Six Russians. Last race. And only one third place
Such a fun and endlessly creative slogan could be invented for the men's mass start at the ninth stage of the Biathlon World Cup. Tyumen said goodbye to the season with incredible spectator records, after which no Canada or USA should ever receive the right to host biathlon. Unless the right to boycott it for life can be given to these countries. Better yet, sell it at a high price.
Okay, all this is not as important as Anton Shipulin’s fight for third place in overall standings World Cup. He could enter the top three for the fourth time in a row - a powerful result hitherto inaccessible to either the Soviets or Russian biathletes. And everything was in his hands: take any place in the top 15 and don’t look back at Peiffer - the only one who could interfere.
Among the leaders
And Anton took first place from the start and slowly pulled everyone along with him. The leader of the Russian team did not last long; by the 2.4 km cutoff he was already eighth, but Alexander Loginov was approaching the group of leaders. Before entering the line, Shipulin was already 7 seconds behind the leader, made a mistake and, together with Loginov, went to one penalty loop. The best of our team was Babikov, he, like Malyshko and Tsvetkov, worked to zero.
Peiffer, by the way, hit everything and came out in ninth place. He definitely had to finish in the top three, otherwise the German would lose even his theoretical chances of third place in the overall standings. However, Arnd somehow moved very sluggishly along the distance and by the 4.5 km cutoff he lost even to Tsvetkov, and he, together with Babikov, finally caught up with the leading German Doll.
The same funeral
And not only did they catch up - they led the race after the second milestone. Tsvetkov was first, Babikov was half a second behind him. Lindström, Christiansen and Peiffer were also rolling along. Shipulin shot successfully and was in 16th place. Until it's bronze overall standings there was no particular threat. By the 7.5 km cutoff, Loginov also crept up on the group of leaders, but he had a mistake. 12 biathletes arrived at the “stand” at the same time; any of them, with successful and fast shooting, could come out on top. And Loginov did it. Tsvetkov shot a little slower and ended up sixth at the exit line. And then Peiffer finally lost that very third place to Shipulin. Two of his misses against the perfect shooting of the Russian - and now Anton is already tenth, and the German is 19th. This is the same funeral...
Or maybe a medal?
Now you could fully worry about Russian medal. Loginov was in the lead, but five seconds behind him were seven rivals, including Tsvetkov. Shipulin was 14 seconds behind Loginov, and in the old days would still have remained one of the favorites and would almost certainly have eaten up this gap even before the quadruple shooting
But not today. Even the proximity to Johannes Boe did not give anything to the Russian: the Norwegian himself was in, to put it mildly, imperfect shape. That is, all hopes were pinned only on Loginov and Tsvetkov. And, first of all, with their perfect shooting in the second “stand”.
Or maybe gold?!
Loginov missed twice, but Tsvetkov still hit. And, taking into account the fact that they applied everything from the heart, Maxim turned out to be the leader of the race. Together with the Norwegian Bjontegård, they ran away from the shooting range, ten seconds later Jacob Fak hurried after them, and the Boe brothers ate him up. Naturally, Tsvetkov did not have any medal in his pocket, because the gap was small, and his opponents were serious.
15 km before the finish, we simply had to believe in our medal. Tarjei Boe and Fak fell off, only the younger Boe remained, but he gained almost nothing back and was 10 seconds behind. Tsvetkov came out on top and rushed forward.
Centimeter by centimeter, second by second, Tsvetkov eluded Bjontegård. Half a kilometer before the finish, his advantage reached 3.5 seconds. Max still had strength, it was a victory. Unexpected, beautiful. Long-awaited, but late. Shipulin retained his third place in the overall standings, and now he may best biathlete in the history of the USSR and Russia. At least, no one has been able to do this before. After all, a personal medal at the Olympics or World Championships is just one race. And being in the top 3 of the best for four years is a level. It’s cool that biathlon ends this way. It's sad that it's ending now.
From March 22 to 25, the ninth stage of the Biathlon World Cup will be held in Tyumen. The stage program includes sprints, pursuit races and mass starts.
This is the final, final stage, following which the Large Crystal Globes - World Cups, as well as small ones - in the standings of sprints, pursuit races, mass starts and Nations Cups will be awarded.
Also, the final stage of the World Cup is distinguished by an expanded composition of participants - two athletes per country included in the TOP 10 of the IBU Cup.
