The first coach of biathlete Lidia Zhurauskaite, Tatiana Subbotina, in an interview with , spoke about the beginning of the athlete’s career, her prospects and the transition to the Lithuanian national team.
– Tell us how Lydia came to you?
– Initially, Lydia came to study with me to take care of her younger brother. Moreover, at a fairly late age for cross-country skiing and biathlon – 12-13 years. She was very responsible, she watched her brother so that he always came to training on time, came home. Well, in order not to stand next to her in training, she got involved in this business. So much so that the brother finished his studies and she continued.
Did you feel comfortable working with her?
Lydia is a thoughtful and intelligent girl. You can trust her and she explained everything. I’ve never had any problems with her. She easily grasped the technique, which was surprising for her age. Until the age of 12, Lydia was engaged in drawing. We slowly let it go – first we set up the equipment, then we started working on the speed.
Her family’s material condition was not very good. In the summer, Lydia could rarely go somewhere to relax, so she went to the gym and trained on her own, pumped up. Gradually, Lydia came to the conclusion that she fulfilled the requirements of a candidate for a master’s degree in sports. It was a great achievement for her.
– You almost describe the ideal athlete.
– No, of course, everything did not go well for Lydia in her career – somewhere a children’s basis was missing, functional training. And she wanted to do big volumes, but we stopped her, explained to her that you can’t jump over your head – it’s better to be a step back, but keep your health.
With all due diligence, it was too early to consider Lydia as a candidate for the Russian national team. Then we gave her to another trainer, she became the winner of the Russian championship in roller skiing. She has such a style of power, which is good for biathlon.
So she had good prospects?
I believe that every athlete has prospects. The coach, on the other hand, sees his students from early childhood, understands what they lack. As work progresses, these components are built. Someone always lacks something: someone has intelligence, someone has strength, someone has sharpness and someone has purely psychological preparation. That’s not to say that Lydia was ready to immediately join the national team, but you can’t call her ballast either.
How difficult was the transition for her?
She liked the team. She looked for a long time, came, consulted – to tremble there or not. But you know what Lydia’s last name is. There shouldn’t be any problems. Her father himself played basketball in Lithuania, is closely connected with sports, monitors his daughter’s performance – he goes to all competitions, runs uphill, shouts, supports. Lydia therefore has moral support.
– It turns out that everything will be fine in the Lithuanian national team? Will he go to the Olympics?
– He will reach the Olympics, definitely. And how it will turn out is hard to say. I am Lydia – she has been skating in the Lithuanian team for a year now. I’m glad his shoot is starting to take shape. You can see that they are working with a biathlete, no one demands a momentary result,” Subbotina said.
Earlier it became known that Zhurauskaite filed an application to withdraw citizenship of the Russian Federation. She will play for the Lithuanian national team. The 23-year-old biathlete said her goal is to get to the 2026 Olympics. Zhurauskaite did not enter the Russian national team and did not win prizes in Russian junior competitions.
Source : MatchTV
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