Nine months ago, four Russian biathletes stood on the Olympic podium. Irina Kazakevich, Kristina Reztsova, Svetlana Mironova and Uliana Nigmatullina won silver medals in the Beijing relay. Now three of them have put their careers on pause — only Kazakevich is ready to compete.
Reztsova and Nigmatullina went on maternity leave
Both should give birth in February, so wait for them at the competition even at the end not worth the season. At the same time, it must be said that the biathletes chose an extremely good time — in any case, the national team will not be allowed to the World Cup in the upcoming season. And to compete at domestic competitions after success at the Olympics is not easy in terms of motivation. />
Reztsova went on maternity leave for the second time. The girl first became a mother in February 2021. At that time, she took a big risk — only a year remained before the Games in Beijing. But Kristina managed to prepare and showed the best form in her career.“Because of the Olympics, last year was incredibly sporty, and I gave too little of myself to my family. I was missed as a mother for my daughter and a wife for my beloved man. My daughter did not trust me so much after returning from the competition. Now I try to spend as much time as possible with my family. I enjoy the life that I didn’t have before,” Reztsova explained in an interview with Match TV.
The next major start in Christina's career should be the 2026 Olympics. Now Reztsova is 26 years old, age calmly allows her to miss one season. If Russia is admitted to the Games in Milan, then after the decree it will have more than two years to fully prepare for the tournament. And she knows how to bring herself to important starts, which she has already shown to everyone.
Nigmatullina has a different story. In the last two years, Ulyana has made a dramatic career change by returning to the Russian national team. And if not for the suspension of Russia, she would definitely be able to fight for medals at the World Cup.
But now it is impossible to imagine how the body will behave after childbirth. Will she be able to return to her previous level or will she disappear from the radar? Of course, it is better to check it now, during the suspension, than to take risks before a possible trip to the Olympics.
Mironova «tired» of biathlon?
Svetlana Mironova did not participate in the summer stages of the Commonwealth Cup and did not show up for the September championship of Russia. All this time, the coaches did not give a clear answer — what happened to her. But the other day the girl broke the silence."I haven't fully recovered. My problems are not physical. Nothing so serious that could directly interfere with my practice. These points cannot be detected by inspection. The indicators may be normal, but in fact the body does not feel well. After coronavirus and chickenpox, the body can not withstand the load. In the end, I told the coaches that I can’t do this anymore. I realized that if I don’t let myself rest, I’ll just end up, ”said Mironova.
It turns out that Svetlana was not able to carry out normal work in the offseason. The girl has not yet begun full-fledged training, resting from stress. But we still did not understand when to expect her return. Vague wording about «problems not of a physical nature» breeds only rumors and speculation. />
In the off-season, Mironova left the group of Mikhail Shashilov, coming under the tutelage of Artem Istomin. The new coach recently gave an interview in which he could not answer whether Mironova would return at all this season. Istomin specified that he was ready to give the ward as much time as she needed to recover.It will probably be easier for her to skip the whole season and immediately tune in to the next one. A year break can also benefit Svetlana psychologically. When Mironova first gained a foothold in the national team, she showed excellent speed, getting into the top ten fastest. From even called the main hope of women's biathlon in Russia. But the breakthrough happened, and the speed fell completely. The post-Olympic season with the suspension of the national team is the best time to completely reboot.
Return of Yurlova-Percht
Despite the lack of leaders, there are people to follow at Russian competitions. In the case Irina Kazakevich, who can become the leader of the national team. Dinara Alimbekova, who finished last season of the World Cup in seventh position in the overall standings, will also perform at the stages of the Russian Cup. If it weren't for the removal of Belarus in the midst of the last stages, it would definitely be in the top five.
The main discovery of the season could be Tamara Derbusheva. Shashilov's student surprised everyone at the Russian Summer Championship by finishing the tournament with medals at the end of each race. . Recently, Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht stated that she had not officially announced her retirement. Alexander Kasperovich also spoke. The coach said that the 37-year-old biathlete is actively training and preparing to perform at the spring championship of Russia.