IX stage of the Biathlon World Cup, Tyumen, Russia:
16:10 – Sprint, men. Match TV (live)
16:30 – Sprint, men. Eurosport (live)
16:35 – Sprint, women. Match! Our sport (live broadcast), Eurosport - 2 (live broadcast)
18:45 – Sprint, women. Eurosport (recording)
14:40 – Pursuit race, men. Match TV (live)
15:00 – Pursuit race, men. Eurosport (live)
16:45 – Pursuit race, women. Match TV (live)
16:45 – Pursuit race, women. Eurosport (live)
14:40 – Mass start, men. Match TV (live), Eurosport - 2 (live)
16:50 – Mass start, women. Match TV (live), Eurosport - 2 (live)
18:45 – Mass start, men. Eurosport (recording)
19:15 – Mass start, women. Eurosport (recording)
NOTE: broadcast start time is Moscow.
19:00. The first day of competition at the World Cup stage in Tyumen has ended. Martin Fourcade won confident victory in the sprint and won the Small crystal globe" His main rival Johannes Boe failed the race, finishing 14th with two penalties. This concludes our broadcast. See you tomorrow at the women's sprint!
18:55. Pyotr Pashchenko, who finished 45th in the sprint, explained the drop in speed in the last season.
18:52. Martin Fourcade was pleased with his performance.
I am happy with the result I achieved today. I was getting ready to fight Johannes, but he couldn’t cope. I am now in a good position to accomplish the main task of the season - to win the Big Crystal Globe. I was aiming for victory at the Olympics, but from the first start of the season, Johannes gave me such competition in the fight for the World Cup. It was an exciting competition. I can’t say where he made a mistake today, but I was psyched up for my race and felt in good shape. But the fight continues, and I shouldn’t relax. I don’t think about Bjoerndalen’s records and don’t count my victories, but I think that for a couple more years I’ll have enough motivation to perform and win.
18:50. “Today is a beautiful day. The season is long, but only at the end of it I was able to get on the podium. I'm glad to be on the podium with Martin. My shooting wasn't as good at the beginning of the season as it is now. I had a good finishing lap and gave everything I had for this podium. Today the skis of the whole team worked well for us, for which I want to thank all our servicers,” said Simon Desthieux.
18:45. Sprint bronze medalist Fredrik Lindström shared his impressions of the race.
Today was an unusual race. The track was prepared perfectly and the skis just carried me. I felt the support of the fans throughout the race. Overall, I'm pleased with how I spent this season. We won gold in the relay race Olympic Games, and it was great.
18:40. Igor Malinovsky: “The body is not used to starting at seven o’clock in the evening - this took its toll.”
18:35. And here Martin came up. The press conference begins.
18:30. Martin Fourcade is delayed. At the press conference, he is replaced by a journalist who tests the sound.
18:25. Igor Malinovsky commented on his performance.
The feeling is very heavy, I am very tired. From the first meters the race was difficult. The body is not used to starting at 7 pm and the weather conditions took its toll. In order to meet the expectations of fans, you need to work hard. I know my shortcomings. It’s hard to predict when I will be able to become world champion. I was hoping that there would be some brilliance in the last starting group, but it was only on the descents. It was the loudest race of my entire career. Something similar happened at the summer world in Tchaikovsky, but this only adds to the emotions. During the warm-up you can get a little scared, but in the race you don’t feel it.
18:22. Dmitry Malyshko shared his impressions of the race.
18:20. Tolerate... Why it will be very difficult for Shipulin to become third in the World Cup. Andrey Ivanov - about the men's sprint.
Tolerate... Why it will be very difficult for Shipulin to become third in the World Cup
Anton Shipulin is out of shape and has made it difficult for himself to fight for third place in the World Cup. Peiffer advances and Fourcade celebrates. He is the champion again.
18:15. Johannes Boe's failure allowed Martin Fourcade to win the Small Crystal Globe in the sprint race. The Frenchman beat his opponent by two points.
18:10. Alexander Loginov and got into the top 15 in speed. And the best today was Martin Fourcade.
18:05. Alexander Loginov expressed disappointment in connection with the mistake, which did not allow him to fight for a place on the podium.
18:00. The men's competition has ended sprint race! The winner was Martin Fourcade, who was out of competition today. Desthieux showed the second result. Third time for Lindström.
17:45. Malinovsky finished 51st. We will find out very soon whether we will be able to get into the pursuit. Martin Fourcade, Desthieux and Lindström - this is what the trio looks like. No one will move them anymore.
