Head coach Russian biathlon team Alexander Kasperovich commented on the performance of the Russian team at the World Cup in Pokljuka.

“In the Nations Cup, the women's team is in fifth place, slightly behind third. Individually, female athletes have problems with the distance: they work great on the climb, but lose on the descent. And this is not happening because of skis - we are losing a lot in technology. We don’t attack on the descent in the same way as we do on the climb. After a short break before the fourth stage, we plan to hold a training camp in Hochfilzen, where the coaches will continue to work on this component.

As for Olga Podchufarova, at this stage she feels well physiologically, all her physiology and biochemistry parameters have returned to normal. She is in good condition and is in good contact with her trainers. We take an individual approach. Today in the relay we saw that in the shooting part she worked great as always, she went well for two laps, but at the finish line her speed dropped a little. She passed the baton to the fourth. We know what else we can improve.

Regarding rotation in the women's team: today we met with the coaching staff and decided that it is too early to carry out rotation between groups. Today, Ulyana Kaisheva and Victoria Slivko were in good condition at the IBU Cup stages, Daria Virolainen also ran well. But their speed is not yet what we expect. Therefore, by decision of the coaching staff, we are leaving the same lineups so that the athletes get into optimal shape. Both Kaisheva and Slivko are among the candidates to compete at the World Cup stages in Oberhof and Ruhpolding. There will be relay races, individual races, and contact events. Today we are in search of a foursome that will be assembled for the World Championship.

I think that Ulyana Kaisheva needs to improve a little more in order to catch her courage. Our task is to prepare the team and field the strongest squad for the World Cup. And in the future we will consider the plan with an eye to the Olympic Games. We consider both Kaisheva and Slivko as candidates in the relay - we will definitely give them a chance to prove themselves.

We discussed for a long time about the performance of Kaisheva and Slivko in Nove Mesto, but we are looking ahead: now the girls were in Ridnau, at an altitude of 1400 m, next will be Obertilliach - there is also an altitude of 1400 m. We want the girls to improve their mountain training so that their functional state will allow them to compete in January.

Regarding men, we again talked for a long time on this topic. We decided that we would give Dmitry Malyshko one more chance to prove himself. We are not discounting either Peter Paschenko or Yuri Shopin - they will now participate in the IBU Cup stage in Obertilliach. Alexander Loginov will also start there. We clearly track each athlete. Timur Makhambetov, Semyon Suchilov, Alexey Slepov performed well - all athletes who participate in the IBU Cup are considered as candidates for the national team for stages 3-4-5. Loginov performed well at the Russian Cup stage, showed good speed, and proved himself in the shooting department. Now we will let him start at the IBU Cup stage, and then we will see in what condition he will compete at the Izhevsk Rifle. There are certain plans connected with this athlete, he is preparing and will also participate in all selections.

We also consider Alexey Volkov as one of the candidates for the January stages, where there are individual races and relay races. We know that he has improved his speed this year. I haven’t managed to get a little closer to my optimal shooting form yet, but I think that this can be corrected.

Summing up the results of the stage, I can say about Anton Shipulin - he is a high-class athlete, there are no questions about him. He proved in Once again that he is the leader of the team and one of the strongest in the world. He struggled in all the races, maybe missing some nuances somewhere. It is very important that the team has contact between athletes and our leader’s understanding of what the young guys add. And he doesn’t have any jealousy, but has positive emotions that the guys are growing up, a good generation is growing up.

I am glad that young guys also show themselves in the relay race. In general, this trio - Tsvetkov, Babikov, Eliseev - showed themselves well. Anything can happen in a relay race; Matvey didn’t have the first milestone, but he corrected his mistake in the standing position and did a great job over the distance. The most important thing is that we remained in the prizes and fought until the end, it was a relay race in the fight.

I can say about Tsvetkov’s stage - we have a very good first stage growing. Maxim can dictate the distance along the distance that he needs and at which he can comfortably walk. He doesn't sit behind anyone - he comes out boldly and attacks. It is clear that the guy is already in quite a good class, he has grown into a good biathlete.

Anton Babikov had a slight decline in Pokljuka. I think that this is still due to acclimatization. You need to understand that it goes through it individually for everyone. Anton did not succeed here in the first races; he did not feel the state that would allow him to fight for more high places. But he still performed well. In the first race he had a fall, where he damaged his rifle, and had to replace the buttplate - this is not so easy for an athlete. I attribute his mistakes to this. In the pursuit, he showed excellent speed - he had the third move among all athletes. He keeps the distance speed at high level. He showed good speed again in the relay.”

244

Karagodin,
The Norwegian Berland, invited by Khovantsev, tried to retrain our biathletes in ski racing training. The men then “went into denial” and did not want to change their style. I doubt that anyone could force Shipulin to change his mind on this matter. Rather, it is simply an adjustment to his own style, understood and willingly accepted by him. Kryuchkov does not force Anton to do something his own way: he offers options and explains the physiological component of this or that action. And Anton himself chooses what to do. Why does he like to train with Kryuchkov?
But what’s interesting is that Glazyrina, on her own (without Berland), tried to adapt to the Norwegian style, having watched Bjoerndalen: “Ole Einar Bjoerndalen trained on the same track with us for some time, and several times it turned out that I was running right behind him. I never tired of being amazed at how skillfully he walked along the track. I started trying to imitate his running style and immediately felt how much easier it became to run when you didn’t make unnecessary movements. I even thought about how great it would be to hold at least one gathering, even a short one, with the Norwegians.” (2013)

Boris,
besides, Efimov is also mustachioed. Full of seams.

