KHANTY-MANSIYSK, April 2, Alexander Govorov. Russian biathlete Irina Kazakevich told reporters about the collision with Polina Shevnina in the race from the general start at the Russian Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk.
The collision did not stop Kazakevich from winning the mass start at the national championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. The second place was taken by Tamara Derbusheva, and the third place was taken by Ekaterina Noskova.
“At the beginning of the race, there was a moment with Polina Shevnina. There was a slippery area, apparently, water was dripping from the bridge. Most likely, in the previous race, the girls from the Krasnoyarsk Territory fell and got injured there. Polina’s skis parted today, she started screaming, trying to catch her balance. At that moment, she touched me a little with a stick, but I managed to move away, because we were not driving so close. If I was driving close to her, I would also be in this blockage, «said Kazakevich.
The biathlete also admitted that she was very happy to be on the podium together with her friend from the national team of the Sverdlovsk region Tamara Derbusheva.
“It's very fun that Tamara and I are always on the podium together. I always like to climb the podium with her. We are very close, I'm always very happy for her. It's a shame when she doesn't succeed. Today we showed that the Sverdlovsk region is the strongest. The relay charged us yesterday, so we were set for the highest result,» Kazakevich added.