Retired stars. Bosom friends
Knie is a German biathlete. He was born in April of eighty-four in the city of Bad Berleburg. He competed for a club called VfL Berleburg. In two thousand and five he made his debut in the World Cup. In the season of two thousand eight and nine, he took first place, scoring four hundred and fifty-seven points. In the season two thousand nine - ten he takes third place, scoring five hundred and fifty-nine points.
Tony Lang on tour in Germany
Lang is a German skier and biathlete. He was born in April of eighty-two in the town of Hutturm, located in the federal states. He first began his performance in two thousand and seven in the World Cup. His best result was thirty-second place in Holmenkollen in the pursuit race. In 2009, Tony scored cup points five times and won the last two relay races.
Frank Luke
Frank Luke is a German biathlete. He was born in December 1967 in the town of Schmalkalden, which is located in the federal states of Thuringia. He is a two-time Olympic champion, eleven-time world champion, multiple Olympic and World Championship medalist.
Currently, Luke has completed his sports career. Since childhood, Frank has been fond of cross-country skiing, but by the age of eightie he switched to biathlon. Eight years later, at the age of twenty, Frank received the main right to participate in the start at the Winter Olympic Games, which were held in Calgary, where he completed - and showed the sixth time. The following year, Luke became a two-time world champion - he won two gold medals in the sprint and relay at the World Championships, which took place in Feistritz.
In the ninety-second year, as a result of illness, Frank was forced to miss the Winter Olympic Games held in Albertville, but two years later he became the champion at the Olympics, which was held in. Later there would be many more victories that would make Frank Luke one of the most titled biathletes of that time. However, he does not have a single World Cup to his credit. The season of two thousand three - two thousand four in his career was the last.
Let's start the second part of the material with a small football drama in which the famous Russian player was involved. Who are we talking about? The highlight of the program will be Yegor Titov, for whom Spartak and Football in general have long been the meaning of life. This is one of the most titled Russian football players, certainly among the attacking midfielders, whose career was full of both outstanding victories and unpleasant incidents.
Biography of Yegor Titov and doping scandal
Now about all of the above, but in as much detail and detail as possible. So, Yegor Ilyich Titov is a Russian football player who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Moscow, playing for Spartak, where he won many awards, including gold at the Russian Championship and the Russian Cup. He was also a player of the national team, and even served as its captain for some time. As part of the Russian national team, Egor Titov played 41 matches and scored 7 goals, the statistics are impressive - 21 wins, 10 draws and the same number of defeats (he played for the national team from 1998 to 2007).
Was born Egor Titov in a sports family, and we can say that his biography, career and fate in general were predetermined (he was obliged to become an outstanding athlete, which ultimately happened). By the way, the boy’s father (a master of sports in skating) dreamed that his son would follow in his footsteps and become a speed skater, but Yegor was much more attracted to football with its passion and team play. Therefore, from the age of eight, the future champion began training at the Spartak football school, under the auspices of the best specialists.
Starting in 1992, Yegor Titov played for Spartak (on the team from the age of 16), and since 1995 - in the main team. He joined the national team a few years later, in 1998. He made his debut in the qualifying match for the European Championship against France, which ended in a disappointing defeat for the Russians with a score of 2-3. By the way, a year later, Russian football players again clashed with the French as part of the qualifying round and managed to take revenge on the opponent’s field. The final result, 3-2 in favor of Russia, was sensational in many ways.
Biography of Yegor Titov in 2008 was marked by one extremely unpleasant incident. The footballer, having quarreled with the head coach of Spartak, was forced to leave the team (at that time, as part of the club, he had already repeatedly won the Russian Championship, the Russian Cup and other prestigious competitions). As a result, by agreement with former teammate Sergei Yuran, Egor moved to Khimki, without any compensation.
In the new club football player Egor Titov, whose goal statistics were outstanding, did not play long: on February 12, 2009, he left Khimki, and on the fifteenth he entered into a new agreement, this time his team was Lokomotiv Astana. But here, too, Yegor did not stay long, because in March 2010 (19th) he announced his retirement from big-time sports and his retirement. However, we note that the official end to the football player’s career was set only in 2012. On September 9, Yegor Titov’s farewell match took place against Dynamo Kyiv, which ended with a score of 5-3 in favor of Spartak. The game took place at the Lokomotiv stadium with full stands and was covered by many television channels.
Where is doping in this whole story and did Yegor Titov take it at all? There was doping, namely prohibited drugs, and a serious scandal unfolded against its background, with disqualification as a punishment. An incident occurred in 2004 on the eve of the European Championship. As it turned out, Yegor Titov used Bromantan (a nootropic drug) illegal in sports, so he was given a one-year disqualification.
Everything would have been fine, and the disqualification would not have been so terrible, because football player Yegor Titov at that time was already a famous athlete and his career, in fact, was not in jeopardy. However, due to his suspension from official competitions for a year, Yegor was forced to miss the 2004 European Championship, one of the largest tournaments for national teams, each victory in which is worth a lot of money, prestige and points in the UEFA rankings.
By the way, many fans, and even experts, believe that it was precisely because Yegor Titov did not go to the tournament that the Russian national team performed so poorly, losing 2 out of 3 of their matches in the group stage. This statement is, to put it mildly, strained, but perhaps there is some truth in it. Who knows, maybe Yegor Titov, for whom football was more than a job, as a captain and player of the main team could really bring meaning to the game of the national team and influence his comrades. For reference: “Russia” won its only victory in the match against “Greece”, the future sensational winner of the entire tournament.
Doping of cyclist Denis Galimzyanov
Now let's talk a little about cycling and consider, perhaps, one of the most famous scandals that occurred in this discipline. We deliberately do not touch Lance Armstrong, because, firstly, not everything is so obvious and clear, and secondly, everyone has known his story for a long time. It has been discussed so many times on television and in the press that there is hardly a person who has not heard about Lance and the drugs he allegedly consumed.
To the point: born on March 7, 1987 in the city of Sverdlovsk, he is a famous Russian road cyclist who has competed for “Team Katusha” for a long time. He is a representative of a small group of sprinters for Russian sports, who has achieved a huge number of victories at world stages (from 2006 to 2011 he won more than fifteen different races, showing excellent results).
A little about the biography and career that cyclist Denis Galimzyanov can rightfully be proud of. He began his performances in the amateur team “Premier”, as part of which he won several different stages of multi-day races, as well as, no less important, the “Five Rings of Moscow” tournament and the Mayor’s Cup. In 2008, after several outstanding performances, Denis moved to the professional club “Tinkoff Credit Systems”, which soon changed its name and general concept and became “Team Katusha”.