Boris is most likely Seryozha (Sergei Vladimirovich) Efimov. If you mean functional training.

Alexander LS, who was the women’s physical training coach last year, Efimov or something?

Alexander LS,
One can understand in different ways what Akimova’s coach wanted to say. His phrase about how before and how after I realized that it had gotten worse.
About progress, too, the coach is evasive, afraid of something. Like how we gently call a disgusting result “not quite good.”
Most likely, they retrained us, here, don’t feed us bread, but let us suppress the smart guy. Kryuchkov even undertook to retrain Shipulin. Why even? It’s just that I and many fans really like his style of movement on the ski track. And they haven’t come up with anything better than that in our current biathlon. Kryuchkov just didn’t agree, maybe he thinks that they haven’t come up with anything better than Kryuchkov himself?

Alexander LS,

Time will show the seriousness or, on the contrary, all the frivolity (negligence, bungling:)) of the current intentions of TS in relation to Kaisheva.

If she was left at the KM in order to really “get mountain training” for the January stages of the KM and give her the opportunity to run at least two stages (Oberhof and Ruhpolding) including the relay, then this decision not to take her to Nove Mesto will be logical and CORRECT.

Well, if after “completing mountain training” at KIBU in Austria, Ulyana is sent to Izhevka where she will start exactly on the fifth day after the mountains, i.e., according to Noritsyn, “at the peak of the functional pit,” then there will be no “seriousness of intentions” from the TS side there is no question.

V.M.
“Right or wrong, time will tell.”
What can time show? And what conclusions can be drawn from this?
Let’s imagine that Ulyana will perform great after New Year’s Eve. And what conclusions will be drawn? That TS was right when he took care of her? Oh, it seems to me that the site will be filled with shouts: “why wasn’t she called to the CM earlier? We would have torn everyone apart a long time ago!”
Not this way? And read what some are now writing about Babikov or Eliseev! They are already sure that if they had been accepted to the KM 2 years ago (why not 5 years ago? They would have had KM experience!), then they would probably already be fighting with Fourcade for the globe!))
Another option: Kaisheva performs unsuccessfully after the New Year (she has passed her peak form or is unwell). Can you guess what conclusions will be drawn? Well, of course: again the damned TS is to blame for everything: he tortured the poor girl with selections, waited until her form declined... In general: intrigue, sabotage, mediocrity...))

Irina K.,
I read coach Tatyana Akimova’s March report - and he seemed to say smart things, but his phrase hurt my eyes: “I judge from Tanya: how she ran before the national team and how she runs now - my heart aches. In terms of technology, she has made no progress. Quite the opposite. Corrections must be made."
Stop! And what - correct technique ski run should they be on the national team? That is, to retrain an already established 25-year-old athlete? What kind of technique did the personal trainer give her then? Or did he just teach her how to stand on skis, and everything else should be taught to her on the national team?
So it turns out that it’s not the elite who come to the national team, but some semi-finished products, dropouts who need to be taught again what they are supposed to be able to do when they get into the national team.

Fedor, precisely because our girls were not taught at the age of 5, that’s why they don’t fly from the slopes... You need to learn this in childhood, lay the foundation, but we didn’t lay it, and we have to relearn it in the national team... There are no miracles, Alas...

Igor, why send older biathletes to KIBU, what should they do there, earn money? There should be young girls running around there.

I support Tikhonov, it really might be better for the national team to take Kaisheva, Slivko, Virolainen to the KM, and send Sleptsova, Zagoruiko and Glazyrina to KIBU.

It seems like the proverb says that good for a Russian, death for a German. In biathlon it's the other way around. The Germans are at an insurmountable height, ours can’t even catch up from the hill! This is when the Russian was afraid of going down. Any Russian used to spend time skiing down the hills. And now you look at the plowing of our “racers” and feel ashamed for the Russians. Shame and disgrace, is it really difficult to learn. An instructor will teach you on any slope for 20 euros. Spending so much time in the mountains is such a shame. Shame on the Russians. Well guys don't disgrace the Russians.

My daughter was 5 years old, after an hour she didn’t want to take off skiing and rode fearlessly, it was worse for her and me on the sled.

Sanych, where were you the year before last when Nikulina carried everyone out at KIBU, why didn’t you yell at Nikulina at the CM. Or is she not young enough for you?

A year ago, Kaisheva would have needed to go to the World Cup. No young biathlete can immediately be among the leaders.

Right or wrong, time will tell.

I wonder with whom they “... had a long discussion about the performance of Kaisheva and Slivko in Nove Mesto...”. Which of the women's TS were for and who were against?

I am sure that Kaisheva, if she is allowed to run a few races at the World Championships, will not be the worst of our teams, and maybe she will shine. Everyone's movements, both men and women, go up and down. Kaisheva ran the sprint and pursuit in Ridnau at the same speed as Virolainen (the pursuit was a little slower - but on the last lap she had nowhere to rush). Virolainen is considered not the slowest, but if she shot better, she could perform well. So Kaisheva can perform well - for example, at the level of Tsvetkov last year.
I personally count on her.

