- What happened to you in Ostersund is a fairy tale?
- The tale is that this year I did not have to go through the national selection. Each year, two standards had to be met: selection for Russian and subsequent international competitions. And this is not so simple. So when in the spring the head coach of the women's team Valery Polkhovsky asked if I agreed to speak, I did not need to think long.
- You wanted to leave?
- Honestly, there were such thoughts. Still, the age is far from childish - 33 years. Last year I became the world champion in the mixed relay. This is the biggest title in all fifteen years that I have been doing biathlon. In Khanty-Mansiysk, they made a present for this achievement - a two-room apartment. In a word, it was possible to calmly do repairs, household chores. But the chance given by Valery Polkhovsky was foolish to refuse. “So, Irina,” I told myself. - If it doesn’t work out, you can rest calmly. And if you leave now, you will regret all your life. ” And my husband and trainer Viktor Malgin and I again packed our bags.
- Did you have specific tasks?
- Not. And this helped to liberate: perhaps, otherwise no one would have seen victory. I always lacked psychological certainty.
- Is this the reason why your stay in the national team was episodic?
- I think yes. I had no problems with speaking at the Russian level, but as soon as I got into an elite company, I immediately “floated”. I have no one to blame for the fact that I did not qualify for two Olympics. To travel to Turin in the first three stages of the World Cup, you had to get into the top ten twice in personal races. If at the first stage in the same Ostersund I came sixteenth in the sprint, then in subsequent races the seats were not much higher. It was obvious that I won’t pull any Olympics.
- How did you manage to get into the mixed relay in the same year?
- There was a situation similar to the current one. The team vacated seats due to the fact that athletes tired of the Olympics refused to go to Pokljuka. Fill vacancies offered to us, winners of the European Championship.
- How long have you been working with your husband as a coach?
“Ever since we got married, it's been ten years now.” Before that, I trained in my native Murmansk with Evgeny Komarov, to whom I moved from skiing in 1991. But after the wedding I had to move to my husband in Khanty-Mansiysk, and since then I have been representing the district at competitions. I’m the only one of the age athletes at Victor, he mainly works with young people.
- Why did you prefer individual training this season?
- The national team was very rejuvenated, the coaches had to look at the youth, draw up a single program for it. In this situation, I was embarrassed to demand special attention. But on individual training, I felt very comfortable and calm - for the first time in many years. Together with the six juniors from Khanty-Mansiysk, who are being trained by my husband, we planned our schedule so that we could study independently, but at the same time have the opportunity to intersect with the main team.
- Which component did you pay more attention to?
- We have done a large amount of high-speed work, perhaps even more than in previous years. But the main attention was paid to accuracy. This is my sore spot. Spent a lot of time at a computer simulator, practicing the so-called idle simulator. The peak of shooting was June. At nine in the morning I came to training and left after two and a half hours. The total score is eighteen hours a week. Very boring, but necessary work.
- How do you distribute the forces in the season ?
- We need to give all our best in the very first stages. Firstly, I was invited only to the first three stages of the World Cup. They determine my future fate: either I am gaining a foothold in the basic composition and preparing for the World Cup, or ... Secondly, it is important for me to see the progress in my results and become stronger psychologically.
- Now, along with the victory, you received 15 thousand euros. Useful?
- Do not think that I am cunning, but moral support is more important to me now. When I walked the last lap of these 15 kilometers, I saw that every 10 meters someone from our team stood and shouted something in support of me. I saw that everyone wished me well and felt like part of a team.
- After this race, did the World Cup medals become closer to you?
- If not now, then when? I have no choice but to clutch my teeth forward.
- Now you are a member of the relay quartet?
- I would like to hope, especially since I love and know how to run relay races. Three times we won with the girls the European Championship in this form. But the coaches will announce the composition only on the eve of December 10. Of course, the results of the sprint races in Ostersund and the next stage, which starts on December 8 in Hochfilzen, will be taken into account here.
Tatiana Milevskaya