Istomin's "transfers" and Latypov's fidelity
Despite the fact that next season Russian biathletes will be deprived of the opportunity to compete in international competitions, it is still interesting to watch the preparation of the Russian team - it continues to give fans a lot of intrigue and scandals.
What is at least the division of athletes into four coaching groups at once.
Wards of Mikhail Shashilov work in Sochi, Sergei Bashkirov and Artyom Istomin - in the Belarusian Raubichi, and Yuri Kaminsky - in Ufa.
At the same time, Shashilov and Kaminsky, respectively, remained at the head of the women's and men's national teams.
The latter suffered from changes in the compositions more than the others - three of his stars left at once for his former assistant, Istomin: Anton Babikov, Karim Khalili and Daniil Serokhvostov.
Now, in addition to the youth, only Eduard Latypov remained, who, contrary to rumors, did not change his mentor.
“Initially, there was no such question.
I have worked in this group for two years and will continue to train.
There is a result, there is an understanding of what to do next, ”Match TV quoted the athlete as saying.
At the same time, in June, for some reason, he continued training not in Ufa, but in Raubichi.
The three-time bronze medalist of the Olympics hastened to reassure the public and explained this by saying that the track in Belarus is more suitable for him, while in Bashkortostan the “relief is soft” for summer training.
Meanwhile, Khalili and Serokhvostov, who achieved serious success last year precisely under the leadership of Kaminsky, told why they decided to change their mentor.
Karim admitted that the head of the RRF, Viktor Maigurov, personally allowed him to take such a step.
In turn, Daniel expressed confidence that the new specialist will help him take a step forward.
“In working with Istomin, I like his sociability and responsiveness.
He tells me something at every training session.
There are always some mistakes that you have to correct.
He always says that we are doing it wrong, ”Serohovstov admitted.
A kind of "transfer" to the 26-year-old coach took place from the Shashilov group.
Moreover, Svetlana Mironova, who had worked with him for more than one year, left an experienced mentor.
According to the biathlete, they both realized that something needed to be changed, since joint work was extremely difficult.
Among the main advantages of Istomin, she, like Serokhovostov, singled out sociability and readiness to make contact.
“This means that here I can discuss classes with coaches.
If something goes wrong, I can say about it - and we will correct or not correct something, ”Mironova emphasized.
Watching the work of a young specialist in the new season is especially interesting.
Firstly, it is curious how his relations with the wards will develop (some of them, for example Larisa Kuklina, are older than him).
Second, it is not clear whether the experiment with a mixed roster of men and women will work.
Mironova called him "cool".
“I don't see any difference.
The fact that the guys work with us is great.
Mixed teams are great!
Probably, the guys will not reach out for us, but we can look at something somewhere, pull ourselves up, ”Svetlana shared her impressions.
Moreover, Ksenia Dovgaya, Serokhvostov's girlfriend, is also involved in Istomin's group.
According to the expert, this does not interfere with the work.
He stressed that, contrary to rumors, there is no talk of relaxation in his training and all the wards are giving their best 100%.
“The strangest claims come from people who know me and have seen me work.
When they say that I have comfort in the team and the athletes have come for the holidays.
Ask biathletes whether holidays are for them or not.
I do not think so.
The fact that I do not oppress them all the time is possible, yes.
But at the same time, I don’t give slack to anyone, ”Istomin emphasized.
Moreover, the group also has a more experienced mentor - Evgeny Noritsyn, who returned from Bulgaria.
According to the specialist, he does not mind the position of an assistant at all.
“Artyom has already said that we do not have a division ... We analyze training plans a lot, offer loads and jointly release the plan into work.
This applies to both the rifle unit and the functional unit, ”explained Noritsyn.
At the same time, he continues to work individually with the leader of the Russian women's team, Kristina Reztsova.
The two-time Olympic medalist missed the training camp in Raubichi due to problems with weapons.
Instead of Belarus, the athlete went to St. Petersburg to work on the stock.