17:35. Lesser passed both milestones cleanly - there is a chance to compete for the top three. The Russians are high at the finish line - Tsvetkov, Loginov and Shipulin are in the top ten.
17:25. Fourcade rushed to the finish line with best result! Martin has an advantage of 33 seconds over his closest pursuer. And Johannes Bo missed twice on the first line. Looks like the Frenchman is no longer available.
17:15. Fourcade scored 10 out of 10. The Frenchman has a huge advantage. Let's see how Johannes Boe responds. Loginov missed the last shot on the stand, but could have competed for a medal. Tsvetkov and Shipulin passed both milestones cleanly, but they lost too much to the leader.
17:05. Fourcade took aim for a long time, but in the end he hit all the targets! The Frenchman took the lead, two seconds ahead of Loginov. Shipulin passed the prone stage with zero, Anton had the seventh time.
16:55. Tsvetkov cleared the first line and took the lead. Garanichev made two mistakes in prone.
16:45. The race has begun! You can follow its progress using our text broadcast. Emilien Jacquelin was the first to hit the track.
16:35. Johannes Boe spoke about the upcoming races at the stage in Tyumen and the features of the track.
J. Bo: I will try to show everything I can do. This is my goal
16:30. 15 minutes before the start of the race - the stands are already filled.
16:25. Analysts consider Martin Fourcade the main favorite. The odds for his victory are 2.25, for getting into the top 3 - 1.50. Next comes Johannes Boe (the odds for his victory are 2.75). Julian Eberhard (6.00) completes the top three.
The fourth on the list of contenders is , you can bet on it for 26.0. Shipulin's finish in the top three is estimated at 6.00.
Bookmakers assessed Shipulin's chances of winning the sprint at the World Cup in Tyumen
16:15. Ivan Tcherezov shared his thoughts on the intrigue in the overall World Cup standings.
16:05. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen shared his opinion about the fight in the overall World Cup standings. The legendary Norwegian is confident in Martin Fourcade's victory.
42Tanyui
boots
I support you regarding Anton Shipulin and agree that our debutants will be afraid to tell the truth, as they have not yet established themselves at the core.
You also upset me very much when you said that Shipulin is going on a losing streak, I’m not interested in watching biathlon, because I think it’s a great injustice. I think Anton was right. But the TC did not take any measures in time when complaints were received from athletes. Anton is something of a scapegoat. that he must be punished by fate. Moreover, he is a man with a big soul, he is involved in charity work, which cannot be said about others. I respect this biathlete.
Sasha.
And if Anton is still right?.. then fate will judge differently.
Oh, somehow it seems to me that the articles about how to plow and plow means to shut up and be silent, and money has generally corrupted you, seem clearly ordered. Be silent, be afraid, otherwise take your things out.
Where did Winnie the Pooh and Piglet disappear in the photo screensaver for the blog? I worked so hard to match the photos to the text. KAI, return my bear and pig to its place!
And I support Shipulin, maybe the man is boiling? After all, the season is considered to be in shambles without the World Cup, and if you get away with “shoals” at the stages, then at the World Cup it’s already chaos! and Sasha is just “sick.”
And I support Shipulin.
He is the tallest and heaviest, so most likely he suffered the most due to this weather. I think he didn’t want to air his dirty laundry in the media, but if the internal squabbles were of no use during the entire season, what could be done?
I think not every athlete will dare to voice problems; Shipulin and Zaitseva have been at the core for a long time and can afford it.
And blather, sorry, the same Garanichev or Malyshko about the bad preparation of skis - and it’s quite possible that Zhenya’s rifle will fly to Finland instead of Khanty, and Dima will be sent to Moscow for an urgent examination of an enlarged wisdom tooth... Who knows whose there are interests in the service, whose matchmaker, brother or former neighbor on the site, Barnashev’s illegitimate grandson or some other connections.
Sasha, no, everything will be fine with him, but words are words, you upset me
Sasha, how correctly you said it! I respect you!
Tatyana M., no, I won’t do any magic for him. There is no need to blame someone, it is his own fault for choosing such skis. I can’t stand people who look for something to blame but not themselves. I compared how Shipulin spoke after the mass start and how Korovina spoke after her relatively poor performance in the sprint in Altenberg. Shipulin says that the lubricants ruined everything for him, that is, they are to blame, and Korovina says that he couldn’t guess with the skis, that is, she is to blame. can you smell the difference? From now on, Shipulin will have a streak of bad luck because fate sees everything and punishes.
