Russian biathlon competitions in the 2022/23 season were held at the level of the World Cup, and sometimes even higher, says the head coach of the Russian national team Yuri Kaminsky .
Russian and Belarusian biathletes have been suspended from competitions under the auspices of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) due to the situation in Ukraine. Athletes took part in the Russian Cup and the Commonwealth Cup, the stages of which were held in Russia and Belarus.
– There are more positive points (at the end of the season) than negative points. Firstly, the excellent organization and holding of the competition is almost always at the level of the World Cup, and sometimes even above. There is nothing to complain about even if I can do it. Second, the season has been very difficult. We examined the adaptive response of athletes to a large number of starts. Here all the subtle places appeared. It’s important to know at work.
But there is another positive side. A large number of departures led to the fact that the athletes began to get sick. Some groups have more, others less. I feel like diseases are associated with too much competitive activity. No wonder we have reduced the number of departures in the new schedule.
– Now second-rate biathletes competed with the best athletes in the country. Will it do anything?
– It is important here that television came to all competitions. Athletes had the opportunity to go on television – this will also give impetus. In the process of training, they will treat each other more strictly. The average level will go up a lot, I’m sure. It can already be seen. Experienced athletes especially stood up – I would quote Abashev.
I should also note here, unfortunately, that the juniors had few starts with the adults. However, the junior age in biathlon already implies reaching a very high level of training and shooting in skiing and in competition. All the leaders of world biathlon at this age run in the World Cup, while ours so far do not even participate in the Russian Cup. I am a proponent of the fact that young athletes do not grow up in greenhouse conditions.
– The most difficult moment of the season?
– Probably, this is the last pursuit of the season, when Latypov won. There, the skis didn’t work very well, the muscle problems were piling up. He managed to shoot at the decisive moment, even though the subject was poor.
– Who would you call the season opener?
– Clearly, no one came in. Everyone we had planned for the national team has confirmed their status in the rankings. Among those who won unexpectedly, I would single out Bazhin and Mukhamedzyanov. The start in Izhevsk was defined as the main one, and they showed themselves well there, ”said Kaminsky in an interview with the press service of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU).
Source : MatchTV
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