Winner of the European Biathlon Championship Larissa Kuklina she said in an interview with that without a rifle she shows skiing at the level of top athletes, but at 31 she no longer thinks of changing sports.
Kuklina joined senior Russian men’s coach Yuri Kaminsky’s squad this summer. Previously, she worked in the team of Artem Istomin. Now, Russian biathletes are not allowed to participate in international competitions due to the situation in Ukraine.
– Do you still plan to participate in the stages of the World Cup?
– I would like. I guess I haven’t exploited my full potential. We cannot decide why it happens that in the preparatory season I show one result, and in winter another. Why can’t I switch to skiing? Unfortunately, we have a winter sport, not a summer sport,” Kuklina said.
– After joining the Kaminsky group, did you manage to understand why there are results in summer and others in winter?
“Unfortunately, there is more than one reason. I ask myself this question: why can’t I show off my good skiing with a rifle on my back? When I weigh 50 kilograms, my rifle weighs 4 kilograms 100 grams, the guys, with their weight of 70-80 kilograms, run with a 3.5 kilogram rifle. If I do a percentage, what do I carry on my back, and what do they carry? This is the difference. When there is no rifle behind me, I show a ski at the level of our best athletes. How many years have I raced, how many years have I studied and tried to find the right (laughs).
– So maybe you need to go skiing? Have you ever had such a thought?
– There are always thoughts, but I live in biathlon, I have been here all my life, I really love my sport. Well, at that age, it’s kind of wrong to switch to skiing. Yes, I love the classics, but it’s not the age to think about transitions. We have formed a big friendly family in biathlon, where we know each other. It’s a family, it’s hard to change… Probably not now. If earlier, then maybe.
I always live positive no matter what is going on in my life. I always look for the pros first, then the cons. I used to think, “Here I run ‘for juniors’, and then you realize that for many years you’ve been running ‘for women’. Time passes very quickly. It is certainly not worth expressing dissatisfaction with your life. Anything goes.
Do you think about the end of your career?
– I’ll probably leave this question in my head (laughs). Until I want to talk…
Kuklina won the World Cup as part of the women’s relay team.
Source : MatchTV
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