Well, 26-year-old Klyachin and 28-year-old Korovina finally made it to the KM, I really want to watch them in the race.
Sasha, there is no need for predictions for men, it’s better to cast a spell so that Tokha’s ski is smeared
All our people are here and will perform! And it makes me happy :))
Sasha, we should remember your forecast and then compare it with the results, I wonder what the accuracy will be. Yes, but what is the prognosis for men?
According to Tcherezov, I was really looking forward to it, but Vanya is a very fair guy, since he’s not ready as he should be, there’s no point in taking the last places. Oh, I wish I could learn some things from him...
Sasha, this is from a theory out of spite good result will she show?) Well, I can’t approach her any other way! It's freezing already!
Tanyui, Katya, there is no need to root against Yana. Now I’ll try to predict the race scenario. Our girls won’t win any medals in the sprint. the best will be Vilukhina and Zaitseva, followed by Sleptsova and Korovin. the rest of us will also be selected for the pursuit. In the pursuit, Zaitseva will win a medal, bronze.
Tanyui, I will be with you with all my heart!))
Sasha, Well, yes, exactly, especially according to Romanova, they pushed through after all. Not a supporter of Bogali, but personally I prefer her, because her departure does not look as illusory as the first one.
Tanyui, Volkov has a chance, but it’s very small. He is now in thirtieth place in the OZ. After the sprint and the GP, he will of course be pushed back, but he will still be a distant contender. Maybe many people will not run the mass start.
Katya, well, that’s what I was grilling. gyyyy. They will explain this that Bogaliy is sick. gyyy. everything is known in advance.
but it will still be interesting to compare the newcomers with the first races of the old ones in km.
I guessed the composition of the men, but Romanova replaced Bogaliy with the women. not a cow.
Kate,
AIBT will run in the mass start, as indicated on the SBR.
Let Yana run, I will really root for her failure compared to the other girls (may her fans forgive me)
It is also indicated on the SBR that Volkov has a chance to get into the mass start, but he is not running the team and I don’t understand, what chance are we talking about?
Made up our minds
The men's team included Anton Shipulin, Evgeny Ustyugov, Dmitry Malyshko, Evgeny Garanichev, Timofey Lapshin, Andrey Makoveev, Maxim Burtasov and Sergey Klyachin.
The women's team will perform as follows: Olga Zaitseva, Svetlana Sleptsova, Ekaterina Glazyrina, Yana Romanova, Olga Vilukhina, Anastasia Zagoruiko, Ekaterina Shumilova and Marina Korovina, who will make her debut in the main team, replacing Anna Bogaliy-Titovets.
Anka has been displaced, and it looks like the ABT era is coming to an end. But Romanov’s “UNSINKABLE” is something! Perhaps we should call her the luckiest biathlete in the world!
Luytzija Bagautdinova, and the youngest does not yet have qualifications for km. he competed in the youth championships, not in the juniors.
SASHA, what about the younger Be? They promised to install it in Khanty, right?
Yuri Shcheglakov, not at home but at last stage km. You can declare in addition to the quota plus two people but no more if they are in the top 10 of the Aybia Cup.
By the way, what did the Norwegians do? They included Enga (5th in Aibiya) and did not include Kokkin (7th place in Aibiya). But Labelund was placed in eighth place. that is, here you can not necessarily put those who are in the total 10 on aybia, just plus two places, and who will be is at the discretion of the national team. federations
At the home stage, you can enter 8 people into the sprint.
If it's wrong, correct it.
Tatyana M., you can say seven can only run 6. six bases are shipulin garanichev ustyug makoveyev malyshko lapshin. but let the rest fight
Sasha, instead of who they will make noise, at the stages only 6 people can be declared, which means someone from the squad will be cut off, I’m afraid that it will be Malyshko and Shipulin.
Tatyana M., flower logins have not yet made it to the km according to any rules. They'll start making some noise next year. and why, according to sporting principles, should there not be a World Cup bronze medalist? Shipulin has so far been selected from ours for next year for km. I think there will be Makoveev Ustyug and Garanich, both from the top 15 total. but logins flowers through wolves baby noodles will fight for the remaining three vouchers
That's it, the athletes have arrived! Opening today!
Tatyana M., you won’t please... There are few promising ones, like women - darkness, many like men - there will be none. Now what's the point of guessing on the coffee grounds?
