Russia is one step away from the sixth men’s Olympic quota. Loginov reached the peak of his form without Latypov – 01/09/2022
For over a year we have been waiting for a new victory at the World Cup stages. And it’s great that the next success came just a day later – after the triumph of Alexander Loginov, Christina Reztsova and Anton Babikov took the lead in the single mixed sprint. Moreover, Loginov was as close as possible to one more personal success in the pursuit – the excitement at the last frontier prevented. Nevertheless, the results of the men’s team continue to please, and even the loss of Eduard Latypov before the start of the Oberhof races did not break Yuri Kaminsky’s brigade. Now we are only one victory away from the sixth Olympic package. Could at least someone have dreamed about it after the failed autumn stages?
For the sixth trip to Beijing, only one victory in Ruhpolding is needed
The main thing after the stage in Thuringia is that now only 56 points separate Russia from the much-desired third place in the Nations Cup. Or, more precisely, a separate Olympic standings, since the selection for the Games is conducted according to a special and complex scheme. In particular, only the results of the sprint and relay are considered, and what is important is not stable results from race to race, but victories at specific starts. Oberhof decided a lot: at first Loginov won the sprint, bringing additional points for the country, there were two more of ours in the top eight – all this matters. Especially victories over direct competitors – Germany and Sweden. The single-mixed relay has radically changed the situation. Albeit not without adventures, but we won this race, playing more backlog at a time. It is also important that the Swedes failed with the Germans. Now we have two Ruhpolding races in order to win an additional ticket to Beijing for the team of Yuri Kaminsky.
It is worth noting the tactics of the combined headquarters of the national team – our coaches made a bet on the single mixed relay, sacrificing the classic mixed relay, and they did not lose. The fact is that we have already earned the maximum possible points in this discipline, and in the single mixed we could change the points for fifth place to a more significant one. Largely thanks to Christina Reztsova, the plan was a success. Christina still looks like the only bright spot in the women’s team, and without her Mikhail Shashilov would definitely be looking for a new job. Anastasia Shevchenko was brought up to Germany from the IBU Cup, but at a higher level, the young biathlete was lost. 86th place and missing the pursuit is clearly not the result we all expected, looking at her success in races below the status. Ulyana Nigmatullina also flunked the sprint – she received a two-minute penalty for skipping the penalty loop and rested after the first race.
Loginov changed after the removal of Latypov due to covid
World Cup. Oberhof (Germany). Women. Pursuit 10 km
- Martha Olsbu Reiseland (Norway) – 33.18.8 (2)
- Hannah Oeberg (Sweden) – +33.4 (2)
- Dinara Alimbekova (Belarus) – +42.7 (2)
- Julie Simon (France) – +51.2 (3)
- Anais Chevalier-Boucher (France) – +59.7 (1)
- Lisa Teresa Hauser (Austria) – +01.21.9 (1)
… 11. Valeria Vasnetsova (Russia) – +02.15.7 (3)
… 14. Christina Reztsova (Russia) – +02.21.7 (6)
… 21. Irina Kazakevich (Russia) – +02.58.5 (4)
… 27. Svetlana Mironova (Russia) – +03.16.2 (5).
Svetlana Mironova continues to search for herself, and so far these searches have not been very successful. Irina Kazakevich and Valeria Vasnetsova were given a chance to improve in the relay, but even there the girls did not say that they were well prepared. Unless on Sunday, the girls gave out the maximum of their capabilities at the moment. Another thing is that the claims of the Russian women are not the highest, and apart from Reztsova. There are problems both on the track and at the firing positions. So it is fair to talk about systematic errors in the training of athletes. For comparison, look at Yuri Kaminsky and his guys! The men’s team lost its leader, but at the same time did not lose in the least, and even gained somewhere. In particular, for a long time we have not seen such a confident and ready to fight for high places Loginov!
Men. Pursuit, 12.5 km
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet (France) – 36.48.3 (2)
- Sebastian Samuelsson (Sweden) – +09.9 (1)
- Tarjei Be (Norway) – +15.6 (3)
- Shturla Legrade (Norway) – +15.7 (4)
- Alexander Loginov (Russia) – +18.5 (4)
- Roman Res (Germany) – +44.9 (3)
… 10. Anton Babikov (Russia) – +01.19.1 (4)
… 11. Daniil Serokhvostov (Russia) – +01.20.0 (5)
… 12. Maxim Tsvetkov (Russia) – +01.20.7 (1)
… 20. Karim Khalili (Russia) – +01.52.1 (1)
… 36. Alexander Povarnitsyn (Russia) – +03.20.0 (3).
It is unclear whether he was uncomfortable in the role of the second violin for Eduard Latypov, or Loginov realized his personal responsibility for the national team’s result in the absence of the usual leader of the season. But the fact remains – after the guy was removed from Kamyshly, the Saratov man has noticeably changed. The confident and calm victory in the sprint was a pleasant surprise, but Alexander’s attitude towards the pursuit race became even more revelation. Rarely do our guys maintain the pace set in the sprint and keep the earned high positions. But here Loginov was practically unrepentant until the last firing line. Excellent move and clear shooting – just one miss per 15 targets. There were no problems with speed, at the second stage Alexander did not work like a machine gun, leaving on the track even before the rivals were ready. The more offensive is the failure on the second “stand”. Three misses in a row deprived him of not only victory, but even medals – at the finish line, the fast Norwegians caught up with the Russian who had eaten with penalty loops.
German Lesser helped find an exercise bike for Latypov – at the request of Babikov
Surprisingly, the idea of returning Anton Babikov and Maxim Tsvetkov to the elite did not fail. Babikov had great personal races and helped Reztsova in the relay, and Tsvetkov showed an incredible character in pursuit, having played more than 40 positions. Thus, adding a headache to the coaching staff, who to take to Beijing. Even with six applications, there are clearly more worthy guys than places in the team. And yet, as Kaminsky correctly noted, these are pleasant chores. It’s great to follow Daniil Serokhvostov’s progress. On the track he certainly has no equal, and even Johannes Be, albeit as a joke, but says that he is afraid of the “new Russian star”. Very soon, the Norwegian brothers will be afraid without any irony – it remains to cope with emotions and overcome the shooting. Against this positive background, Karim Khalili and Alexander Povarnitsyn looked a little faded – we expect a breakthrough from them next weekend.
A few words should be added in the current state of Latypov. Unfortunately, Edward’s covid was confirmed and additional tests did not save him. Moreover, the symptoms of omicron began to appear, so the disease does not go away without consequences for the body. He remains in quarantine and misses the stage in Ruhpolding, but does not remain without training. The German authorities took mercy and allowed him to practice two hours on the street with strict adherence to the rules of distancing and masking. A nice detail for all Khalili – he said that the German Eric Lesser had brought training equipment to the hotel for Eduardo. The special operation became possible thanks to Babikov – they have been friends with Lesser for a long time. An exercise bike is no substitute for full team work, but it’s still better than two weeks of idle time. Then Edward will have another difficult dilemma – either a trip to Antholz for the last pre-Olympic world champion, or training in the mountains with the rest of the team.
Rustam Imanov