The best in the Russian men's biathlon team at the first stage of the World Cup in Sweden Östersund was Dmitry Yaroshenko. The 30-year-old biathlete twice climbed to the second step of the podium: in the sprint and the pursuit. “Oppressor Bjoerndalen” in an interview with the newspaper “Tatiana” Tatyana Milevskaya told what his path to the main national team was.
- It is known that you made your way into the Russian team for a very long time. You have no desire to quit?
- Yes, there was such a moment four years ago. Then I played for Novosibirsk - a city with good sports traditions. But he was going through hard times in terms of financing sports. This directly reflected on us athletes. Something was constantly missing for us: either trips to training camps, or competitions. The last straw in the bowl of patience was the forced refusal to travel to the World Cup stage in the 2001/2002 season.
- Before that, you have not played in tournaments of this level?
- That's right. The main Russian team purposefully prepared for the Salt Lake City Olympics, and therefore several vacancies formed. By all standards, I went to the team. But due to lack of money, I stayed at home. Can you imagine how hard I emotionally experienced this misfortune.
- How did you get out of this situation?
- I turned to my personal trainer Valery Zakharov. He helped me complete the documents for the transition to the team of Khanty-Mansiysk. But I do not break off relations with Novosibirsk - since 2003 I have been advocating for both regions.
- Does everything suit you in your sports career?
- In Novosibirsk, I excelled at the Russian championship several times, although I could not evaluate my strength against foreign rivals. Having changed his place of residence, he was free to choose. He didn’t show anything outstanding at the 2003 European Championship, but he made the right conclusions and was even a little surprised when he won the silver medal next year, and in 2005 the European champion. By the way, progress continued: this season I won the European Cup and got a chance to qualify for the main team.
- What was more difficult - to seize the European trophy or become the second at the World Cup?
- Now many in Russia have understood: if you want to raise a good athlete, take him to international tournaments. And there are not so many of them in biathlon, so the selection for the Russian team for the European Cup is very strict. The Russian team brings the strongest squad that fights with rivals. Those, for objective reasons, cannot have such powerful rear areas. In the end, although we win, but with less effort than at the World Cup.
- How did you manage to add so much?
- I tried many different methods, but the most effective one was with Vladimir Alikin. When he found out that he was selected as the head coach of the men's team, he was very happy. I know Vladimir Alexandrovich well from his work with the junior team of Khanty-Mansiysk. About him you can hear only good reviews as a person and a specialist. Therefore, the coach and I did not begin to demand individual training conditions and completely trusted him.
- What new things did Alikin bring to your training?
- Added variety in training, emotional fatigue did not occur. It is important. He comes up with non-standard exercises, probably from the side they even sometimes seem ridiculous. In general, the team rallied with his arrival and works as a single mechanism.
- Which of the veterans is the team leader?
- Sergey Rozhkov unanimously elected captain - as a person, athlete and comrade. I say this because I recognized him well: we live in the same room. Young children can always rely not only on his advice, but also on help with equipment. More than once he gave the young his skis, which he receives under a contract from a sponsor.
- Do you have a personal sponsor?
- Until you reach a certain level, you should not count on it. So far I have not had any personal contracts. But I hope the situation changes. For my performance in Ostersund I received a reward from the International Biathlon Union - 15 thousand euros. So far this is the only additional source of income.
For all my life I had only one sponsor - my parents, who bought me the first skis.
- How did it happen that in Kamchatka, where your childhood passed, you managed to play football?
- This hobby did not last long. Until I found out that there is such a sport - biathlon. Neighboring boys called to go shoot, and in addition to the rifle they also gave out skis. This happened in 1987 - then I was 11 years old.
- You started doing biathlon for fun?
- If so, then at the first difficulties I would stop. I always wanted to stand on the podium with the best biathletes in the world. But in 1998, this dream seemed impossible: I was actually the only representative of Kamchatka in biathlon. There was nowhere to progress and no one with. But I was not going to give up and therefore made a choice in favor of Novosibirsk. And the next year he got into the main national team. True, only in the second part. I remember how trembling when I had to talk with Vladimir Drachev, Pavel Rostovtsev. I did not know how to turn to them: there was no courage on the “you”, and they were not old people on the “you”.
- Did biathlon give you a lot?
- Of course. Maybe I'm not as financially prosperous as our stars, but I have where to live, have something to ride, have something to relax. Thanks to biathlon he even met his wife.
- After marriage, does your wife Marina Borchukova intend to speak further?
- Marina is a world-class master of sports. Universiade medalist. It’s stupid to prevent her from developing further. In addition, she is five years younger than me and can achieve a lot. We got married in July, and as a husband, I now help her with advice and equipment. Now she is preparing for the European Cup.
- What conclusion did you make for yourself after your performance in Ostersund?
- The main thing is that I fulfilled the selection condition for the post-New Year stages of the World Cup. For the first time I can go through the season from beginning to end and qualify for inclusion in the team for the World Cup. I will be glad if in each of the races I can score points in the classification of the World Cup. I don’t wonder about the prize places, because in these two races there was a lot of luck.
Tatiana Milevskaya