on"?

"You don't understand, it's different."

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This is an egregious story that needs to be dealt with.

If he has a vaccine approved in Europe, has he recovered?

Suppose Kuhn has an analysis that he has recovered, but at the same time, no one took tests from Latypov a week later.

Does Kuhn's body with the Pfizer vaccine recover faster than Latypov's body with the Sputnik vaccine?

asked the commentator.

In response, the IBU explained that Sputnik is still not allowed in Europe, and therefore the Russian was forced, according to the rules, to spend two weeks in quarantine without taking the test.

“This is completely different from the case of Kuhn, who is fully vaccinated and, according to national rules, can take tests regardless of the quarantine in a few days,” the IBU stressed.

“Now I can say that I have a friend in Germany”

In this situation, the fans can only hope that one of the strongest biathletes in the country will not completely lose all form during the forced downtime.

Unfortunately, there was no talk of normal training work in quarantine.

Initially, Edward was allowed to leave his hotel room for no more than two hours a day.

He could exercise outside, but wearing a mask and without contact with other people.

Although, according to Kaminsky, only a slight runny nose was present in the ward of the symptoms.

“I have a bike, I do a little strength work.

At 8 in the morning I get up, do exercises and breathing exercises to maintain lung capacity.

In the evening I can go walking with sticks and go skiing for two hours.

In the forest, so that there was no one, and I didn’t cross paths with anyone, ”Latypov told about his daily routine.

In Germany, another local biathlete, Eric Lesser, unexpectedly extended a helping hand to the Russian.

He provided the opponent with various equipment for training, in particular, an exercise bike.

“It would be right of me to help him.

It’s not difficult for me, so I gave Eduard an exercise bike, a training platform ... He got into a difficult situation, and it’s important to keep fit before the Olympics, ”Lesser explained.

Good news for Latypov also came from the SBR.

The Russian Biathlon Union agreed with the IBU on the extraordinary departure from the country of three members of the national team who passed positive tests.

In addition to the athlete, COVID-19 was found in massage therapist Roman Nikitin and biochemist Alexander Kuznetsov.

However, in the end, Eduard stayed in Oberhof for another week.

On January 15, the media hurried to report on the long-awaited passing of a negative test by the biathlete, but the RRF explained: this is a rapid test to detect an antigen to the coronavirus, which is not an official examination.

The native of Grodno himself, despite the forced downtime, tried to keep his presence of mind and thanked the fans for their support, and Lesser for his help.

“Probably now I can say that I have a friend in Germany, and I am glad that such people remain in our biathlon family.

I am glad that this was done sincerely, from the heart, ”said the athlete.

“In Beijing, he risks “choking”

To understand how a forced downtime could affect Latypov on the eve of the Olympics, RT spoke with the former coach of the Russian national team Vladimir Alikin.

In his opinion, a prolonged quarantine can inflict a “catastrophic blow” on an athlete.

“There will be nothing left of the form for the Olympics.

He did not train at full strength and did not start in official competitions since mid-December.

Edward did not have normal full-fledged classes, including high-speed ones.

In fact, he worked in a gentle mode, but Lesser provided him with an exercise bike.

All this will affect the condition of the athlete, ”the specialist complained.

The coach believes that a week without training, in the absence of coronavirus, would have passed without a trace for the biathlete, but a longer period will definitely make itself felt.

“The worst thing is that without racing, Latypov will not be able to understand how he feels.

In Beijing, he runs the risk of going through the first round on a par with the strongest, and then “choke”.

A person can simply be driven.

Take Matvey Eliseev, who had never been ill before, and then faced serious problems and took a break in his career, ”added Alikin.

Also, according to the coach, it is not completely clear how COVID-19 itself will affect the athlete's condition.

“The point is not only in the form, but also in his health, which many people forget about.

Even though Latypov suffered a mild form of coronavirus, we don’t know how it will affect.

The lungs are the first to suffer.

He himself claimed that he was only faced with a runny nose, but you can say anything.

And it will become clear only when a person goes to the start and breathes, ”explained Alikin.

At the same time, he found it difficult to answer the question of whether it is worth changing the native of Grodno in the Olympic team for one of the substitutes, but was amazed at the excessive zeal of Anton Babikov.

“In this situation, I am surprised how Babikov “fledged”.

He says that the chance for a trip to Beijing is not lost, I will hope to the end.

Sorry, you were given a chance, but in Ruhpolding you didn't even manage to qualify from the sprint to the pursuit.

What will the Olympics look like after that?

- the expert expressed his opinion.

In the event that Latypov is still allowed to take part in the KM stage in Antholz, the ex-coach of the Russian national team advises his colleagues to use him in full.

“A person needs to run up and breathe before the Olympics.

Let him try himself in an individual.

And in the mass start, Eduard should get into the rating.

And it doesn't even matter what place he takes.

The main thing is to get practice, ”summed up Alikin.