Alexander GovorovSport correspondentAll materialsRussian biathlete Maxim Tsvetkov was the leader in the individual race at the Beijing Olympics right up to the last shot. He paused, prepared, aimed his aim, and missed. Instead of a guaranteed victory, Tsvetkov remained fourth. The most beautiful history of the Olympics was thwarted. Or postponed until the next races. Tsvetkov missed two years and returned. The classy results of the Russian men's biathlon team this season set up an optimistic mood before the Olympics. 15 podiums at the World Cup is more than a worthy figure. What can I say, if the winner of the individual race in Antholz Anton Babikov did not make it to the final squad for the Games. The competition among the wards of Yuri Kaminsky and Sergey Bashkirov is outrageous. Therefore, the medal in the mixed relay did not come as a surprise. Moreover, it was the men who did the most. First, Alexander Loginov pulled the team into first place, and then Eduard Latypov brought bronze to the Russian team. Everyone was waiting for the individual race with particular interest. It was started by Maxim Tsvetkov, who missed two years of performances and ran in the Russian Cup back in December 2021. As he himself later admitted that at that time he gave the minimum percentage that he would get not only to the Olympics, but even to the World Cup. However, Maxim prepared well for the season and took off sharply. His January races were great. He ran and shot at the level of the World Cup elite, helped the team take gold in the relay. The question of his getting to the Olympics was removed. Just imagine. The man essentially disappeared from sight for two years, and now his place at the main start of the four-year period is beyond doubt. It was already a beautiful story. She would become Hollywood if Maxim did what he was as close as possible to.