It’s forgivable for young people, they will gain experience that way... other countries are not afraid to graduate young people... you two defenders probably believe in Sleptsova, Shumilova? biathletes have nothing to do with it.. the problem is with the coaches, our physics are not enough even for 6 km, they let those whose legs cramp on the first climb and their hands freeze run.. if this is good for you, then you should go there too

Sergey, go easy on the insults. Let's see what Kaisheva will show at the next stage.

Sergey, are you counting on Ulyana with her almost similar future lag in the KM?

Today, Ulyana Kaisheva and Victoria Slivko were in good condition at the IBU Cup stages, Daria Virolainen also ran well. But their speed is not yet what we expect.

Are you probably counting on Sleptsova, whose legs are cramping? or on others who lose 2 minutes per sprint?

Khinskiy, who promised us. what will be easy?))

Tatyana, yeah!)) encyclopedia of quotes))

Iola, so as not to waste time, start a quotation book with bookmarks))

Viktor, yes! I have nothing else to do other than look for quotes on the site))

I want to hit Guberniev on the head. Wherever you go, cry for lost talent. People, why didn’t you cry with the whole crowd three days ago? Tell yourself honestly: it’s harmful for me to watch the zombie box and listen to the instigator Gu. I'll leave and won't come back until the race. Fuck it.

Oleg Kiselev,

In principle, it’s not such a big problem if Ulyana runs two sprints before the relay at the KM in Ruhpolding or only one sprint in Oberhof. The main thing is that if the sprint fails in Oberhof, she will still be included in the relay in Ruhpolding, as was done with Zagoruiko and Sleptsova, otherwise it will be unequal conditions in relation to Ulyana.

And it would be a bungling if, after “completing mountain training” at the next stage of KIBU, then Ulyana will also be sent to Izhevka, where she will run the qualifying starts while in the functional pit, and this is especially true for the women’s relay race on December 22, which will take place exactly on the fifth day after before the kibush girls come down from the mountains. Because then there is a high probability that with this “addition” of mountain training it will turn out “as always”, and not as we would like.

Oleg Kiselev, aren’t you old yet? Why is he so boring, he brings me to tears! They tell you - change! You boo, boo, boo! Also take a logarithmic ruler! Is the passion alive?

VM, what’s the bungling? Should we not take Kaisheva to the third stage? And then you yourself suggest that she will not be persecuted at this stage. In this case, a logical question arises - why take it? There is no point in carrying a tourist. Be it Kaisheva or someone else.

Oleg Kiselev,

Nothing like this. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories against biathletes. But TS is very bungling :)

VM, the same Noritsyn says that Kaisheva can be released from selection and taken by coaching decision. Do you like to tear phrases out of context and build some theories based on this?!

Yes, in our women's team, nepotism, cronyism and *** are flourishing, but no one thinks about the results, SO WHY INVITE YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE TEAM, TS is fine with it, after all, it comes from the state budget. And every year they sing the same song, and we listen and are indignant. We need to contact the president directly to stop this bacchanalia.

Iola, give quotes from Forum residents who say that Kaisheva will come to the KM and start tearing everyone apart. Everyone wants to see the rejuvenation of our biathlon. All adequate fans, and there are no downs here, understand well that there will not be good results right away, although I really want to believe that it will be different.

Oleg Kiselev,

Ulyana’s possible participation in the relay at the KM in Ruhpolding, as well as the need for “additional mountain training” for Kaisheva at the next stage at altitude in Obertillach, is written in the article itself (see above).

Will this “extra mountain training” in Obertillakh (December 16-17) give Ulyana an advantage in Izhevka? I doubt. If only because Izhevka begins with the women's relay race on December 22, that is, exactly on the fifth day after the girls descend from the mountains. And if you believe the senior coach of the women’s team Nornitsyn, then this is the very peak of a bad state (see his view on the next thread).

My blog is ready! I assume it will be on air soon.

Iola, everything is very complicated. Emotions from our expectations, which is Ulyana, overwhelm our souls.
And how many times have we wished for reality?
But maybe this is how great biathletes are born in our country.
Against all odds.))

I don’t really need to say this, I understand it all! Better tell this to those who are waiting for Ulyana to come to the KM and start tearing everyone apart)) Khinskiy,

VM, you wrote about preparation. After which everyone “dies”. It’s too early to talk about relay races. In general, what kind of relay races can we talk about for an athlete who will not be able to grow up in the GP?

Tasha, we need such athletes. What's the point of taking tourists to the stages?!

Curbstone 24, Shumilova was the slowest of the base in IG. And Zagoruiko performed normally in the relay. Well, as for Merkushina, it’s not at all a fact that she will show any results. Let's see.

“In the Nations Cup, the women’s team is in fifth place, slightly behind third.” They’re taking us for idiots. Firstly, we’re already in sixth, where we belong with the current squad, and that’s nothing. Secondly , we are closer to seventh place (in terms of points) than to third. Thirdly, the gap from the first two places is simply monstrous and hopeless, so they should just keep quiet about the Nations Cup and not poke it in our eyes - they’ll find an excuse!