Denis Galimzyanov took part in his first Vuelta (one of the most prestigious cycling races, along with the Tour de France) in September 2010 and showed good results. He finished in the top ten five times, but eventually retired. The following year, the cyclist was already more confident and purposeful - he won two stages of stage races, but at the main start of the season (we are talking about the Tour de France), unfortunately, he retired at the equator. Denis Galimzyanov earned the most important achievement in his career in September 2011 - he won one of the oldest cycling races in the world, Paris-Brussels, after which he was awarded the honor of becoming captain of the team and taking part in the group race at the World Championships.
Unfortunately at the World Cup cyclist Denis Galimzyanov faced another setback. More specifically, in the last kilometers of the race he lost the wheel of his partner who was taking him to the head of the peloton and eventually finished only 11th. This incident did not bother the Russian athlete and a week and a half later he started at the first Tour of Beijing in China, where in the second stage he lost only to Heinrich Haussler, losing a few centimeters. There was also a victory in Beijing - athlete Denis Galimzyanov, as Wikipedia suggests, left all his rivals in the dust, finishing first at the final stage of the race (as a result he was also recognized as the best sprinter).
And now to the most interesting thing: in March of the year before last, 2012, during a test analysis, it turned out that Denis Galimzyanov used doping, prohibited drugs (the sample was taken as part of an out-of-competition doping control). More specifically, it was found that the cyclist used erythropoietin drugs, which help increase endurance and a number of other indicators. In an open letter, Denis fully admitted his guilt and confessed to doping, refusing the now unnecessary opening of the sample.
At the same time, Denis Galimzyanov clarified that he made the decision to use erythropoietin himself, and the team members were not aware of his action. He soon also added that he used doping for the first time shortly before the sample was taken, and purchased the drug itself on the Internet from one of the anonymous distributors. The management of the Katyusha team took this event very seriously and decided to suspend the athlete from all competitions until the end of the investigation and a statement from the Russian Cycling Federation. In December 2012, Denis Ramilievich Galimzyanov learned the price of his action; it was a two-year disqualification for using the above-mentioned erythropoietin.
Frank Luke's Illicit Drugs
Once again biathlon and again a major scandal, however, this time the athlete himself, without pressure from the press or public, admitted that he used doping drugs (Turinabol) to improve his physical fitness. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, but rather tell you who we are talking about and why we turned our attention to this particular case.
Frank Luke is the most famous and, perhaps, the most titled German biathlete, born on December 5, 1967 in the city of Schmalkalden, Germany, then the GDR, who has already officially ended his career. The athlete has many awards of the highest standard, won at the most prestigious world tournaments: 2 gold and 3 silver at the Olympic Games, 11 gold medals, 5 silver and 4 bronze at the World Championships (all this not counting victories and achievements of a smaller/local scale).
Frank Luke began competing and conquering biathlon for the GDR national team, and later for the German team, back in the late eighties/early nineties. Since childhood, the guy was fond of cross-country skiing, but fate decreed that in the 80s he had to switch to biathlon. Already in 1988, at the Olympic Games held in Calgary, Frank received the right to start with the national team. His debut cannot be called the most successful in history, but it was not a failure either - he took a fairly high sixth place in the sprint race.
The following year, Frank Luke, as Wikipedia writes, makes an incredible breakthrough and becomes a two-time world champion. Medals were won in the sprint race and relay race at the World Championships in Feistritz (Austria). Then Luke’s career developed offensively - his results grew, his achievements increased, but, unfortunately, in 1992, on the eve of the Olympics, he fell ill and, as a result, was unable to defend the colors of the national team.
Everything was corrected at the next Olympic Games in Lillehammer, where Frank Luke, as part of the national team, won gold in the 4 x 7.5 km relay race, and also won a silver medal in the most difficult individual race of 20 kilometers, losing only to Sergei Tarasov.
Subsequent Olympic Games in 1998 and 2002, in which biathlete Frank Luke He already performed as a multiple world champion and an Olympic champion, which were also quite successful for the athlete. At the tournament in Nagano he won gold - again in the 4 x 7.5 team relay race, and in Salt Lake City - two silvers (20 km individual race and 4 x 7.5 relay).
In the meantime, competing at the World Championships from 1998 to 2004, Frank Luke, whose biography is full of ups and downs, continued to prove his superiority again and again. During this period, he won the following awards at world championships: 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. In general, at the time of the official retirement in the 2003-2004 season, Frank became one of the most titled German biathletes, demonstrating excellent results in both running and shooting (accuracy indicators in the 2003/2004 season: lying - 93% of hits, standing - 90% hits, overall accuracy 91%).
You ask where is the doping, and when did Frank Luke take it? And here it is: in 2004, after finishing his sports career, the athlete made a statement in which he confirmed the use of prohibited drugs (presumably repeated use). According to the biathlete, he resorted to doping, namely the drug Oral Turinabol, while competing for the national team of the GDR, i.e. up until 1990.
For reference: Oral Turinabol or simply Turinabol, which was used by biathlete Frank Luke for a long time, is a steroid that helps increase strength, gives an increase in endurance and allows for an increase in lean and hard muscle mass. It was developed in the GDR in the middle of the 20th century (in 1961). By the way, you can buy Turinabol and order many other relevant and effective drugs in sports (fat burners, peptides, antiestrogens, etc.) easily and reliably in our store.
Tragedy and doping Antonio Pettigrew
Let's return to athletics and consider another, quite famous scandal that occurred in this area. The culprit this time was Antonio Pettigrew, who at the time of the incident was already both a renowned world champion and an Olympic champion as part of the national team (he won the relay race).
First, let’s tell you what the athlete’s biography is and what he is famous for Antonio Pettigrew, what awards he had (he was and still are), where and how he performed, and so on. So, the future champion was born on November 3, 1968 in the small town of Macon, in the central part of Georgia in the USA. He became interested in sports at a young age and this interest was so strong that by the age of 23 Antonio was able to reach heights unattainable not only for most of his peers, but also for many veterans of athletics.
If we look at everything from a sporting point of view, then Antonio Pettigrew is, first of all, a famous American athlete who won the 400-meter race at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991, and also won Olympic gold in the 4x400-meter relay in 2000 year in Sydney. Subsequently, he was stripped of his medal, as were his compatriots who fled with him, but more on that later. He also had other prestigious achievements, in particular, in the same year 1991 (World Championships in Tokyo), as part of the national team he managed to finish second in the 4x400 relay race, bringing a silver medal to the USA. Then Antonio Pettigrew, as a runner, won the relay races at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, 1999 in Seville and 2001 in Edmonton. In general, he had many titles in his career.
However, as with most of the stories told above, Antonio's career had not only major ups, but also major downs. What is it about? About a case that occurred in 2008: during the trial of former coach Antonio Pettigrew, he admitted that he had repeatedly used growth hormone and erythropoietin as doping since 1996. The consequences were not long in coming - the athlete and his teammates were deprived of Olympic medals for winning the relay in 2000, and the World Championships gold medals and titles that he had won since 1997 were also taken away from him.