“After conferring with Istomin and Noritsyn, we decided that it was more important for me now to conduct shooting training and figure out which stock and barrel I would work with in order to fit the weapon in June and go further with one rifle.
Albina Akhatova made one stock for me, she is in my arms, and I’ll go to finish the second and customize it for myself in Vladimir, ”the RRF biathlete quotes.
Kuklina's illness and Eliseev's fatherhood
Everyone else is training at full strength, including one of the main stars of the men's team, Alexander Loginov.
A native of Saratov, together with partners in the Bashkirov group (Anton Babikov, Kirill Bazhin, Mikhail Burundukov, Vyacheslav Maleev, Alexander Povarnitsyn, Vasily Tomshin and Maxim Tsvetkov), arrived in Raubichi on June 9.
At the beginning of the month, only the experienced Kuklina fell ill, who admitted that homemade honey from the Belarusian Anna Sola helped her recover.
Mironova got into an unpleasant story that had nothing to do with sports injuries.
Svetlana unsuccessfully carried out a cosmetic procedure and received a face burn.
“I didn’t want to spread it to the media.
The purpose of the story is to remind girls to choose their beauticians and doctors more carefully.
Nothing more... It happens.
We all make mistakes.
It passes, it heals.
There is no disaster.
It is clear that it is unpleasant to walk with such a face for a week.
But we'll fix it.
Everything will pass, ”said Mironova.
Continues to engage in health and Matvey Eliseev, who did not go to the start since last year.
Unfortunately, the return of the once one of the country's leading shooting skiers is out of the question.
Doctors still forbid him to work at full strength.
Despite this, he expects to have time to prepare for the Russian summer championship.
The only advantage of this situation for the athlete is that he can spend a lot of time with a recently born child.
“The son now mostly eats and sleeps, so the main burden falls on his wife, but I'm always on the hook.
And the mother-in-law actively helps, if necessary.
My daily routine has not changed much, but at night my sleep is, of course, not so good.
True, while my training is incomplete, it doesn’t really affect them, ”Eliseev shared.
Hope for the IBU decision and the creation of the Commonwealth Cup
In the meantime, his colleagues will continue to work and get in shape.
It is already known where all four groups of the national team will go in July.
Wards of Istomin will move to Izhevsk, Bashkirov - to Toksovo, Kaminsky - to Demino, and Shashilov - to Tyumen.
And at the end of August, the first starts of the Commonwealth Cup, which is designed to replace the World Cup, should take place in Sochi.
It is planned that two stages of the new competition will be held in the warm season, and three - in the cold.
Three of them will receive Raubichi, and one more - Tyumen.
But the most interesting is the New Year's race on December 22-25, the venue of which will be announced later.
It should become an analogue of the Christmas race in Germany and take place in urban areas.
Belarusians and Russians will take part in the tournament.
The participation of representatives of other countries is also possible, although their arrival seems unlikely.
The full schedule looks like this:
1st stage (Sochi, August 23-29: sprint, pursuit, relay race);
2nd stage (Raubichi, September 13-19: sprint, mass start, relay race), New Year's race (December 22-25, mass start);
3rd stage (Raubichi, January 17-23: sprint, pursuit, mega mass start);
4th stage (Raubichi, January 23-30: sprint, mass start, mixed relay, single-mixed);
Stage 5 (Tyumen, March 7-13: sprint, pursuit, mixed relay, single mixed).
At the same time, the head of the RBU, Viktor Maigurov, does not lose optimism and believes that already in the new season, domestic biathletes will be allowed to compete in the KM and the IBU Cup in a neutral status.
If such a proposal is received, the functionary in an interview with RT promised to agree to it.
The athletes themselves look at things more realistically.
For example, Latypov resigned himself to the fact that he would have to miss the upcoming international season, but he believes that then the IBU will change its mind.
“There is hope that in a year we will be admitted.
There is time until the next Olympics.
We will prepare for it.
I hope it will take place for us, ”Eduard emphasized.