President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation Elena Vyalbe. Photo: Sergey Bobylev/TASS
It’s better not to meddle with compliments to Elena Valerievna, they are not interesting to her. She is from Magadan, Trubitsyna as a girl, she has seen everything in her life. Her skiers are pulling out the entire Olympics for Russia, and it’s clear who they take in close-up, Elena Valeryevna is definitely not the first, and not even the second. The hero is Alexander Bolshunov, his three comrades in the men's relay, the women's four, who brought three gold medals, and in general everyone who cross-country skis and without rifles, their coaches and staff, and who is Vyalba? Functionary, chief, nomenklatura.
After the blizzard golden finish of Ustyugov at the last stage: Vyalbe — a hood pulled over his eyes, a jacket covered with snow, eyes in a wet place, an aunt with an aunt, there used to be a lot of these in the markets. He doesn’t go into his pocket for a word, each one suits, he cuts his shoulder, without thinking about the impression he makes, he cries with his own people and laughs with them.
Well, just a queen and a bander, a common mother and a nanny, who disappeared into this wonderful race, as if she had run all four of them with the guys.
I ran, she knows how much, all three Olympic gold — in relay races, 14 medals of the same value at the world championships, wards to catch up and catch up, but I have never heard her raise her chin and broadcast about her victories. No, really, never.
“Everyone knows that I have a difficult relationship with Ustyugov … But now justice should have prevailed … Thanks to Seryoga and all the guys for this race, as well as parents for such children …” Bearded Seryoga, by the way, is 29 years old, and this is most likely , the last Olympics of Ustyugov, who was not allowed to go to Pyeongchang, who fell at the finish line in Sochi, who struggled with injuries and sores throughout the inter-Olympic cycle, who failed the sprint already in Beijing and who, according to sports performance, should not have run this relay — the coaching council was against . And Vyalba said that Seryoga would run, and he would not let you down. And after the race, she apologized to Artem Maltsev — it would have been Artem's medal, but, according to Vyalba, justice also hurts.
Well, not ideal. Kruta, impatient, even brutal, terrible in anger, one can only imagine that the environment suffers from her, echoes — in the same scandal with the Norwegian journalist Jan Petter Saldvedt, who dared to doubt the legality of the presence in Beijing of Bolshunov and in general all Russians.
Bolshunova? All Russians? At all? Until he apologizes — boycott, and I don’t want to hear anything!
Of course, she didn’t read the article, didn’t go into details, but didn’t call on the king of Norway to apologize: “What the hell is an apology from the king to me, what does he have to do with it?” The Norwegian colleague Vyalbe apologized — but no, she did not forgive the journalist who said that in Norway Vyalba is insanely respected and would be happy to see her in Trondheim at the World Championships. In the same Trondheim, where she won five gold medals a quarter of a century ago.
She understands her charges with her gut. There are many people who have rich sports experience behind their backs, but there are very few who feel the pain and joy of others as their own. The image of Vyalba as a “correct Russian aunt”, who will feed, and warm, and press to her heart, and send further, far from exhausts her nature — she is a knowledgeable and tough manager, trusts proven personnel, but does not allow them to relax either. From excessive hype, she defended her federation, which she has been in charge of since 2010, until the last — her polemic with Dmitry Guberniev, who wanted to raise skis to a height corresponding to achievements, was both epic and Homeric. Well, she is what she is.