Khinskiy,
and for whom it was easy, only Neuner comes to mind? And so, people have been dragging their feet for several years. True, they are working with them, and not looking for excuses.
Well, if Ulya and daddy refused to allow Tyumen to cross, the next reasonable step would be to rip out the claws, and not endure until you are blue in the face.
The kids go to competitions not for the strongest, but for the money, so the national team will soon legalize this matter. I blame Ulin’s daddy more; it seems that he imagines himself to be a king, albeit of local importance.
If so many people took part in Kaisheva’s fate, one could realize that Ulya belongs not only to herself. Moreover, even in juniors, you need to figure it out and not waste your prize money in sandboxes.

Iola, I’ll tell you personally and all the other fans of counting and recalculating Kaisheva’s speed that Ulyana’s adaptation to KM will be difficult. TS understands this, which is why it is so difficult to make a decision there to launch Kaisheva.
We must endure. She will be able to jump uphill like Herrmann in only a year or two.))

Both Yessbäck and Begu, who won the sprint and the GP in Ridnow, are already going to Nove Mesto, and we still have the same faces. Monsieur... Foreigners are laughing at us *** probably)))

Honest and Brave, good luck)).

Boris, thank you for the clarification, honestly, otherwise your position was not entirely clear to me.

In the meantime, I am starting to develop an analytical blog “Why Ulyana Kaisheva deserves to be included in the main Russian women’s team in the near future.” Where everything will be described clearly and clearly.

Elen, I don’t have time to sit and discuss TS, how and who led themselves to the CS, so much has already been discussed about this that I don’t have the strength to write for the hundredth time.
But I will not take part in lobbying Kaisheva, because I know for sure that this will not lead to anything good.
I remember how many fans Sleptsova had, I didn’t even want to go to sports websites. Where are you now, oh?

Victor H., I’m not against Ulyana, I’m against hysteria!

Tasha, well, yes, Starykh, Yurlova will return. So, everything is fine, beautiful marquise.

I just love biathlon, this lack of a winter schedule affects, of course, not only Kaisheva. But it gives our wisest TS in the world and the leadership of the SBR the opportunity to completely manipulate athletes and their results.

Boris, are you really against athletes leading themselves to CS? This is a mockery of sports! Do you really not agree with what “I Just Love Biathlon” writes? It’s a no-brainer that TS can always lead everyone who needs to go where they need to and “cut down” all the unwanted ones, because even Fourcade still has downturns.

Boris, do you really think that our discussion of CR would change anything about them? After all, they are written precisely so that TS can engage in such “selection.” It’s not for nothing that at the autumn stages there are so many participants and you can’t really add or subtract anyone - and then there are more of them than the limit and you can already manipulate the composition and put the “right” athletes in the right races.)

Boris, it means we’ll see the Old Ones soon. Secrets of the Madrid court, not biathlon.)

Iola,
Well, why bother digging there, Kaisheva had a recession - there was no recession. It’s high time to roll out the girl to the KM.
SS, Shumi, Vira will definitely have an upturn after the New Year. Just use them as a basis.

There is a conflict in the Russian men's biathlon team: a letter was written to the President of the RBU, Alexander Kravtsov, expressing no confidence in the senior coach of the team, Alexander Kasperovich. The letter was signed by five Russian biathletes, dissatisfied with the result in this season, authoritarian team management style and lack of dialogue between the coach and the athletes. Senior coach of the Russian national team Alexander Kasperovich commented on the situation:

- What's happening?

This is the first time I've heard about the conflict. Nobody told me about him. Let the athletes tell me what they tell you.

- The fact of the matter is that, in their opinion, there is no dialogue with the coaching staff.

This is an unjustified statement. We communicated and continue to do so. This is the first time I have heard of such a reproach addressed to me. For some reason, when there were results, everything was fine with our dialogue. We performed unsuccessfully at the World Championships - and I hear this from you. We're fine.

- Why then are the guys unhappy?

I don’t want to make hasty conclusions. We will definitely hold a meeting with the team and discuss everything. The fact that someone doesn’t like discipline is not my problem. It is and will be. Athletes will not manage the team! Today I unexpectedly learned that they met with the President of the Russian Biathlon Union Alexander Kravtsov...

- Unpleasant?

I think any coach in my place would be unhappy. We had a good trusting relationship. It's wrong to do that! You needed to come to me and talk. I'm always open.

- At what point did your distance from the team begin?

Probably when someone started to rock the team at the World Championships. There was no result, and the guys felt that they were not functionally ready. And in our opinion, they were in optimal condition. Is Shipulin performing poorly?

- Personal trainer Andrei Kryuchkov works with him on “physics”. And those who worked with you performed unsuccessfully.

You don't own the results. Look, for example, at the progress of Maxim Tsvetkov.

- He has taken a step forward, but is not even in the TOP 30 in the overall standings.

We fought throughout the season on equal terms with everyone else. Look at our position in the Nations Cup. Only the Norwegians went ahead. But this year the task was to form a team for the future. After all, we lost Evgeny Ustyugov, Alexander Loginov dropped out. Dmitry Malyshko has slowed down a little, you can’t argue with that. He didn’t slack, he worked at full strength, but he missed the initial stage of preparation and was sick. Why does he tell you it didn't happen? Why lie?

That is, are you sure that you did everything you could, and if you had the opportunity to go back, you wouldn’t change anything?

Definitely. According to the training program, everything was done correctly. There has been progress in functional terms. There are gaps in the rifle department, work needs to be done here.

