Kravchenko: For Blaschko, most likely, the World Cup is over

Senior women’s coach national team of Ukraine biathlon Alexander Kravchenko commented on the sprint race at the 2023 World Championships in Oberhof.

“Today’s race was a little off. If we could cope with the shooting, then I think that Yulia [Джима] could count on the top 15. Elena [Билосюк] and Anastasia [Меркушина] could also be closer to thirty. I understand, most likely, that the European Championship, which was held in Switzerland, had a little effect on our speed.”

“Except for the last miss by Nastya on the prone, where the wind picked up, all the other misses were theirs. As for Yulia, she hurried a little, which is why she made a mistake. But under these weather conditions, one penalty is a normal result. I would like it better, but what can you do, the gusty wind makes its own adjustments.

“Unfortunately, we saw the result of Dasha [Блашко]. We gave her the opportunity to test herself. Long thought with Yuraj [Санитрой] or it will be an individual race or a sprint for her. We decided to sprint anyway because it’s a shorter distance. We see that the disease that she has does not go away so easily. In the future, I think, she will no longer perform here. We’ll see as the season progresses. Yuraj will make the final decision.”

“Someone will replace her from the girls in the individual. Let’s see what condition others are in, we’ll talk. We still have Lyubov Kipyachenkova, let’s not forget. We will rely more on the relay race. But even in the individual race there can be surprises with this weather. If you can handle the shooting, it can be a good result.”

The best result of Ukraine in the women’s sprint race is the 29th place of Yulia Dzhima. Elena Bilosyuk and Anastasia Merkushina settled down one after another in the end (43rd and 44th places respectively), and Daria Blashko, without making a single mistake, became 84th.

The 2023 World Cup will continue tomorrow, February 11, with the men’s 10 km sprint race.