- You wanted to be in the relay four winners?
- Seven years ago I was part of the team that won gold at the Lahti World Championship. The feelings of that time were not forgotten at all. All my merits in the world championships were reduced to relay races, also four times I was the second. But there was no personal medal. And if I won it in Antholz, I would calmly leave. So the relay race is not the most important thing for me.
- You brought yourself to the peak form for the World Cup?
- In January, I didn’t save: I caught bronchitis. The disease did not let me go for a long time. All three January stages of the World Cup were marked by the fight against it. There was no talk of high speed anymore, and as a result, I could not claim to sprint the World Cup. Coach Vladimir Alikin announced that I should prepare for the individual race.
- Was the medal possible in the individual race?
- Yes. With accurate shooting, anyone could count on getting into the top three, as the “dark horses” - Czech Michael Schlesinger and Ukrainian Andrey Derizemlya proved the day before. But I earned two penalty minutes, the poor work of the skis was superimposed on it, and I could not climb above 15th place. Another thing was a shame: if I had successfully performed, I could have claimed to participate in one of the relay races.
“ How badly did you experience failure?”
- If it were a World Cup race, then such a result would not upset me. Of course, there were negative emotions. And when you consider that physically I felt good, then saying goodbye to the World Cup was very painful. Theoretically, the chance for a mixed relay remained, but Maxim Chudov, as a winner of the World Cup, had a greater right to this.
- For many, your participation in the mass start was unexpected. After all, you had the lowest rating in the team.
- I learned that I’ll run the last race in the championship schedule a few hours before the start. Dima Yaroshenko’s temperature rose, and he refused to run. How to relate to an unexpectedly fallen chance, if you do not fully mobilize yourself? Moreover, by the end of the competition I was already feeling quite well. Yaroshenko even helped me choose the skis, but I failed to develop the desired speed over the distance. I walked well with my feet, but the skis slowed down.
It seems to me that this World Cup was marked by greasers: very specific snow, fine and hard, almost ice crumb, so it is very important to guess with grease. I missed only once at four lines - this is a completely recouped option. For clarity, I’ll say that of those who are above my 13th place, not counting the podium, with at least one slip, only Kolya Kruglov (twelfth) and Frenchman Simon Fourcade (eighth) passed the race.
“ Are you upset?”
- One of the wise said: rejoice at what you have. As for team feelings, I share joyful emotions about our gold in the relay. Especially joyful for Dima Yaroshenko.
- Our rookie said that he owes much of his success to your advice.
- I am offended to hear when they say that if an athlete is over 30 years old, then this is waste material. We have known Dima for a long time, and I saw how long and undeservedly he could not get into the national team. When finally he was included in the team and I felt his mood, I took custody of him. I do not help everyone in a row, but only if I see that a person is not interested in the momentary result, but there is a craving to search for something new. It is important for me to see that a person is not turning for the sake of commercial interest. Frankly: if the choice in the relay race was between me and Yaroshenko, I would have refused in his favor.
At one time, Sergey Chepikov also helped me.
- In your opinion, can Chepikov really return to big sport?
- I have no doubt that such a unique person as Sergei, even at the age of 40, can find enough physical and moral strength to spend another season at a high level. We were friends with him in the national team, so I know him, maybe like no one else. But many in the team did not understand his behavior in a conflict situation, when he simply stood aside. And the team put a barrier in front of him. And if the team begins to ignore someone, then anyone in Chepikov’s place could hardly have felt comfortable.
- The last Olympics in Turin passed, in fact, by you. Does this keep you in sports?
- Now I’m not ready to say whether I will last until the next Olympics. But for the next season, I definitely stay. My dream of a personal World Cup medal will not lose its relevance, and if so, I will fight for high places. This season will be considered satisfactory if, following the results of the World Cup, I rise to the top ten in the overall standings.
Tatyana MILEVSKAYA, "Newspaper"