STAR
Magdalena Neuner , who celebrated her 20th birthday in Anterselva, is now ready to try on the 2010 Olympic medals in Vancouver. In a biathlon, a diamond has not appeared for a long time that does not even require cutting. Shines on its own! Young, beautiful, successful, rich ... I will remember not even three gold medals at this World Cup (need comments?), But her sincere, genuine smile. In all interviews, Neuner does not hide his happiness, he talks only about sports and musical addictions. Magdalena's official website breaks attendance records. Fans demand new photos, texts and screensavers on their mobile phone.
HEROES
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. The World Cup showed that it is almost impossible to fight him in sprint and pursuit. But in other races - please. The five-time Olympic champion provided everyone with a head start from at least four penalties: “Take it, gentlemen, rivals. I don’t feel sorry! ”Only two daredevils managed to stop Bjoerndalen: Rafael Poiret and Mickey Grice.
Linda Grubben In anticipation of the World Cup, we drew attention to the Norwegian with steel nerves and flawless shooting. At the stages of the World Cup, Linda tried not to shine, getting points mainly in her favorite pursuit. While Katie Wilhelm and Anna-Karin Olofsson argued, whose biography is richer and the personal account is more complete, the heiress of Liv-Grete Poiret passionately, without a single mistake, worked out the individual race and won the long-awaited gold medal. Toward the close of the championship, she dragged her team onto the podium and with a calming soul announced the end of her career.
Andrea Henkel. If at your leisure, for fun, to practice composing the puzzle of an ideal biathlete, then a German can be taken as a prototype. Its strong qualities are uniquely combined: smooth running along the track, stress resistance and fast, incredibly accurate shooting. In the race with a general start, the 29-year-old athlete recalled herself as a sample of 2005, the best in her career. It was then that at the World Championships in Hochfilzen, Henkel won the individual race and hinted to her senior friends - Ears Disl and Catherine Apel - about the inevitable retirement.
Rafael Poiret shook antiquity and dispelled skepticism about its "indigestible form." 32 years old, by biathlon standards, is a juicy age! Only having a great deal of experience behind you, it was possible not to go wild at the stages of the World Cup, but to calmly prepare for the main start of the season. In Anterselva, the former Poire competed: neat, calm and confident. At the end of his career, he collected a complete set of medals: gold in the individual race (the one that has not yet submitted to Bjorndalen), silver in the mixed relay and bronze in the mass start. In this life, the Frenchman achieved everything. It's time to relax ...
PRIDE
Men's Russian team. In recent years, the medals of our team brought exclusively by women. With the arrival of the head coach of the male team of Olympic champion Vladimir Alikin, the situation has changed dramatically. He invested all the knowledge, skills and experience in youth, made her believe in herself and become free. The result came soon. In the pursuit, Maxim Chudov won silver from Vincent Defran, and the relay team against the background of the Germans and Norwegians looked like a crew of aliens. To lift up noses and dream of greatness early. In other races, the Russians looked fragmented. Together they are strength, separately - not yet.
OPENING
Michal Schlesinger went to Anterselva as a promising boy, and returned with his titled husband. Everyone heard about his abilities, medals at the junior world championships. But somehow I could not believe that the 24-year-old Czech would compete with Bjoerndalen, Grice and Kruglov overnight. Underestimation of talent is fraught. Two medals - silver in the sprint and bronze in the individual race - became a breakthrough in the biathlon elite.
P RIVAL
Russian women's team. There are five reasons that do not allow criticizing the coaches of our team: 1) a young, inexperienced team; 2) a painful change of generations; 3) the absence among young talents such as Magdalena Neuner and Helena Jonsson; 4) instability; 5) a successful performance by Ekaterina Yurieva, our main hope for future success.
But there are five questions that I would like to receive intelligible answers: 1) why was it not possible to bring the team in optimal shape to the main start of the season ?; 2) where did Tatyana Moiseeva’s ease come from, which she reassured in Pokljuka ?; 3) why, knowing Irina Malgina’s problems with skiing and adaptation to the midlands, she was put in a mixed relay, and even at the first stage ?; 4) why with the choice of the relay quartet pulled to the last moment ?; 5) what happened to Olga Anisimova, who in Italy in no race was like herself?
The performance of our female team left a feeling of understatement. It seems that the girls did not come to serve the number, tuned in to the baton, believed in victory, but ... nothing happened. Why? Where are the roots of failure? Finally, who is responsible: the coaches or the Russian Biathlon Union? Solid questions. So far no answers ...
QUOTE
“Gerbulov told me:“ Do not put Anisimov! She’ll catch two circles on the counter. ” I objected to him, they say, everything will be fine. After all, he objected to the case - Olga both of our winning relay races at the World Cups did an excellent job. But in the end it turns out that a colleague was looking into the water, ”- coach of the Russian national shooting training team Alexander Selifonov in an interview with“ Soviet Sport ”after seventh place in the women's relay.
NUMERAL
5 gold medals, most of all, were won by the German national team in Anterselva. 4 on the account of the star composition of the female half - Magdalena Neuner, Martina Glagov, Andrea Henkel and Katie Wilhelm. For the honor of men on the final day of the championship stood three-time Olympic champion Michael Grice, who won the mass start.