- And in terms of communication? Malyshko, Garanichev and Lapshin cannot be mistaken at the same time?

Timofey is generally very difficult to work with.

- That is?

He's on his own. Why does he need these crooked sticks? But he simply decided that he needed them, and did not listen to anyone. And the ski company with which he signed a contract for four years? Lapshin can answer everything sharply: “This is my personal business”!

- And Garanichev?

There are no problems with him. Not a single comment! And he has progressed very much! Is he really talking about conflict?

- Zhenya is going to another group. You said yourself that you don’t keep anyone?

Every athlete has every right to self-training. Can I stop an athlete if he wants to leave? We'll have a meeting today and we'll definitely talk.

- If the coaching council gives the go-ahead, are you ready to continue working in the team?

On Thursday, an expert council of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation dedicated to biathlon took place. According to SE, there is a high probability that head coach Alexander Kasperovich will leave the Russian national team, and his position will be eliminated. On the eve of the start of the Olympic season, a serious coaching rotation begins in one of the most popular sports in the country.

Vladimir IVANOV

Having worked as the head coach of the Russian national team for the last two years, he will most likely leave his post. On Thursday, after a meeting of the expert council of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, which was dedicated to biathlon, no complaints were officially expressed against the work of this specialist. However, the head coach himself speaks of his resignation almost as a fait accompli. The personnel revolution in the national team took many by surprise. Although the results shown under the leadership of Kasperovich speak for themselves - on two recent championships Russians did not win a single individual medal in the world.

Coaches in the Russian national team change every year, and this year is no exception. At that moment when, in an amicable way, preparation for Olympic Games in Pyeongchang should be entering the finish line, we suddenly realized that all this time we had been going in the wrong direction. And again we change direction. There is no need to talk about systematicity. This looks much more like a frantic search of options with the hope of a sudden miracle.

Now, it is possible that the position of head coach will be abolished completely. In any case, in the summer there is no need for it. We'll see closer to the start of the season. It’s difficult to guess, by that time so many things can happen. Just remember, who was supposed to lead our team last season, but by December he suddenly disappeared from the World Cup orbit. Kasperovich's departure will definitely upset journalists. Alexander Vladimirovich is simply a treasure trove of quotes. However, now, apparently, young people will have to listen to his sharp statements. With a high degree of probability, Kasperovich will focus on the reserve.

The position of chief, responsible for both men and women, is not needed at all,” said SE, a two-time Olympic champion. “I didn’t understand what the boss should do.” It is enough for two senior coaches to be responsible for training athletes.

HEAD COACH: TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

Changes in the coaching staff will most likely not be limited to Kasperovich’s departure. In three years, we have changed three senior coaches of the women's team, and now the changes can enter a cyclical stage. According to SE information, the new savior of domestic biathlon should be. The same one who already worked in Russia in 2013-2015. Two years ago, after a rather good World Championship for the women’s team in Kontiolahti, the contract with the Belarusian specialist was not renewed. As they used to say in biathlon circles back then, Korolkevich negotiated a more lucrative contract. It didn't work out.

And Vladimir Borisovich went to the Belarusian national team. But things didn’t work out for him there from the very beginning. And it only got worse from there. The main reason is that he failed to find a common language with the main star of the team. And her authority in the country is too great.

Korolkevich needed a good job, the Russian women's team needed a strong specialist. That's how they found each other. In all likelihood, the Belarusian will be helped. The same one who replaced Vladimir Borisovich after his departure. It is still unclear whether he, who suddenly found himself the head coach of the women’s team this season, will remain on the team. But if so, then it turns out that the coaching staff will include all three specialists who led the team in last years. They will have something to talk about.

Vladimir KOROLKEVICH. Photo by Fyodor USPENSKY, "SE"

Let’s wait with comments, there is no clarity yet,” said Korolkevich"SE". - The SBR asked me to provide certain information, I did it. Now I think we need to wait a couple of days. There is no point in making any premature comments now.

The most surprising thing is that acute personnel issues at the meeting of the expert council of the Ministry of Sports, if touched upon at all, were indirect. No fateful decisions were made there. Wrong format. The Ministry of Sports heard a report on the athletes’ performances, the speakers told what went well and what didn’t work out, after which the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) received an assessment of its activities for the season. According to Kasperovich, the expert council noted the positive dynamics of the team’s performance this season.

Based on the fact that in Holmenkollen 2016 we had no medals, and in Hochfilzen 2017 the team won two, I include the gold one in men's relay, such praise is not surprising. After all, the Ministry of Sports looks at performances in official competitions. That half the team is on final stages The World Cup had a hard time getting to the finish line, it doesn’t matter anymore. At the same time, the same Kasperovich said that according to the comprehensive targeted training plan, Russia should win five medals at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, two of which through the efforts of women.

Dmitry GUBERNIEV. Photo by Alexey IVANOV, "SE"

GUBERNIEV BELIEVES IN KOROLKEVICH

“I am with both hands for such changes in the women’s coaching staff,” the popular TV presenter shared his opinion with SE. - Korolkevich and Konovalov, it seems to me, are a dream coaching duo. I completely trust these mentors, they are my friends. Sergei Konovalov is an outstanding shooting coach, and you simply cannot find a methodologist like Vladimir Korolkevich. We remember how he prepared Olya Vilukhina for Sochi.