Sasha, they are darkening and scratching their turnips, but what to do with Loginov, Tsvetkov, there will be Tcherezov, Volkov needs to be put in because he is local. By the way, according to the “sports” principle, Shipulin should not be there, which means he will be eliminated from 10, and Malyshka and Garanichev need to gain a foothold at 15 in order to get to December without selection, it’s scary to think what will happen to the guys next year, when Tcherezov and (God forbid) return Maksimov) They will hang out like cards and will be nothing for the World Cup. There is complete darkness with women.
Oh, it’s not all Maslenitsa for the cat :)) Don’t sleep at night all season, that’s not a pound of raisins for you!
Tatyana M., no no. I think it's getting dark again.
smari cho. ours can put eight people in a sprint for men and women.
men should be Ustyug, Makoveev, Shipulin, Garanchev, Malyshko, Lapshin. only 6 turns out. Burtasov and Klyachin were selected for the Aibiya. That means it's already eight. But what should we do with Volkov? But what to do with Semakov7, he qualified for the World Cup, but figs, those rules don’t allow Aybiy. That's why they thought.
Women should be Zaitseva Vilukhina Sleptsova Bogaliy Glazyrina. only 5 who qualified for the World Cup. but glazyrina didn’t run, so she must be there. In addition, Korovin and Shumilova were selected for the Aibiya. In total it turns out to be 7. but I also qualified for the World Cup and Zagoruiko. that means 8. what should we do with Romanov? She's just like that, I was already 17 years old at the World Cup. and here they are thinking how to please Barnashov and not become fools.
It infuriates me that they are all muddy there. It’s clear that there should be glaze. She is higher overall than Romanova and in terms of results is better by km. you can’t put Korovina, but for Romanova it’s generally high, it will rise because how is it that Romanova has one first place in total and Korovina has as many as five. It won't work either. Should I change Zagoruiko to Romanova chol? but she also has one first place at the World Cup and she also qualified for the World Cup. won't work. Who then remains to be replaced with Romanova Shumilov. She doesn’t have the first place for aybia, she only has two second places. but she is fifth in the overall aibiya, that is, in the top ten and has the right to start in Khanty. In addition, she qualified for the World Cup.
so what to do? Who should I replace Romanov with? no one. and they are waiting for someone to get sick. Romanov must definitely, her rating has dropped significantly and she is not included in the first team for the off-season. That means then Barnashov is useless and Omsk will kick him out. so what? Am I talking right?
Sasha,
either Guba or one of their coaches completely lied and said that the opponents were afraid and nervous when they ran with our guys. Let them be more nervous)
Sasha, after all, ours has a rotation, they think as if sporting principle observe and don’t miss the nation’s cup
The coaching staff of the Norwegian national team has named the team for the ninth stage of the World Cup, which will be held this week in Khanty-Mansiysk.
Women: Thura Berger, Tiril Eckhoff, Bente Losgård Lanheim, Ane Skruve Nossum, Elise Ringen, Sinnøve Sulemdal.
Men: Lars Helge Birkeland, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Rune Brattsveen, Tarjei Bo, Martin Eng, Henrik L'Abe Lund, Alexander Us, Emil Hegle Svensen, according to the official website of the Norwegian Biathlon Union.
question for tsh. Will we always be the last in the whole world to find out the composition of the Russian national team?
Tough! Now watch only in the recording when the result is known!
We urgently need to make a route on Sakhalin! So that those who can’t sleep live can watch it...))
The coaches of the French national team have named the team composition for the final stage of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk.
The team’s application for the Russian stage almost completely repeats the application for the World Championship - with the exception of Vincent Jay, who ended the season ahead of schedule.
France national team composition
Women: Anise Besco, Sophie Boily, Marine Bollier, Marie Laure Brunet, Marie Doreen Habert.
Men: Jean-Guillaume Beatrix, Alexis Boeuf, Martin Fourcade, Simon Fourcade, Ski-Nordique reports.
The coaches of the Slovak national team have named the squad that will perform at final stage Biathlon World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk.
Men: Dusan Szymoczko, Pavol Hurait.
Women: Anastasia Kuzmina, Yana Gerekova, Martina Khrapanova.
For some it’s time, but for me it’s a disaster! Why not watch the last starts in the sprints, where the issue of CN will be decided, live?!.. Oh-oh-oh-oh... Something needs to be done!
Today I will either change shifts or ask for time off for further work (I just need to come up with some significant “family circumstance”)
They will root for at least 7 of our people to make it to the mass start.