After what happened runner Antonio Pettigrew, almost all of whose career achievements had been crossed out, took up coaching, fortunately he had enough experience and skills. In particular, he led the University of North Carolina team for some time until tragedy occurred: on August 10, 2010, Pettigrew was found dead in the back seat of his personal car. Suspicious white powder (presumably drugs) was also found inside the car. The police in their statements expressed a theory about a possible suicide (there is no information about the results of the investigation).
Biography of track and field athlete Tim Montgomery
Again, athletics (one gets the impression that it is in this discipline that doping is most often used, but this is not so, it’s just that athletics accounts for most of the famous scandals regarding the use of prohibited drugs), and again a scandalous story involving a titled athlete who has won more than one gold medal.
But first, a biography: Tim (Timothy) Montgomery is an American track and field athlete, born on January 25, 1975. In 2005, he was accused of taking steroids, as a result, almost all of his achievements were annulled, including the world record at a distance of 100 meters - 9.78 seconds. After the forced end of his career, the athlete was convicted, but not for doping, but for forging checks in New York, as well as heroin trafficking (he was caught in Virginia). Since 2008, he has been imprisoned in a US prison.
But I think you are not interested in this (at least not only this), but in what kind of athlete Timothy Montgomery was, what medals he won and what he achieved. Let's start from afar: before taking up athletics, Timothy played American football and basketball at a professional level for a long time. He studied first at Brenham College, and later, starting in 1994, at Norfolk State University, located in Hampton Roads and famous for its track and field team. He competed in athletics for the first time during his studies - he took part in several junior athletics competitions and showed good results in the sprint race and relay race.
In 1996, as a runner, he took part in the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games (in the 100-meter race), but, unfortunately, did not qualify, so in Atlanta he was involved only in the 4 x 100 relay race, in which, By the way, the Americans won the silver medal (they lost to the Canadian team). In 1997, Montgomery competed at his first World Championship. The result is a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint. At the 1999 World Championships, he was unable to show the same high result in the individual sprint race, but he won a gold medal in the relay.
History partly repeated itself at the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000), where Timothy Montgomery again won the relay (he did not participate in the individual races). Let us separately note the year 2002, which for Montgomery became one of the most successful in his career. The fact is that this season he managed to set a world record. With a tailwind of 2.0 m/s, Tim Montgomery ran the 100-meter dash in 9.78 seconds, breaking the previous world record set by Maurice Green (a difference of 0.01 seconds).
By the way, this is where Timothy Montgomery’s sports biography ended, since a long disqualification awaited him in the future. In more detail, shortly before the qualifying competitions for the 2004 Olympics, which Tim failed miserably (qualified seventh), the US Anti-Doping Agency convicted him of using prohibited substances. The athlete told the press that the steroids were given to him and several other athletes from the United States by specialists from the BALCO laboratory from San Francisco. The result of this incident was a severe disqualification of 4 years (a long period for a single offense).
However Timothy Montgomery, who was planning to attend both the World Championships and the Olympic Games, did not agree with this decision of the judges and filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne. Here another failure awaited him - on December 12, 2005, the final verdict was adopted, according to which the disqualification was only slightly reduced - to two years. All the athlete’s results and awards won since March 31, 2001, including the world record, were also annulled.
After the verdict was announced, track and field athlete Tim Montgomery decided to end his career, leaving doping and the scandals associated with it in the past. It turned out poorly for him, to put it mildly, because in 2008 he was again caught using prohibited substances - this time before the 2000 Sydney Olympics (it is assumed that he used testosterone and growth hormone). But that’s not all: in 2006, the athlete was arrested in a money laundering case, and in 2008 he was accused of selling heroin (found guilty in both cases).
From: AthleticPharma.com
Klaus Siebert(German) Klaus Siebert; April 29, 1955, Schlettau, Saxony, East Germany) - former GDR biathlete, 1980 Olympic silver medalist in the relay, three-time world champion, multiple world championship medalist, World Cup winner. In 1984 he began coaching the GDR junior team. From 2006 to 2008 he was the head coach of the Chinese biathlon team. Since 2008, Siebert has been working as the coach of the Belarusian national team.
Olympic vice-champion (relay); 3-time world champion (2 relays, 1 IG); World Championship bronze (1 relay, 2 sprints); winner of the BHG season 1978-1979
Here is a video of Zibych talking about Russia:
Friedrich "Fritz" Fischer (German) Friedrich "Fritz" Fischer; September 22, 1956, Kielheim, Bavaria, Germany) - former German biathlete, Olympic champion, two-time world champion, World Cup winner in the 1987-1988 season. He played for the German national team. Until 2007, he was one of the coaches of the German biathlon team.
Sports achievements and medals:
Olympic champion (relay); vice-champion of the Olympic Games (relay); Olympic bronze (relay); 2-time world champion (1 relay, 1 team race); 2-time vice-world champion (1 relay, 1 team race); 3 bronze (2 relay, 1 IG); holder of BHG.
Frank Ulrich(German: Frank Ullrich; January 4, 1958, Trusenthal, Thuringia, East Germany) - East German biathlete and coach. Four-time World Cup winner (1978, 1980, 1981, 1982). 1980 Olympic champion in sprint, two-time silver (1980 - in the 20 km individual race and in the relay) and bronze (1976 - in the relay) Olympic medalist, nine-time world champion.
Ulrich's father was a judge at biathlon competitions. Frank Ullrich's first performance took place in 1967 at the national championship of the GDR. In 1972, he took 5th place in the race at the Spartakiad. In 1975, he became the champion of the Youth World Championship in the relay race. Bronze medalist in the relay race at the 1976 Winter Olympics. And at the 1980 Olympics, he won a gold medal in the sprint and a silver medal in the individual race, losing to our biathlete Anatoly Alyabyev. At the same time, at the Olympic Games-80, as part of the GDR team, he became a silver medalist in the 4 x 7.5 km relay.
Frank Ullrich in Ruhpolding in 2005
He became the owner of the BHG four times (1978, 1980, 1981, 1982). Only Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has won the World Cup more often - 6 times.
Since 1988, Frank Ullrich has been the head coach of the German men's biathlon team. In 2010, he is going to leave his post, saying: “Leaving in 2010 does not mean the end of the world for me. It will just end a certain period in my life. A period dedicated to professional sports. First I was an athlete, then just a coach, and then became a mentor to the national German team. Actually, I wanted to leave back in 2006, but our president asked me to stay until the 2014 season. In the end, we discussed everything and agreed that I would leave my post in 2010. After the Olympics, I will look for new guidelines , although there will be nothing truly new in them." (interview for rusbiathlon.ru, December 2008).