- But you will probably miss Kasperovich?

One way or another, he remains in the RRF team, will work with the reserves and supply personnel for the first team. And we will also tell you how his silver mustache will turn golden after his students win something significant.

- By the way, he shared his plans for the next season. Isn't five medals at the Olympics too much?

I think this plan is realistic. I want to repeat that he will not leave Pyeongchang without personal gold. And our women, under the leadership of Korolkevich and Konovalov, will win two medals in Korea. Moreover, I sincerely hope that one of them will be of the highest standard.

Charged with patriotic sentiments on Russia Day, Biathlonrus.com thought about the future of Russian biathlon and started a frank conversation with the coach of the Russian reserve team, Alexander Kasperovich. The eldest of the juniors spoke without hesitation about the difficulties of selection for the junior team, the extremely serious tasks of the promising Alexander Loginov, as well as the main headache for the reserve coach - doping in children's sports.

Alexander Vladimirovich, juniors are holding a June camp in Izhevsk and Tchaikovsky - two cities that will host the summer championship and championship of Russia. How would you rate the conditions?

It's nice that we have tracks of this level. I was in both Tchaikovsky and Izhevsk. To be honest, I am simply delighted with Tchaikovsky - there is excellent accommodation and food, a shooting range equipped with electronics, an excellent shooting range and a track that meets all standards, locker rooms, rooms for preparing skis or roller skis, and a weapons room.

As for Izhevsk, for us this is a traditional place for training camps. It’s very nice that they expanded the track there and the shooting range for 40 installations. Cleanliness and tidiness. There is only one problem - there are not many rooms in the hotel good level. Still, rooms with a shower on the floor are not for national team level biathletes. But I think that this issue will be resolved in Izhevsk. The complex itself in Izhevsk is excellent. They always welcome us there, and we feel comfortable there.

At the training camp in Gelendzhik, two-time Olympic champion Olga Zaitseva trained with your team. For you, such an experienced athlete in training young biathletes is probably a godsend?

We have been cooperating with her for a long time, Olga trained in our teams. We wanted to organize a meeting for the guys to talk to a professional. But it turned out that already during training they asked her everything they wanted. Olga told me a lot of interesting things during work - I think that this is much closer and better. Almost gave individual master classes.

I’m generally pleased with how the training camp in Gelendzhik went. The weather was great, the guys worked with passion. We have done all the necessary work. For example, we swam a total of 14 to 20 km of pure swimming - we trained both in the pool and in open water at sea.

- Does swimming help in any way on the ski track and shooting range?

Swimming is necessary for general physical development, to strengthen breathing and work the muscles of the musculoskeletal system. From swimming, muscles become more labile, stretched and athletes recover faster. Eat special exercises with holding your breath and exhaling into the water - this is useful for us, because when shooting we work with holding our breath or exhaling slowly. Plus it's variety.

I can give an example of another classic May workout - a 6.5 hour hike in the mountains at an altitude of 600 meters with walking sticks. Athletes aged 18–20 calmly perform this work without any stress. The main goal of such training is, again, strengthening the muscles we need and overall endurance. We use short ski poles to make it work shoulder girdle, and not just the legs.

Plus we trained a lot on the bike. But we don’t use roller skis during this period. It’s too early for us to use them in May; first we need to restore all skills, prepare muscles and coordination of movements.

- You can assess the readiness of the guys as a whole based on the results of the first training camp. Did anything catch your eye?

I would like to note that in this off-season, the athletes of 93-95 are much more prepared than the biathletes of 92. I can’t say for sure what this is connected with. Perhaps a new generation is starting to emerge, or maybe the athletes simply came from other regions or from other coaches who paid more attention to general physical fitness, movement coordination, and swimming. Previously, it happened in our country that athletes did not even know how to swim freestyle and breaststroke.

At the first training camp, we worked a lot with free training and preparation. It was important to look at the guys’ theoretical knowledge and work on SKAT. Identify the mistakes that athletes make when shooting for further work with live ammunition. It can be seen that athletes are given theoretical knowledge locally. I would like to note the work that the Tchaikovsky Institute did in the winter by releasing a visual aid on shooting - at the Russian winter championship this manual sold out instantly. Now the Russian Biathlon Union has released Toolkit on shooting, written by Viktor Fedorovich Mamatov. We started doing very important things. Now the conditions are such that coaches are sorely lacking in literature and manuals. And every book is a huge help.

- If you now look at the composition of the junior team, is it realistic that any of these guys will be able to grow to the level of the main team by the 2014 Olympics?

I would not like to talk about this now or name any names. But, for example, Sasha Loginov faces very high tasks - I say this in all seriousness. He and I talked for a long time about this topic. The athlete has moved to another level in his training. Last year we deliberately took him to adult competitions, to the IBU Cup in Altenberg (note: Loginov at this stage became second in the sprint and pursuit, and also took fourth place in the individual race). Sasha was not in the best shape at that moment after a difficult season. Since December the athlete has shown high speed and good marksmanship training. We compared him with adult athletes - he can easily compete with them.

- Once an athlete has reached a new level, it means he needs new format preparation?

