Pidruchny: I’m upset about the team result, because our team didn’t succeed in a lot of things

Leader of the Ukrainian men’s biathlon team Dmitry Pidruchny summed up the results of the 2023/24 season and the final start of the season – the sprint in the pursuit race in Canmore.

“Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this race, it’s a shame that this happened for certain reasons. Already on the second lap I realized that I would not be able to finish the race, but there was still hope that I would make it. But after the second shooting I realized that I had to finish the performance. I don’t want to look for an excuse, because for an athlete not finishing the race is the worst thing that can happen. You are letting down the fans, the team, and yourself. And even more so when you have such a good starting position. It’s a shame that this happened, unfortunately, it is what it is.”

“We can already begin to sum up the results, but now every athlete’s emotions are raging, and we must learn to wait and do it little by little in order to understand what was wrong. Of course, there is a certain dissatisfaction, there are also objective reasons.”

“To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t be able to play this season at all. But the fact that I ran almost the entire season, with the exception of a few absences, was generally not bad for me, considering the injury I had and missing two months of preparation during such an important pre-season time. But you always want the best, and the fact that I managed to spend this season more or less smoothly is good.”

“Yes, the season passed without bright big races, and then without performances that gave hope and positive emotions. At least take the last sprint of the season, which gave both me and the fans a lot of pleasant emotions. And for me it was also a sign that I had not been running this season in vain. Of course, there were other good starts, this sprint is just one of them. I’m upset about the team result, because our team didn’t succeed in many things, and I think now the time will come for analysis and some changes.”

Dmitry Pidruchny took 33rd place in the individual classification of the Small Crystal Globe in the pursuit race of the 2023/24 Biathlon World Cup. In the Big Crystal Globe, Dmitry took 38th position. Both Cups were won by Norwegian Johannes Boe.

Pidruchny missed the start of the season and a key stage of preparation due to a broken arm. The Ukrainian also competed at the World Championships, but the blue-and-yellows did not win a single medal at the championship in Czech Nove Mesto.