After the 2007-2008 season, three athletes from the German national team refused to train under Frank Ullrich - Michael Greis, Andreas Birnbacher and Daniel Graf. At that time, the leader of the German team, Michael Greis, criticizing Frank Ullrich, said that the environment in the team should be freer: “Ullrich has done a lot for biathlon, but times have changed.” After this, the national federation decided that Frank Ullrich would leave his post not in 2014, as previously expected, but in 2010.
Sports achievements and medals:
Olympic champion (1 relay); 2-time Olympic vice-champion (1 IG, relay); bronze (relay); 9-time world champion (4 relays, 2 IG, 3 sprints); World Championship bronze (relay).
Peter Angerer(German) Peter Anger; July 14, 1959, Siegsdorf, Bavaria) - West German biathlete, 1984 Olympic champion in the 20 km individual race, 2-time silver (1984 - in the sprint, 1988 - in the relay) and bronze (1980, 1984 - in the relay) Olympic medalist games. World Cup winner 1982-1983. In the spring of 1984, when Peter Angerer, who had recently brought from Sarajevo the first Olympic gold medal in the history of German biathlon, complained to his friend gunsmith Peter Fortner from Rohrdorf about the Germans' lagging behind in the speed of reloading rifles. The conversation took place in a friendly conversation, and therefore the gunsmith personally did not take this proposal seriously. However, when the DSV (German Ski Federation) allocated him 400,000 marks to create a biathlon rifle with quick reloading and an Anschutz 1427 model rifle for such a conversion, Fortner set to work with full dedication. The German gunsmith, during four weeks of work in a workshop located in the basement of his own house, created a prototype of a new bolt. Already in February 1985, Walter Pichler and Ernst Reiter started at the World Championships in Ruhpolding with a Fortner rifle, giving the new product a positive assessment. And in 1986, Peter Angerer and his long-time team partner, Fritz Fischer, shot from the “Anschutz biathlon rifle model 1827 Fortner system.” Sports achievements and medals:
Olympic champion (IG); 2-time Olympic vice-champion (1 relay, sprint); 2 Olympic bronzes (relay, sprint); 2-time world vice-champion (1 relay, 1 sprint); 4 bronze (3 relay, 1 IG).
Frank-Peter Rech(German) Frank-Peter Roetsch; April 10, 1964, Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany). famous East German biathlete, two-time Olympic champion, five-time world champion.
Sports achievements and medals:
2-time Olympic champion (sprint, IG); vice-champion of the Olympic Games (IG); 5-time world champion (2 relays, 1 IG, 2 sprints); 5-time world vice-champion (3 relays, 2 IG).
At the 1987 World Championships he repeated the achievement of Valery Medvedtsev, becoming the absolute world champion. As of 2011, he is one of two biathletes who are absolute world champions.
Frank Luke(German) Frank Luck; born December 5, 1967, Schmalkalden) is a German biathlete, two-time Olympic champion, eleven-time world champion, multiple medalist of the Olympic Games and World Championships, who has now completed his career.
His compatriots called Luke “a medal-winning machine.” He won Olympic gold as part of the German relay at the 1994 and 1998 Games. And he had one of the longest sports careers in biathlon, since Luke's Olympic debut was back in 1988 in Calgary. Now only the great Ole Einar Bjoerndalen can surpass him. Due to injuries sustained in a car accident, he missed the games in Albertville. But having recovered, he received his first Olympic gold in Lillehammer. His wife, Andrea, is the sister of two-time World Cup winner Sven Fischer.
Gambling hunter. After the end of the 1998 Olympic season, he intended to stop competing, but he still runs and wins. The last medals were two Olympic silvers in Salt Lake City and a victory in the sprint at the 2001-2002 World Cup in Holmenkollen.
Sports achievements and medals:
2-time Olympic champion (relay); 3-time Olympic vice-champion (1 relay, 2 IG); 2 Olympic bronze (relay, sprint); 11-time world champion (5 relay, 2 sprint, 1 pursuit, 2 team racing); 5-time world vice-champion (1 relay, 1 sprint, 2 team races, 1 pursuit); 4 bronzes (3 relay, 1 IG).
Based on materials from online sports publications.
The first to come into the spotlight were the legendary German biathletes Katrin Apel, Ricco Gross and Uschi Diesl, who recently led the German team to victories and medals, and now watch its successes and failures from the sidelines.
Catherine APEL - not a day without sports
If you list all of Apel’s hobbies and interests, the lives of other ex-athletes will seem boring and monotonous. For example, immediately after retiring from her career due to health problems, a German woman trained as a physiotherapist and practices in a medical center. In addition, Apel is a true fan of fitness and healthy eating. On her official website she talks in detail about what you can and should eat. With typical German pedantry, she calculates the caloric content of all dishes and tells how to burn these calories. Apel also promotes a new type of fitness - the so-called Nordic walking, or Nordic Walking. It uses special poles that resemble ski poles. Apel claims that this type of fitness allows you to burn much more calories than regular walking, and invites everyone to walk with her through the picturesque places of her native Germany.
For the second year now, the ex-biathlete, together with famous athletes and politicians of Germany, has been participating in the charity program of the country’s president - the “Tour of Hope” bike ride. The goal of the event is to raise funds for the treatment of children with cancer. Thus, during the “Tour of Hope 2009” we managed to earn almost one and a half million euros!
“During the bike ride, we met a woman whose daughter was cured thanks to the money received during the previous event,” recalls Apel. “There were tears of gratitude running down her cheeks, and I burst into tears too. After such meetings you realize that you are not living in vain.”
Giving happiness to others is wonderful, but Apel has not yet been able to build her own happy family. When Apel announced her retirement, she admitted that she dreams of a wedding with her lover Thomas Burmann, a big house and children. Burmann, by the way, is also a biathlete in the past, but against the backdrop of the successful Apel, his meager achievements, frankly speaking, pale into insignificance. However, Burmann has found himself in a different field - he holds a high position in a ski lubricant production company. This is the answer why at one time Apel’s skis glided better than others. Burmann and Apel have been together for a long time, but there is still no word about the wedding...
Ricco GROSS - a good fairy with a macho appearance
Gross is one of the most titled German biathletes. He became an Olympic champion four times, and won the world championship nine times. In 2007, Gross said goodbye to biathlon, after which the German men's team seemed to be orphaned. However, unlike Apel, the German does not miss big-time sports. Moreover, he is now on the other side of the barricades: he has been working as an expert for the German TV channel ARD for several years and will go to the Olympics as a journalist.
“I don’t feel nostalgic for the stress that always accompanies the lives of athletes,” says Gross. — For example, I received a pass to Vancouver a long time ago. All athletes are worried, but I am sure that I will be at the Olympics. The only downside is that I won’t bring a medal this time. But I’ll tell you everything about everyone!”