This year we changed his preparation a little. We have certain tasks, we know Sasha’s shortcomings well. We will try to eliminate these shortcomings. I can even announce them - the athlete needs to increase speed endurance, complete the first lap, reduce the time spent on the firing line by approaching and leaving the line. It is necessary to reduce the time at the turn by manipulating the weapon.

At the end of last season, your three strongest players went to three different teams. Maxim Tsvetkov went to the main team, Alexander Pechenkin to the youth team, and Alexander Loginov remained in the junior team. Why were young talents assigned to teams in this way?

I would like to continue working with these three athletes, but the situation has developed as it has. Tsvetkov has a personal trainer - Nikolai Petrovich Lopukhov, and since he has received an invitation, the guy will be more comfortable with his coach in the main team. Pechenkin left my team due to age and moved to the youth team, although I even recommended him to the main team. Pechenkin's speed qualities allow him to show good results. This year he has made great progress in shooting training. I hope he has a good next season. Loginov, due to his age, is not yet suitable for the main and youth teams, and besides, he had a desire to continue working with me personally. Sasha and I have been working together for four years now, and during this time we have found mutual understanding. I think everything will be fine.

I regret that such an athlete as Yaroslav Ivanov went unnoticed - he is a very interesting guy. I am very sorry that there is no opportunity to work with him for another year, because due to his age he has already left the juniors. My instinct tells me that he would have opened up more. In one year, he managed to make a lot of progress as a result. Now he is preparing with the Khanty-Mansiysk team, I wish him good luck.

You are well acquainted with the juniors from working together with them, but what can you say about the beautiful half of the reserve – the juniors?

At one time I worked as a coach for 12 years women's team, including at the Olympic Games in 1994, when we worked with Alexander Vasilyevich Privalov. And this year I returned to the women’s group as a senior reserve coach. We have selected a team of trainers who are now solving the task at hand - training the reserve. We called 17 girls to the orientation training camp; three athletes did not come to the first training camp due to passing the Unified State Exam. We looked at all the biathletes and have not yet drawn any conclusions. At the Tchaikovsky/Izhevsk meeting we will finally decide on the composition. The coaches in the women's team were also competent. I have known Andrey Russkikh for a very long time; last summer he prepared for the season bronze medalist World Championship Olga Vilukhina. He is a very strong specialist, so I entrusted him with the women’s group. I think he can handle this job. The team also includes young guys who have great desire. From the Russians, as last year, the coaching team includes young Pavel Lantsov and veteran Soviet sports Nikolai Petrovich Savinov. He has been working with juniors and juniors for a long time, and worked in the main team. His experience and the groundwork that he has will help the team.

- When will the final composition of the reserve teams be determined?

The composition will be determined literally after this gathering. This will be the final composition for centralized training. For the boys, six people have already been identified, but for the girls, the coaches do not want to name a single name until the end of the training camp. For juniors, I can already announce a list of six people: Alexander Loginov, Timur Makhambetov, Pavel Zakurdaev, Alexander Chernyshov, Ivan Tomilov, Eduard Latypov. Four more people will be selected during the training camp.

As a reserve coach, you will be responsible not only for juniors, but also for young men. What problems are particularly acute in children's sports now?

The first is the conditions. Now there are more and more guys who want to do biathlon. But if a child is unlucky enough to live in a region that is seriously developing our sport, a lot of problems arise. There must be a warm room, locker rooms, showers, appropriate equipment - many schools do not have this. The Russian Biathlon Union provides a lot of help, and thanks to them for helping the children - buying rifles, roller skates, skis and equipment. But even the RRF cannot help everyone, because many schools are simply destroyed.

We lack qualified biathlon coaches and ski racing. Unfortunately, we have very few strong specialists in children's sports. But the first coach lays the foundation. And here you need to be a professional. For example, many children have back problems due to the large amount of work they do skating. No need to resist and teach with your skate! Classic move According to biomechanics, it is the basis of skating - repulsion, gliding movement. And often in biathlon schools, children are immediately put on the skate, which is strictly prohibited, because it leads to curvature of the spine.

This sounds crazy, but many coaches are against the classics, because for this you need to wax your skis, have additional poles, boots, skis - but you don’t have them. Can you imagine that children are sometimes forced to break because of need? Well, and, of course, our big headache is prohibited drugs.

Can you tell us more about this? This problem is not as well known to the general public as doping in adult sports.

So what's there to say? There is a problem - despite the enormous work against doping, episodes still occur with athletes in the regions who are not controlled as much as in the national teams. If an athlete is not in the national team system, it is much more difficult to control him, and some take advantage of this.

Do you know where we start the season? We sit down as a team and, together with the doctor, tell the athletes how this all happens and what it leads to. The child’s body reacts to illegal drugs instantly - the work of the endocrine glands is dulled and sometimes even atrophied. So he took it, stimulated some function of the body with a prohibited drug now, and tomorrow without this drug it will no longer work. And by the age when it is necessary to open up and win a place in the national team, the athlete approaches emasculated.

- Maybe someone is deliberately stimulating the athlete to push him to the highest level?

It’s not even a matter of the fact that one of the coaches is doing this. Now there is a lot of accessible information on the Internet and the athletes themselves, unfortunately, foolishly come to this. Now there is no big secret - every doping case is loudly talked about, the names of the drugs are quoted thousands of times, they explain whether it was administered intravenously or intramuscularly.

