Olympic champion Sergei Ustyugov became one of the main newsmakers of the first days of the Russian cross-country skiing championship. But he did not answer the question of whether this season would be his last in his career. Columnist Sport tried to lift the veil of secrecy.
Thirty-year-old Ustyugov did not hide before the start of the season that this year would be his last as an active athlete. He said that he was tired.
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«They tell me:» It's better to run while you run. «But there is no longer such a desire. For the last few years I have been forcing myself, but this is not good,» he admitted skier. Cunning?
Partly yes. But already according to its results at the December stage of the Russian Cup in Chusovoy, it became clear: the talent of the Olympic champion has not gone anywhere, but there is more than enough strength. Immediately proved that he was not a «bag». And their confrontation with Alexander Bolshunov has become a true decoration of the whole season. But, according to the athlete himself, his main goal was the Tyumen championship of Russia.
As it turned out, appetite comes with eating. Initially, Ustyugov did not plan to go to the «Champion Heights» alternative to the World Championships, but the typed form, apparently, gave him additional self-confidence. As a result, he still goes to Malinovka, where he wins the classic sprint and rises to the podium twice more. Not bad for an athlete who dreamed of ending his career.
And then the Russian Championship started. And again, a magnificent victory in the sprint, and then an offensive silver in the skiathlon. Yes, it was offensive, because it was perfectly clear that he was ready to fight Bolshunov for gold, but the fall on the track made its own adjustments. And now the talk about retirement has already changed its tone.
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“If they offer me something other than coaching, then I’ll probably agree,” says Ustyugov. “As a coach’s consultant … I don’t know. I haven’t finished yet. I can't earn that kind of money now, apart from sports. Today I ran away four times and earned 150 thousand rubles.»
And then there is the financial aspect. Important, given the family circumstances and the recent birth of a second child. Indeed, the leadership of the FLGR managed to attract good investments and give athletes the opportunity to earn decent money, despite the suspension from international competitions. And as far as it is possible to judge from the words of Ustyugov, he does not have very many options for changing the type of activity.Money is money, but the sports component plays an important role. Many are now trying to analyze and understand whether the Russians would be competitive on the world stage at the moment. The unequivocal answer is yes. And Ustyugov, despite the approaching 31st birthday, with one hundred percent probability would have fought for the podiums of the World Cup. Of course, it is foolish to try to compare the time indicators of results in Tyumen and at foreign competitions. Different terrain, different weather, a huge number of factors.
But Russian skiers are still cunning when they say that they do not follow the World Cup.
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“Now we are running here without even looking at the World Cup,” Bolshunov said. “We have an interesting battle here with Sergey Ustyugov now. We understand that we can take first or second place at the World Cup without any problems.”
So, still aware of what is happening «over the hill». And this is where the sports component comes in. It is unlikely that Sergei would not want to cut himself again with the same Johannes Klebo. And, analyzing the current state of affairs, he would have succeeded quite well. But the talk about the return of the Russians is getting louder and louder. Why not an incentive to run for a couple more years?
On the very first day of the Russian Championship, I was lucky to meet the first coach of Ustyugov, Ivan Bragin, near the stadium. He did not give a specific answer to the question about the future of Losyonok, but expressed his opinion: Sergey needs to continue.
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«Sergey proved that he is one of the best sprinters in Russia. I think not only Russia, but also the world,» the specialist later emphasized in a conversation with, adding: «This season showed that he still has strength and he can be in the top.»
Agree, it's too early for Ustyugov to retire.