Gross successfully combines his work as a commentator with work with German junior biathletes, and is also involved in organizing regional competitions. It is Gross who has the know-how in educating young athletes: over the past three years, personal sponsors from large companies have been sought for the most talented in Germany. So Gross is a real good fairy for young people. True, this fairy has the appearance of a real macho. The German press claims that not today but tomorrow Gross will become the new coach of the women's national team.
However, Gross does not limit himself to work only. He considers the main achievement of his life not the Olympic gold medals, but his large family - his wife, three sons and a white Labrador. In his spare time, Gross enjoys riding motorcycles and playing golf professionally. By the way, the ex-biathlete is sure that it was his passion for golf that helped him improve his shooting quality, because in both cases extreme concentration is required. You can trust Gross’s words - in the 2003/2004 season he was recognized as the most accurate biathlete on the planet.
It is curious that his eldest sons followed in the footsteps of their athlete father: Marco had already achieved his first successes in ski jumping, and Simon preferred golf.
Ears DIZL - Love Virus
Another representative of the German team, Uschi Diesl, ended her phenomenal career immediately after the Games in Turin. At the age of sixteen, she changed skiing to biathlon and was not mistaken. Diesel is a medalist at five Winter Olympics, a 19-time medalist and an 8-time world champion. And ski training more than once helped the biathlete, who was not known for her accurate shooting. It was no coincidence that fans nicknamed her Turbo Diesel because she regularly won medals thanks to her speed despite numerous mistakes on the shooting range.
In January 2007, Diesl, who said goodbye to biathlon, gave birth to a daughter, Hannah. The former athlete herself decided to try herself as a commentator and began working on the ARD channel together with her former teammate Ricco Gross. However, three months ago, Diesl came to the conclusion that journalism was not her path. However, she immediately promised that she would never leave the world of sports. And she didn’t lie.
Now Diesel is the face of a company that produces equipment for cyclists, and regularly participates in various advertising campaigns. The ex-biathlete herself, by the way, is also not averse to going on a bike ride with little Hannah.
It also turned out that Diesel is a big lover of pets. For several years now she has had a black dog named Virus, who loves nothing more than to lie on her owner’s bed. Diesel only scolds him for this, but never drives him away. The athlete is also reluctant to leave Virus at home alone, but nothing can be done - she has to travel all over the world for work. Sometimes business trips turn into more serious problems. Returning from a trip to Sweden in December, mother and daughter felt unwell. It turned out that they had caught swine flu. Fortunately, Diesel and her child recovered quickly. But the superstitious athlete still insists that all the bad things happen when the family is not together.
But really, what about the family? Where is Hannah's dad and why does the faithful dog Virus always stay home alone? Well, let's reveal the secret. Diesl's beloved is the serviceman of the Norwegian national team, a native of Sweden, Thomas Soderberg. Well, he can’t leave Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Emil Svendsen to their fate, and therefore he’s constantly on the road. So poor Diesel has to be torn between work, her daughter and her beloved man. So, the other day she promised on her official website that she would definitely come to Ruhpolding for the World Cup. And we will believe that the athlete simply missed... biathlon.
Sportbox.ru continues a series of materials dedicated to biathlon stars of past years who, having “retired”, are looking for themselves in new areas of life. This time we will talk about married couples brought together by biathlon - Liv-Gret and Raphael Poire, Magdalena and Henrika Forsberg, Florence and Julien Robert, as well as Ole Einar Bjoerndalen's wife Nathalie Santer.
Liv-Gret and Raphael Poiret are biathlon parents
In the last days of the past year, the famous French biathlete Raphael Poiret had an accident while riding an ATV near his home. The eight-time world champion underwent a difficult twelve-hour operation and is recovering very slowly, but, according to doctors, there is no threat to his life. Raphael's wife, the famous Norwegian Liv-Gret Poiret, says only one thing: “My husband is strong, he can handle it...”
The idyll in the Poiret family has always aroused admiration among fans and colleagues. The friendship of two successful biathletes, as happens in romance novels, one day grew into an ardent passion, which the athletes carefully hid for several years. But you can’t hide an awl in a bag. Their relationship became a national treasure after the 2000 World Cup, when the lovers celebrated their victories with a passionate public kiss. A few months later they got married, and Liv-Gret Skjelbreid became Madame Poiret. And three years later, on January 27, 2003, she gave her husband a daughter, Emma.
“A child is the best a person is capable of,” says Monsieur Poiret. — I’m not annoyed by children’s crying, or the fact that I often don’t get enough sleep. But every day I see my wife’s happy eyes, and this is the best reward for me!”
A year after the birth of her daughter, the beautiful Norwegian gained excellent physical shape and spent perhaps her most successful season, becoming the winner of the World Cup and four-time world champion in Oberhof. Before her, none of the Norwegian biathletes had achieved such results. However, after an unsuccessful performance at the Games in Turin, she decided to say goodbye to the sport. “I want to break up with biathlon because of Emma,” the athlete explained. “I had a good childhood, and I don’t want to deprive my daughter of it.”
Soon her husband also hung up his rifle. In an unequal battle, family values prevailed over biathlon. As if in gratitude to her husband, Liv-Gret soon gave birth to a second girl, Anna, and at the end of 2008, a third, Lena. “Brides for the three sons of Ricco Gross,” fans joke.
What if another girl is born into the Poiret family? Then, in 15-20 years, an invincible relay team of sisters may appear on the biathlon arena! Another thing is, which country will she compete for? Currently, a large and friendly family lives in Norway. Moreover, Rafael shocked all the French when, in tandem with Olympic champion Egil Eland, he began working as a shooting coach in the Norwegian team. Athletes, especially young ones, idolize their mentor, because Poiret has always been an excellent shooter. And I learned the training methodology under the patronage of my former main rival, and now good friend, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. At one time they even trained together.
The great Norwegian, by the way, is not going to follow in the footsteps of his friend Poiret. He doesn’t think about children, but plans to continue performing until the Olympic Games in Sochi. Bjoerndalen's wife, former Italian biathlete Natalie Santer, who has already finished her career, has repeatedly said that she wants children, but nevertheless treats her husband's life's work with understanding. However, Bjoerndalen promised that he would try to ensure a new addition to the family after he finished with sports.
But Liv-Gret Poiret does not share the position of her compatriot and skillfully combines business with pleasure. Namely, maternal responsibilities and work as an expert commentator on Norwegian television, and is also the marketing director of one large advertising project. Liv-Gret's fans still can't come to terms with the fact that their favorite is no longer on the track, and they live in hope that the athlete will come to her senses and return. However, Madame Poiret assures that she will never set foot in biathlon again, even at the level of competitions between veterans. “I love my family and my babies too much,” she says. “I deserve this happiness - to be a mother, and I’m not going to give it up!”
