An offensive miss deprived Reztsova of victory at the World Cup. But the Russian team still pleased
In the last race before the Olympics, our biathletes looked powerful at a distance. Add clean shooting – and everything will be fine in Beijing!
A catastrophic individual race, an optimistic relay race, athletes’ refusals to go to the start due to preparations for the Olympics … In recent days, everything has been. Therefore, before the final women’s race of the seventh World Cup event in Antholz, the fans are present in anticipation of another surprise, because the beautiful half of the biathlon team has already accustomed us to emotional swings.
However, this time there were no surprises. Of the five athletes, the right to go to the start was granted, only Svetlana Mironova did not take advantage of her chance. The 22nd overall number of the World Cup standings missed the wrestling race, and this became known in advance from an interview with head coach Mikhail Shashilov.
Our silver relay team represented by Kristina Reztsova, Uliana Nigmatullina, Irina Kazakevich and Valeria Vasnetsova expected to fight in the race with a general start, especially since the two leaders of the season – Marte Olsby Reiseland (Norway) and Elvira Oeberg (Sweden) – missed the race.
Special attention deserved our leader Reztsova, who in this race took a guaranteed place in the Olympic mass start. Christina, who belonged to the 14th session of the overall standings, had to keep her place in the top 15 in order to deal with a similar race in Beijing without excess nerves. And, thank God, Reztsova succeeded.
Brilliant speed of our girls
During Kazakevich’s relay failure at the turn, we were especially worried about her first shooting, but it was Irina who was the only one of ours who made one mistake. Vasnetsova, Reztsova and Nigmatullina worked cleanly. In the course of the second round, we observed a pleasant picture: Valeria and Kristina walked in common groups, Ulyana kept the rules, so she pursued her comrades-in-arms a little further away.
Probably, the leadership of the negative affected our girls, because during the second shooting, all three together missed once. And Kazakevich, in turn, did a great job. At the equator of the races of our nearest Vasnetsov, 22 seconds are behind the leaders: Julie Simon (France), Tiril Eckhoff Ali (Norway) and Dinarymbekova (Belarus).
However, on the third lap, the ski training of our biathletes again gave its fruits. Every time we use a team, it closes its gap to the leaders. This situation made me rejoice and worry at the same time, because there were 2 more firing lines to come.
A miss deprived Reztsova of victory
A large group of biathletes worked at the first shooting, which gathered during the third round. Nearly all of them had misses, but unexpected Eckhoff and Frenchwoman Chevalier-Boucher did not succumb to this viewing and worked perfectly. Their example was followed by the leaders of our team Reztsova and Nigmatullina. Kristina, unfortunately, did not shoot fast, so after the boundary, 19 seconds of lag and the sixth highlight were still significant for the mass start. Kazakevich again failed to cope with the shooting, making two misses. Vasnetsova missed again.
At the last frontier, there were chances for gold among many athletes, including Christina, but an offensive miss with the first shot took away the hope of winning. The Frenchwoman Chevalier-Boucher, the Italian Wierer and the Belarusian athlete Alimbekova worked to zero. Between them, a struggle for victory unfolded. Reztsova after the penalty loop was in fourth position. Nigmatullina with criminal responsibility left the eighth line. Vasnetsova and Kazakevich made two and one miss, respectively.
On the last lap in the podium showdown, Dorothea Wierer turned out to be optimal, the second – Dinara Alimbekova, the third – Chevalier-Boucher. Kristina Reztsova discovered the fourth proximity and examined her place in the Olympic mass start. Nigmatullina – eighth, Vasnetsova – 18th, Kazakevich – 20th.
Despite the problematic shooting, our girls note the high speed of the distance and strengthened their effectiveness at the Beijing Olympics. That would still correct the problems at the turn.
Author: Alexey Zheleznov