Bronze Natalia Guseva went with great difficulty. After completing the race, the athlete fell on the snow and for almost a minute lay in bed, as if she had not heard the screams of the fans. Then she got up, turned to the large television screen and tried to understand how her finishing spurt ended - there were still dangerous rivals in the distance. The situation remained unclear, and Guseva headed for the exit.
Then the athlete was surrounded by journalists, and she began to tell them about the nuances of the race. Suddenly, one of the Russian servicemen shouted: “Natasha! Natasha! You are the third! ”She didn’t even understand at first what to do. Guseva never had such champion awards. She raised her hands and screamed. In order to feel the price of this medal for a 24-year-old girl from the provincial Tikhvin, located in the Leningrad Region, one must remember how she managed to overcome not only the doctors’ ban on playing sports, but also a series of failures.
For a long time, Guseva was unlucky. Having won the race in Antholz in 2004, the athlete disappeared from the first lines of the protocols for a long time. She was constantly pursued by some ridiculous setbacks: she either shot at someone else's target, then fell five meters to the finish line, then forgot to run a penalty loop. And if Gusev had missed such a close “bronze” on Saturday, someone would probably call her a chronic loser. But she, clenching her teeth, fled with all her strength.
- Natasha, you had no idea that if you miss this medal now, you will never forgive yourself for this?
- It was. At the beginning of the season, I was the only one from the previous composition of the team, and the role of team leader was automatically assigned to me. But I could not match this status. And, of course, some considered me incapable of anything. To refute this opinion, I needed to achieve the result. I clearly understood this. The only person who believed in me was Valery Polkhovsky, the head coach of the national team.
- Did he insist that you miss the World Cup in Pokljuka and come to Italy three weeks before the start of the championship?
- He made me an individual plan, and two days later brought here Anna Bogaliy-Titovets, Anna Bulygin. It benefited me. After several test starts, I realized that I was ready very well. Self-confidence appeared.
- Can you name the key moment of the race?
- The last meters. I knew that after the final shooting I was going with the second result, and then they shouted that with the third. There was no choice but to grit your teeth and run.
- Why didn’t you manage to improve your result in the pursuit race?
- The last of the 20 rounds I flew when reloading. Lost this time. Although if everything was successful, it would hardly be able to compete with others in speed. I didn’t fully recover from the sprint.
- At the World Cup you performed miracles in relay races, and in personal races you lost.
- I always wanted to participate in relay races, but the path there was closed. The team included girls older and more experienced than me. But the desire from this did not become less. And this season it found a way out.
- How did you get into biathlon?
- It was difficult for me to sit still in childhood - it is not surprising that I constantly recorded in various sections. Now in figure skating, then in athletics. Mom, however, was against it: she was afraid that playing sports would aggravate my respiratory illness. But when I called her and said that a school physical education teacher takes me to the biathlon section, for some reason she calmly replied: study. I was surprised for half a minute, probably standing with a pipe in my hand. By the way, I still don’t know why she told me so then.
- How did you quickly progress as an athlete?
- I got into the national team in 2003. Just then I had an operation and fixed a long-standing health problem. So there were no obstacles. And all my adventures are from inexperience. And no one is safe from accidents. Remember how in Pokljuka Kolya Kruglov forgot to drive the penalty loop. From a lot of stress in the race, sometimes the head is completely disconnected.
- Do you try to perceive sports failures without emotions?
- This is not true. 1999 was a very difficult year for me. She felt bad, even decided to quit biathlon, entered the Institute of Physical Education in St. Petersburg at the Department of Cross-Country Skiing and thought of devoting herself to studies completely. But, fortunately, my classmate introduced me to her father, a biathlon coach. He insisted that I return to the sport.
- They say that coaches scold you for constantly surfing the Internet?
- There is such a weakness. But scolding me is useless - everyone knows that I can’t just sit still. I like to communicate, learn something new. Even for a long time I can’t live with the same roommate in my room.
Tatyana MILEVSKAYA , "Newspaper"