Magdalena and Henrik Forsberg - incomplete happiness
In 2002, Swedish biathlete Magdalena Forsberg ended her brilliant career. She became famous for her incredibly accurate shooting, thanks to which for six years, from 1997 to 2002, no one could move her from first place in the overall World Cup standings. Before her, no athlete in winter sports had managed this. Even legendary skier Bjorn Deli won the Crystal Globe only five times. Once Forsberg even had to return to the stage twice to take away all the prizes won at the end of the season... However, she never managed to become an Olympic champion. Forsberg's achievements at the Games are limited to two bronze medals. So, during one of the races in Salt Lake City, the athlete needed just one accurate shot to make her dream come true. “Everyone expected gold from me so much that I simply couldn’t stand the pressure and failed shooting, although accuracy has always been my strong point,” she later said.
In the early 2000s, Forsberg's popularity in her native Sweden was off the charts, and TV ratings for races with her participation broke records. The current life of the ex-athlete is also connected with television. Following the example of many former colleagues, she works as a commentator and also hosts her own travel program on television. In addition, Forsberg is collaborating with a sports nutrition company.
A couple of years ago, Magdalena’s husband, Henrik Forsberg, also retired. Unlike his wife, he has never bathed in fame and does not have high titles. But, according to the ex-biathlete, he became the best man in the world for her. Their wedding took place in 1997, but the couple still has no children. To the question “why?” the athlete answers evasively: “Henrik and I dream of children, but... it won’t be now, a little later. To be honest, I don’t have enough time to get pregnant! I have a lot of work and too many plans. For example, she will go on a trip with her husband.”
Florence Baverel-Robert and Julien Robert - travel can wait
The Robert couple entered the sport at the same time in 1994 and left it just as simultaneously in 2007. There is only one difference - at the beginning of their careers they were not husband and wife. Julien Robert was always a good shooter, but his ski training often let him down. The Frenchman considers his main achievements to be bronze medals as part of the relay quartet at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake and Turin, as well as gold at the 2001 World Championships in Pokljuka. But his wife Florence Baverel-Robert has more impressive awards in her treasury: Olympic gold in Turin in the sprint and nine medals at world championships.
Monsieur Robert admits that he does not miss sports at all and enjoys the freedom. The Robert family's hobby is traveling. However, the couple is in no hurry to travel around the world, preferring to first explore every corner of their native France. “It’s easier than going to, say, Korea or Russia,” says the ex-biathlete. “Not that far, but incredibly interesting.”
But in the next couple of years, the Roberts will have to hold off on traveling. For a very good reason, however. On October 2, 2008, Julien and Florence gave birth to their long-awaited daughter, Rose. Now happy parents spend all their free time with their baby. It is curious that the young lady was born almost simultaneously with the third daughter of the Poiret family, Lena, whose birthday is October 11.
For almost two decades, the German trio - Sven Fischer, Rico Gross and Frank Luke - shone on the world's biathlon arenas. As part of a series of materials about the stars of past years, Sportbox.ru talks about two inseparable champion friends - Luke and Fischer.
Ice and fire
They say that there is no friendship in sports, and that rivals remain competitors in life. Fischer and Luke are a prime example of the fact that there are exceptions to any rule.
In 1980, young Frank Luke, following the example of his father and grandfather, took up cross-country skiing, but soon changed it to biathlon. “It always seemed to me a more spectacular and emotional sport,” explains the athlete. Fischer was more original - first he tried his hand at the queen of sports - athletics, but the tartan track and starting blocks lost the battle to the rifle and the ski track. “I always liked shooting more than running,” Fischer admits. The friendship between the two future biathlon stars began during their school years. They met thanks to the fact that Fischer’s first coach was Luke’s uncle, Stefan.
Tall and energetic, Frank Luke distinguished himself already at a young age and in 1988, at the age of 21, he qualified to represent the GDR at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, where he achieved sixth place in the sprint race. For Fischer, everything did not go as smoothly as for his friend - he went to titles, as they say, through thorns. When Luke was already shining on the world stage, Fischer could only boast of his achievements at junior competitions in Germany. Fischer was an accelerator, that is, he grew very quickly, but this did not help him, but rather hindered him. The athlete had serious problems with his knees, which led to surgery. His career was at risk. Fortunately, soon after the operation, Fischer began training, but he could not show good results, and this was completely inappropriate. In the 90s, along with the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the two strongest German biathlon schools merged. Only the best of the best could get into the team. Frank Ullrich, who at that time, as now, led the men's team, believed in Fischer and gave him a chance to prove himself. And Fischer did not disappoint. Already in December 1991, at the European Cup, he won the sprint in Hochfilzen, and following the results of his debut season as part of the first team, he became sixth in the overall World Cup standings.
Dad for two
Three years later, Luke and Fischer went together to the Olympic Games in Lillehammer. There they stood shoulder to shoulder for the first time on the podium after a 20-kilometer race: Luke received silver, Fischer bronze. “The day Sven won his first Olympic medal was the happiest day of my life. After birth, children, of course. I will never forget him,” said the biathlete’s father, Willy Fischer, who for a long time was the manager of both his own son and his friend Luke.
“How many victories do I have? How many titles? I have not the foggiest idea. - Sven Fischer never tired of repeating. “Only my father knows that.” He keeps a close eye on all my titles, as well as Frank’s achievements.”
Since then, the friends have tried on medals of various denominations together more than once and become an integral part of the invincible “German machine” - the relay team. The incredibly fast Fischer and the amazingly accurate Luke, like ice and fire, merged into a single whole, leaving their opponents without even the thought of victory. In 2004, Luke decided to end his sports career, while Fischer fought for titles until 2007, and ended his performances for a completely understandable reason. But more on that later.
Failed Kinship
“Sven and I have been through a lot of things over the years of our friendship, both good and bad,” says Luke. — In 1992, we even got into a car accident together. But we have always managed to be rivals on the distance and brothers outside the stadium at the same time.”
Luke and Fischer, by the way, really managed to become related, but this relationship did not last long. Of the millions of beautiful women living on Earth, Luke chose Sven’s sister Andrea, who was two years older than the biathlete, as his wife. It is noteworthy that their wedding took place exactly in the year when the friends first stood on the Olympic podium. True, the story about “they lived happily for a long time and died on the same day” turned out to not be about Frank and Andrea. In 2001, Luke, who by that time had become a father twice, ran away from his wife to the famous German snowboarder Sandra Farmand. Many, by the way, did not believe until recently that such a seemingly happy marriage had broken up. There were rumors that all this was nothing more than a cunning move, and that the lovers were only evading taxes. But all the i’s were dotted in March 2007, the year the Luke-Farmand couple had a daughter. It is not surprising that journalists and fans suspected that the long-standing friendship between Fischer and Luke was over.
