Senior coach of the Russian national team Yuri Borodavko told that for Alexander Bolshunov, Veronica Stepanova, Natalya Terentyeva, Anastasia Kuleshova and other leaders, the second season without international starts has certain disadvantages, because they have to compete with the best in the world.
Russian skiers have not participated in international competitions since February 2022.
— This is the second season without international departures. How would you rate it overall?
– Nothing has changed. The competition is quite strong. We see that people change on the pedestal. We are convinced that everything is in the hands of young athletes who compete with our best skiers and can compare their strengths. This way they grow much faster and improve their sports performance.
For managers, there are some disadvantages. I mean, first of all, Bolshunov, Stepanova, Terentyeva, Kuleshova… After all, they are leaders. They must compete with the best athletes in the world, improve their skills and achieve themselves on the international stage. I would like them to defend the country’s honor in the fight against all the best skiers in the world.
— If we talk about the progress of juniors, who would be particularly noticed this season?
— Alina Pekletsova and Ekaterina Nikitina have improved a lot. And after the first races here, we noticed Katya’s serious discontent. They therefore have great ambitions, a place in the top ten is no longer satisfactory. This makes me happy. Pekletsova excelled in skiathlon, having some problems in the classic course. She managed to stay in the leading group and won silver, slightly behind Nastya Kuleshova. But Alina imposed the most serious fight on him.
Young athletes in men’s races are also progressing. They get in shape, gain confidence and that translates into better results. This is why I said and say that the current situation is in the hands of young skiers. They have a great opportunity to realize themselves, to grow in strong competition with our leaders,” Borodavko told .
Watch the live broadcast of the Alfa-Bank Russian championship on and Match! Arena”, as well as the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
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