Women's team: a chance to change
In recent years, only women have been blown away for domestic biathlon. At the Games in Turin, they won four medals, including two gold ones: in the relay race and in the individual 15 km race.
Alas, now the head coach Valery Polkhovsky cannot count on the old guard. Albina Akhatova and Olga Zaitseva are preparing to become mothers, Olga Pyleva continues to serve a two-year suspension and is also expecting a baby. In the spring, Anna Bogaliy-Titovets seriously talked about maternity leave, but then, apparently, changed her mind and decided to prepare for the World Cup. True, Anna began intensive training only in early September. Therefore, at the start of the World Cup in Ostersund it will not be.
The plans of Svetlana Ishmuratova, who initially was not going to miss this season, are not completely clear. In the summer, the two-time Olympic champion trained hard, but then troubles fell in a snowball: an urgent operation, the sudden death of her personal trainer Vitaly Fatyanov ... Only recently, in mid-October, Ishmuratova decided to speak at the World Cup. But only after the New Year. Now Svetlana is training separately from the national team and combines training with work in the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region.
In the absence of stars, a unique chance to prove themselves was given to young people who had previously humbly hid in the shadows. Now, the hopes of the Russian biathlon are connected with the fast-footed Natalia Guseva, who, with a certain amount of luck, could make her way into the Olympic relay race, with Tatyana Moiseeva, who successfully completed the test starts, as well as Olga Anisimova, Irina Malgina, Anna Bulygin, Ekaterina Yurieva, Anastasia Shipulina and Anastasia Shipulina and Anastasia Shipulina Sorokina.
The names of our girls are known so far only to a narrow circle of specialists. They can count on the attention and indulgence of the press only if they are surprised by the results. Otherwise ...
Otherwise, we will see the hegemony of Germans and French women. The German team, unlike ours, has only one significant loss - Ursula Diesel went on a well-deserved rest. The rest in the ranks are Katie Wilhelm, the owner of the Big Crystal Globe, and Olympic winners Martina Glagov, Andrea Henkel and Catherine Apel.
However, to look at it first of all is worth not even to them, tested and thoroughly studied, but to the young and incredibly nimble Magdalene Neuner. She surprised with an unexpected victory in the pursuit race in the open Cup of Scandinavia.
Young young, but this season we will desperately miss, perhaps, the most charming biathlete of all time, Liv-Grete Poiret. The Norwegian kept her word and left the big sport right after the Olympics in Turin, plunging the million-strong army of fans into elegiac longing. Liv Greta, come back!
Men's team: without Rostovtsev, but with Chepikov
The male component of the team was preparing for the season in a desperate ideological confrontation with the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU). The dispute between athletes and the federation is still not resolved. The essence of the conflict is as simple as a school equation: biathletes demand that the imperious president Alexander Tikhonov have legally secured relations with the RBU. That is why, without any contracts, the whole team refused to be photographed in the outfit of the new general sponsor - the German company Viessmann.
The ex-captain of the national team, two-time world champion Pavel Rostovtsev is now tired of all this story, reminiscent of a tug of war. He gladly accepted the proposal of the Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Khloponin to head the regional agency for physical education and sports. Sergey Rozhkov, our most stable biathlete of recent years, was elected the new captain.
In the summer, in a team that was left without gold medals for the third Olympic cycle in a row, a change of coach took place. She was led by 1980 Olympic champion Vladimir Alikin. Rumor has it that a shift in the coaching staff has benefited. The team is ready to fight for prizes at the stages of the World Cup and is seriously counting on the gold of the world championship in Antholz.
There are no major changes in the composition: in addition to Rozhkov, Nikolai Kruglov, Ivan Cherezov, Sergey Chepikov, Maxim Chudov, Dmitry Yaroshenko and Andrey Makoveev are training. Of particular interest to fans is to follow the unfading veteran, lover of philosophical books, Sergei Chepikov. To understand the uniqueness of this athlete, it is not necessary to look into his passport (in January Sergey will be 40!). Just remember that at the Games in Turin, only Chepikov, the only compatriot, was close to a medal in the individual race.
While the Russians were solving strategic tasks, their rivals calmly prepared for the season. The Norwegian energizer Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won the long-awaited first victory at the World Cup in cross-country skiing. Now the great and terrible Ole Einar will direct all energy to biathlon starts. Note that in classic skiing this season two other Norwegians have already managed to prove themselves: Frode Andresen and Lars Berger. Is it too early for the Scandinavians to win confidently? Unsuccessful analogies with last season just begs.
Do not once again paint the strength of the Germans. In their ranks are not only honored old people, but also titled youth: two Michael's - Resh and Grice. We will closely monitor their rivalry throughout the season. Well and, of course, the French. Where without them! Olympic champion Vincent Defran - the one who wiped his nose on Bjoerndalen in the Olympic pursuit - explicitly stated that he was ready to try on the gold medal of the World Cup. Insolent, did not hesitate ...