As always, dad-manager Willy Fischer brought order. “There was no black cat between me, my son and Frank,” Fischer Sr. said bluntly. — If people no longer love each other, this is not a reason to spoil business and personal relationships. Sven and Frank are still friends."
And he didn’t lie. Luke, who after finishing his sports career works as a journalist for German television, once personally helped Fischer clean up the mess before interviewing him. This is real male friendship!
Fischer, unlike Luke, approached family life in more detail. However, for a long time, the biathlete and his chosen one, Doren, lived, as our grandmothers said, “in sin,” that is, in a civil marriage (according to rumors, it was again a matter of tax evasion). Even the birth of their daughter, who was named Emilia Sophie, did not force Sven and Doren to tie the knot. However, this event could not help but touch the soul of the athlete.
“Once, when I returned home from the next stage of the World Cup, my daughter threw herself on my neck with the words: “Dad, dad, I miss you so much, when will you be able to be at home more often?” - recalls Fischer. “My heart sank, and I realized that if I didn’t change something in my life, I would miss my child’s entire childhood.”
This is the answer why the great biathlete decided to end his career. In 2007, he was 36 and, according to his father, Fischer could compete at a high level for at least a couple more years.
“Honestly, I regret that my son finished biathlon without fully realizing himself,” says Vili Fischer. “But family is family, and no one has the right to condemn him.” He behaved like a real man."
After some time, the ex-biathlete finally decided to make drastic changes in his life. Contrary to public opinion that romance fades with age, Fischer came to his Doren, knelt down in front of her and asked for her hand. “He didn’t even fall to his knees at the finish line!” - his father laughs. On May 24, 2008, the long-awaited wedding took place. And soon Fischer had a son, Johan Alfrey.
Now Fischer, like Luke, works as an expert on the German TV channel ZDF. Friends are also used to relaxing together, fortunately they have similar hobbies. In their free time from work, ex-biathletes go hunting - this is their main hobby. Fischer is also a professional photographer, and is used to spending his vacations traveling with his family. I wonder, of course, if the Fisher family invites the Luke couple along for company? But this, however, is a completely different story.
Prepared from materials: Sportbox.ru
To be continued.
The three-time world champion remembers racing with Gross, Poiret and Fischer and helping Bjorn Ferry become an Olympic champion.
Weak link
When I competed in big-time sports, the Belarusian team's specialty was team racing and relay races. They were suitable for countries with a stable quartet of biathletes. The result in the team race always depended on the weakest link in the four. The faster the weakest ran, the higher the chances for the whole team. It is not customary to discuss who was the most unstable among us. A separate character in the relay quartet was Alexander Syman - a very slow shooter by nature, he could not speed up during shooting, but at least he “picked zero”. It seemed that Sasha had a chronic stupor, and until you gave him a slap on the head, he would not start shooting. He had one task: to shoot, albeit for a long time, but accurately. I believe that today in team racing the Russians should take the lead. The Norwegians can't shoot clean, the Germans are too slow, the Austrians and Czechs lack a fourth man, the French have a weak link that is dragging the team down, and the Belarusians don't have a competitive team at all.
French foppery
I have always disliked the imposing attitude that the French allowed during races. Today, the continuer of traditions is Martin Fourcade. At the World Championships in Nove Mesto in 2013, he approached the decisive shooting with a colossal reserve of strength. The Frenchman decided to engage his rivals and tried to speed them up right before the line. But most athletes have their own heads, each approaching shooting in their own rhythm. Nobody fell for Fourcade's provocation. As a result, Marten hit the milk with his first shot, most of the guys coped with the shooting and drove to the finish line. The Frenchman often gives up the fight when it comes to places outside the pedestal. This is unacceptable, especially when you are competing in team racing. Look at Domracheva: she is leaving her last strength in the relay. It is clear that Martin is the strongest in the team, but this is not an excuse. Over the years, I have observed a pattern: French women are magnificent, humane, noble, but men are somehow “unfinished,” many behave like women in racing situations. In Poiret's farewell start, Ole Einar snatched gold from him in a photo finish and did not allow the Frenchman to leave as a winner. I think if some Austrian had been in Raphael’s place, maybe the outcome would have been different. Poiret had a reputation for being hysterical, as did Fourcade, which perhaps explains Bjoerndalen's unyielding behavior.
Not Olympic, but the best
During my career, the coolest biathletes were Corinne Niogre and Martina Beck (Glagow), I was inspired by their shooting. Niogre was very confident in the shooting due to the female characteristics of the pelvic bones, it seemed that no wind could shake her. And the German woman had good motor skills. In men's biathlon, Lukas Hofer and Vladimir Cepelin can boast of this today. Irina Tananaiko once played for Belarus (and a little later for Ukraine); she had the nickname “clean machine”. Ira rarely missed, even if she shot slowly, but during the season she made fewer misses than the fingers on one hand. Bright athletes remain in the memory, who, perhaps, did not become Olympic champions, but had their own unique style. There are Olympic medalists and champions Sergei Novikov, Evgeniy Redkin, Elena Khrustaleva. I treat them very well. But it’s difficult for fans to remember any stories from their career, personality traits. And there are biathletes who, although they did not win globes, were unique and remembered forever.
Women's biathlon is a separate sport
Some may be offended by me, but I believe that there are two different sports: biathlon and women's biathlon. In the past, men would warm up during women's races on the track. We could never fully understand whether the girls were warming up or were already running at full speed, especially when they were without jackets. Women showed very low speeds compared to men. Therefore, for me, women's biathlon is a parody, but very beautiful :). Very few girls actually fight. In my time, there were some women who admired the way they fought. The same Norwegians Liv-Grethe Shelbrey (Poiret) and Gunn Margit Andreassen turned into predators and simply tore up the track. Or remember the German Neuner: when she approached the shooting range, everyone was mentally preparing for a disaster with five misses. Magdalena never learned to shoot, but she was remembered for her charisma and talent. The competition in women's racing is completely different. For the men, about forty people compete in a crazy rhythm for prizes, for the girls, six to eight athletes compete. At the Olympics in Sochi there were generally two separate types of programs - one was performed by Dasha Domracheva, the other was performed by everyone else. No one could compete with her; it was somewhat uninteresting to watch. And how many seconds do women lose when they get themselves in order right at the turn? When repeating the Olympic race, I even showed my wife how many seconds she lost fixing her makeup, hat, glasses, all that was left was to put on her lips. You can pay attention to the makeup that Soukalova runs around with. Men generally approach this differently. Take the same Bjoerndalen: covered in snot, he rushes to victory. Although I never understood - is it really difficult to dry yourself? It doesn't take any time at all.
