Biathlon is one of those sports where Russian athletes have always performed at a high level. Therefore, the Russians believe and hope that at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, biathletes will make a significant contribution to the piggy bank of our national team. Of course, it will not be easy to do this, because the competition in biathlon is very strong. But as you know, houses and walls help. With whom of the athletes are our hopes in biathlon connected?
Strongest biathletes in Russia
According to the results of the last competitions and medical indicators, the men's biathlon team included: Anton Shipulin, Dmitry Malyshko, Evgeny Ustyugov, Evgeny Garanichev, Andrei Makoveev, Alexey Volkov, Alexander Loginov, Alexey Slepov, Alexander Pechenkin and Maxim Tsvetkov. The post of the head coach is occupied by Nikolai Lopukhov, his assistants are Sergey Konovalov and Pavel Lantsov.
Five more biathletes - Ivan Tcherezov, Maxim Chudov, Sergey Klyachin, Timofey Lapshin and Maxim Maximov - are in the reserve of the national team. They are trained according to an individual program.
Who joined the women's biathlon team
Women biathletes are divided into two groups and train according to different methods. One of them, headed by Alexander Selifonov, includes Olga Vilukhina, Ekaterina Yurieva, Valentina Nazarova, Irina Starykh, Marina Korovina, Anastasia Zagoruiko and Olga Podchufarova. The second group, coached by Wolfgang Pichler and Pavel Rostovtsev, includes Olga Zaitseva, Svetlana Sleptsova, Ekaterina Shumilova and Ekaterina Glazyrina. Several more biathletes are in reserve, training individually.
It should be noted that this division was carried out both at the personal request of the athletes and by the decision of the coaches of the Russian national team. The results of V. Pikhler's work, despite his high reputation in biathlon, cannot yet be called encouraging for the Russian team. Many sharp criticisms were made against him. However, Pichler has repeatedly stated that he is preparing athletes specifically for the Olympic Games, with the expectation that they will reach their peak form by the beginning of the competition. And the intermediate results for the sake of such a goal can be sacrificed.
According to the vice-president of the Russian Biathlon Union V. Maigurov, the composition of the national team may still undergo changes. The final list will be approved by January 15, 2014. Since the main goal is to perform successfully at the Olympics, it is possible that some of the athletes will miss the stages of the World Cup.