Well, they showed a pig, which means that in Khant-Mantiysk the disgusting behavior will continue with the World Cup
november, thank you))
It's time for me :))
Denis, you know that Spartak is the champion! And our biathletes are not magicians, they are just learning: they gave us such a pig at the last World Cup in Ruhpolding, that’s why there is a pig on TV.
Why is Spartak on TV? They seem to have scored and are happy! :))
Such a fun and endlessly creative slogan could be invented for the men's mass start at the ninth stage of the Biathlon World Cup. Tyumen said goodbye to the season with incredible spectator records, after which no Canada or USA should ever receive the right to host biathlon. Is it just the right to boycott him for life?
Biathlon, World Cup. Maxim Tsvetkov won the mass start. How it was
All events on March 25 at the Biathlon World Cup in Tyumen. News, interesting facts, chips of the day, photos and videos - in our chronicle.
Okay, this isn't as important as fighting. Anton Shipulina for third place in the overall World Cup standings. He could enter the top three for the fourth time in a row - a powerful result hitherto unavailable to either Soviet or Russian biathletes. And everything was in his hands: take any place in the top 15 and don’t look back at Peiffer - the only one who could interfere.
Among the leaders
And Anton took first place from the start and slowly pulled everyone along with him. The leader of the Russian national team didn’t last long; by the 2.4 km cutoff he was already eighth, but he was getting closer to the top Alexander Loginov. Before entering the line, Shipulin was already 7 seconds behind the leader, made a mistake and, together with Loginov, went to one penalty loop. The best of ours was Babikov, who, like Malyshko and Tsvetkov, worked to zero.
Peiffer, by the way, hit everything and came out in ninth place. He definitely had to finish in the top three, otherwise the German would lose even his theoretical chances of third place in the overall standings. However, Arnd somehow moved very sluggishly along the distance and by the 4.5 km cutoff he lost even to Tsvetkov. And Max, together with Babikov, finally caught up with the leading German Doll.
The same funeral
And not only did they catch up, they also led the race after the second milestone. Tsvetkov was first, Babikov was half a second behind him. They rolled right there Lindström, Christiansen and Peiffer. Shipulin shot successfully and was in 16th place. So far, his overall bronze medal was not particularly threatened. By the 7.5 km cutoff, Loginov also crept up on the group of leaders, but he had a mistake.
12 biathletes arrived at the line at the same time; any of them, with successful and fast shooting, could come out on top. And Loginov did it. Tsvetkov shot a little slower and ended up sixth at the exit line. And then Peiffer finally lost that very third place to Shipulin. Two of his misses against the Russian’s perfect shooting – and now Anton is already 10th, and the German is 19th. This is the same funeral...
Or maybe a medal?
Now we could fully worry about the Russian medal. Loginov was in the lead, but five seconds behind him were seven rivals, including Tsvetkov. Shipulin was 14 seconds behind Loginov, in the old days he would still have remained one of the favorites and would almost certainly have eaten up this gap before the fourth shooting.
But not today. Even the neighborhood Johannes Boe did not give anything to the Russian: the Norwegian himself was in, to put it mildly, imperfect shape. That is, all hopes were pinned only on Loginov and Tsvetkov. And first of all, with their perfect shooting in the second “stand”.
Or maybe gold?!
Loginov missed twice, but Tsvetkov still hit. And taking into account the fact that they applied everything from the heart, Maxim turned out to be the leader of the race. Together with the Norwegian Bjontegård, he ran away from the shooting range and hurried after them in 10 seconds Yakov Fak, he was eaten up by the Bo brothers. Naturally, Tsvetkov did not yet have any medal in his pocket, because the gap was small, and his opponents were serious.
But 1.5 km before the finish, we simply had to believe in our medal. Tarjei Boe and Fak fell off, only the younger Boe remained, but he gained almost nothing back and was 10 seconds behind.
Tsvetkov came out on top and rushed forward...
Victory
Centimeter by centimeter, second by second, the Russian eluded Bjontegård. He held on and puffed, but could not catch up. Half a kilometer before the finish, Tsvetkov’s advantage reached 3.5 seconds. Max still had strength, his movements were easy and effective, so it was a victory. Unexpected, beautiful. Long-awaited, but late.
Shipulin retained his third place overall, and is now arguably the best biathlete in the history of the USSR and Russia. At least, no one has been able to do this before. After all, a personal medal at the Olympics or World Championships is just one race. And being in the top three of the best four years in a row is a level.
It’s cool that biathlon ends this way. But it's sad that it ends now.