Love behind the scenes
Bjorn Ferry's stories
In one of his first seasons at the World Cup, Ferry came to me after the race and said: “I realized that I couldn’t shoot at all. How do you do it?" I knew how to tactically plan the race and the Swede noticed it. For a long time I trained him in person and remotely, we spent hours on the phone. Ferry's Olympic medal may also be due to me. I was then offered to coach the Swedish national team as a shooting expert. But I understood that I didn’t want to take on unsystematic work so that they would suck all the brains out of me and say goodbye. By the way, the Swede was one of the first to react to my doping story with the message: “How could you!” I answered him briefly: “How little do you need to be disappointed in a person.” After the Games in Salt Lake City, I did not plan to continue competing for health reasons (my immune system was destroyed) and switched to coaching in Canada. I just didn’t have time to officially “round off” my career, smart athletes saw this and soberly assessed what was happening. The same Gross, at the first meeting, patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him: “Vadik, life is cruel, it happens.” Bjoerndalen also reacted with understanding to the incident. Everyone realized: I never ran on drugs, but was simply trying to recover during that period, and the doping scandal became a knife in the back of the retiring athlete. A year later, Ferry apologized for his words. The 14th Dalai Lama said: “Before you judge someone, take his shoes and walk his path.” I will not read the book “Ferry tales”. His revelations simply speak about the level of human culture. It's like talking about your ex-girlfriends. I’ve been in sports longer than Ferry, and I’ve accumulated more stories than he has. I just don’t do such nonsense, I don’t retell personal, intimate things.
Favorites and talents
My favorite biathlete of all time is Frank Luke. He is a competent athlete who was quite quick-firing, psychologically and stress-resistant, remained accurate in the wind and correctly distributed his forces along the route. Almost all biathletes have their own “zapadalovo”. The same Bjoerndalen has speed, but poor shooting, Andersen has a cool run, but disgusting statistics at the line. And Luke knew how to balance all the components and perform evenly. Of the racers, I always considered Lars Berger to be the coolest. He is the only biathlete to whom I would give a ten for running technique. My hair stood on end with admiration when Berger ran nearby. He moved so beautifully and powerfully across the distance that it was difficult to remain indifferent. Martin Fourcade's technique is elastic, proven, many call it exemplary. But Berger is a completely different bird.
Biathlon fails
Sometimes a stupid mistake could ruin the whole race. At one of the team starts at the World Championships, we were caught in heavy snow, and after two shots, Sasha Popov asked: “Where are you shooting?” It turned out that he was shooting at his installation. I re-prepared and covered my three targets with the remaining bullets. But Popov dealt with his three targets with four rounds, and one remained in his barrel. On the way down, he threw away the bullet and thought it would be okay. But I understood that sanctions awaited me at the finish line. We were later asked: why didn’t Popov fire his bullets at my installation? This is not prohibited. The Russians - Maigurov and Tarasov - did just that and did not receive any sanctions. We finished fourth in that race, but two added minutes dropped the team to the bottom of the protocol.
Great, but tough
Bjoerndalen showed who he is from the first races. The Norwegian has very high speed over the distance. But he can be caught speeding up, because Ole Einar is a thin athlete and often lacks muscle mass. At the World Championships in Slovenia, we fought with Ole for relay silver. As I approached the finish line, I had a margin of five meters, and I knew that I couldn’t let Bjoerndalen get closer. Norwegian skis always roll phenomenally – the best skiers in the world work on this. That relay was already the fifth championship race for me; before that, I had fought for a medal in each one, and I had no strength left. At the decisive shooting we distributed medals with Poiret, Rostovtsev and Bjoerndalen. Rafael was the first to escape from the line when we just started shooting. I competed with Pashka, who had two Pokljuka golds, and Ole Einar, who always remained the great Bjoerndalen. Shooting is a tactical game. It is important to be the first to fire and slow down your opponents. That's what I did. Pashka got stuck at the shooting range, probably flinched from our shots. And Ole Einar and I ran off to play for silver and bronze. I worked very hard on the climb, gave my last strength, and on the descent my lights just went out. I couldn’t keep my eyes open all the time, some photographic flashes flashed, my shoulder hit a tree, it’s surprising that I was able to reach the finish line at all. I still get goosebumps from these terrible memories. I snatched a second from Bjoerndalen and brought silver to Belarus, and started my stage fifth.
They squeezed the "snivel"
At the very beginning of the race, it is not customary to force a fight; it is important to take an advantageous position and skate at a calm pace, saving your strength for shooting and finishing showdowns. In one of the races in Pokljuka (I don’t remember what year) I led the peloton from the start, followed by Pasha Rostovtsev. And suddenly we noticed that the Norwegians were trying to force a fight, provoking the biathletes to speed up. Pashka whispered to me in Russian: “Vadik, we’re moving to the left, we’re pinning down the snotty guy” (that’s what we jokingly called Ole Einar). It seems rude to do this, but we carefully moved to the side, and the Norwegians rolled back to their places.
Invulnerable Sven
Physically, Sven Fischer was the strongest racer; he had no weaknesses. Look at Fischer's back and legs. Sven had the power that Bjoerndalen lacked. The top 10 shooters in world biathlon have always been distinguished by a high degree of reaction to delaying a shot. It seems that the shot should already be fired, but the athlete’s intuition kicks in: something may go wrong - and he begins the processing cycle again. This speaks volumes about the level of the shooter. Rozhkov, Rostovtsev, Poiret were examples of this. At the shooting range, a biathlete always hears: the opponent hit, missed, or was it a clearance. These different sounds - seemingly small things - can change the course of the fight. When leaving the shooting range, the rider may lightly touch the opponent's ski with the tip of his own or even with snow thrown off the ski. This makes the opponent very nervous, which is why top biathletes are excellent tacticians. Have I been hurt in this way? I don't remember. The fact is that I was usually the first to leave the line.
Gross. Work. "Friendship"
The most interesting finishing spurts I had were with Ricco Gross. He punished me twice at the finish line. My trump card is a strong shoulder girdle, Gross has very powerful legs. Here I could not compete with him. I remember that after the second victorious finish, Ricco came up with surprise: how did he manage to beat me twice in the last meters, because he considered himself a weak finisher. Gross and I raced back in 1988 in Raubichi at the Friendship competition among socialist countries. I was second twice, and Gross was first and third. I skated on classic skis then, because I didn’t have any others. For so many years we butted heads with him as equals, my entire career was spent with Gross! I wouldn’t be surprised if my wife and I forgot to be invited to the “Race of Legends”... Last year they invited me as a guest three days before the event. In any case, I will come and meet old friends.
Photo: Reuters, AFP, Peoples.ru, RIA Novosti, Bongarts, BSE.