“Natasha supported me so that I didn’t worry about certain results.” Natalia Shevchenko – about friendship with skier Nepryaeva

Double Russian champion in biathlon Natalia Shevchenko said in an interview with that the Olympic champion Natalya Nepryaeva often helped him when they worked in a group Yuri Borodavko .

Natalia Shevchenko won gold in the pursuit at the BET Russian Championship with a penalty. For the former skier, it was the second victory of the tournament, she had previously won the sprint. Before the start of the current season, Natalia competed in cross-country skiing under the name Mekryukova.

– Thanks to good work in the sprints, you were compared with Natalya Nepryaeva. How did you react to it?

– They say a lot of things, but we could not be compared, because we are different. Natalia is good in all disciplines, she has no equal in Russia now. I could only compete with her in the sprint.

Did you get along well with her?

– When I was in the group of Yuri Viktorovich (Wart), I very often lived with Natasha in the same room. We joked with her, spent time together and now maintain friendly relations. I know what they are looking at now. When I won a personal Commonwealth Cup medal in Raubichi, he and Alexander (Terentyev) tagged me on social media.

– When you were 19, Yuri Viktorovich called you the best skier among juniors of our time.

– Yes it was. In Russia we have a separate ranking for juniors, and when he took me I was first on that list.

– Can you say that Nepryaeva was your older sister?

– Well, yes, Natasha supported me not to worry about some results. She said everything is in front of me and the work I have done should pay off, Shevchenko told .

shows the PARI Russian Biathlon Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. On April 1, the women’s relay and the men’s mass start will take place, on April 2 – the women’s mass start and the men’s relay. On Saturday, watch the live broadcast of the women’s relay from 8:40 a.m. (Moscow time), the men’s mass start from 11:40 a.m. (Moscow time).