This is a big problem, and I want to use the opportunity to stop those athletes who think that doping helps - this is not so and only a trained body can show results! Drugs can give a momentary surge that will ruin the body tomorrow. Illicit drugs are self-deception, very dangerous self-deception.

I and those trainers who have been working with me for many years are categorically against the use of illegal drugs. We only restore guys to the national team naturally: sauna, massage, medical equipment, natural products. It is possible to restore athletes training process, its diversity. There are swimming and other types of training.

And I tell my guys right away - if someone, God forbid, is involved in this, he will immediately fly out of the team. No chance of returning.

He worked as a coach of the second team in the country.

Maybe this would remain a secret for the Russians, like everything so far connected with Gross’s role in Russian biathlon, but the Germans have nothing to hide. That’s why they thanked him in the Association ski types sport, recognizing that everyone's personal choices are worthy of respect.

“We are very sorry that our paths are now diverging. But we respect Gross’s personal choice and wish him success in his future endeavors.”

The personal and public choice of Alexander Kasperovich has already been assessed by the Minister of Sports: the man is in the right place.

“The head coach today mainly performs organizational functions - the formation of a common calendar, assistance to senior coaches. Serious work, he copes with it, we wish him success. And the season will tell..."

Alexander Kasperovich has a rich biathlon biography: he has been working with Russian national teams since 1986. Moreover, at all levels: junior, youth, main teams. He started as a coach of the women's junior team (from 1986 to 1992). The result of this six-year period was seven gold medals at the World Junior Championships.

In 1992, Kasperovich joined the main team of the USSR national team. Under his leadership, the team won Olympic gold medals in the relay race (Nadezhda Talanova, Natalya Snytina, Anfisa Reztsova, Luiza Noskova).

From 1994 to 1997 he was the senior coach of the junior team, then until 2001 he was the coach of the main team of the women's team (Olga Pyleva, Anna Bogaliy, Galina Kukleva, Svetlana Ishmuratova, Albina Akhatova...)

Then he worked as a senior coach of junior teams for two years. And from 2004 to 2014 – senior coach of reserve teams. Participated in the preparation for the Olympic Games of Olympic medalist Evgeniy Garanichev and Olympic champion Alexey Volkov.

Last season, Kasperovich served as the head coach of the men's team. Under his leadership, Anton Shipulin won silver in the pursuit and took second place in the overall World Cup standings. The men's team won crystal globe in the relay standings. Athletes who prepared for the season in the main team (Alexey Volkov, Anton Babikov, Alexander Pechenkin, Alexey Slepov) won four gold medals at the European Championship. The year ended, as everyone remembers, with a riot by a group of biathletes.

Dmitry Malyshko: “The problem was in preparation. Perhaps I will consider the option of leaving for self-training. It’s just that when 10–15 people are training, you shouldn’t expect results.”

Evgeniy Garanichev: “Next I will train not with Alexander Vladimirovich, but with another coach. Not individually, but with the guys - with Dima Malyshko and others. We are leaving to train separately as a team. It is still unknown who we will work with, there is time to decide. I don’t feel comfortable training with Alexander Vladimirovich. The technique is not suitable. This decision was made throughout the season, not just after the World Cup.”

Timofey Lapshin: “We want the coaches to have a dialogue with us. We talked with Kravtsov and expressed our opinion. We have to wait and see what the management decides. We want the preparation of each athlete specifically to be discussed jointly.

We only had a one-way conversation. We suggest something, but the coach says: no, we need to do this and that. I want us to trust the coaches, and for the coaches to trust us.”

The riot, as expected, ended. Alexander Kasperovich received an offer to lead both teams.

After his official confirmation as head coach, in an interview with Biathlonrus.com, Alexander Kasperovich said that serious tasks remained to be solved, thanked the Ministry of Sports and the Center for Sport, which “do not refuse anything,” and looked into the future.

“It is now necessary to begin the formation Olympic team, who will represent the country at the Games in 2018. The Russian team is faced with the task of performing well in Korea. By “worthy” I mean no worse than in Sochi. Moreover, the team has not become much weaker given the fact that we have good young people growing up.

The men have a group led by Vladimir Bragin and a group led by Andrey Padin. The main group, naturally, is the Bragin group. It is she who will solve the problems of performing at the Biathlon World Cup stages. The main goal of the Padina group is to prepare for the IBU Cup stages, but it cannot be ruled out that some of the athletes in this group will also compete at the World Cup stages. Rotation in the team will depend on the results. As you know, we have Anton Shipulin in individual training for men, with whom Alexey Volkov and Ivan Tcherezov also work in the group.

At first glance it may seem that the women's team is not as strong as the men's, but I would not say so. Especially considering the spirit with which Olga Vilukhina and Svetlana Sleptsova are preparing for the season. They should not be written off and equated with veterans. By the way, coaching staff The Russian national team does not write off any of the athletes, regardless of whether they are preparing at centralized training or in the regions. Selection for the Russian national team will be based on clear criteria, the draft of which we plan to publish before August 15.

Initially, we planned that the women would prepare for the season in two groups, but then we decided to unite all the athletes. At the same time, an expanded group of coaches was formed in order to approach each athlete as individually as possible. The coaches speak very well of the way the girls work. It is clear that there is still a lot of work ahead, but we look to the future with optimism.”