The first athlete in history to win the Winter Olympics has passed away games in two disciplines: cross-country skiing and biathlon. None of the Russian women managed to repeat Reztsova’s achievements. In 2018, Czech Esther Ledecka conquered the bar. However, the athlete competed in alpine skiing and snowboarding.
Reztsova, who was called “Mama Roma” (Romanova’s maiden name — editor’s note) from the time she competed for the USSR ski team, was remembered not only for her victories, but also for her extraordinary frankness. Anfisa Anatolyevna was not afraid to talk about what many hid. Or they claimed that similar negativity was practiced by others, and that they themselves were “pure pieces of glass.” Reztsova was adored by journalists for this and scolded, although they were afraid, by sports leaders. She exposed the morals that reigned in the national teams of the USSR and Russia.
She told how before the Olympics in Calgary she was faced with a choice: to give birth or, having had an abortion, to continue competing on the ski track. The athlete continued her career, and set a condition for the leaders of the sports committee:
““Give me and my husband an apartment, otherwise we live with our parents.”
The Reztsovs received housing even before the 1988 Olympics, where Anfisa became the champion in the ski relay and won silver in the 20-kilometer freestyle race. A year later, the first of the daughters was born — now Finnish biathlete and mother of three children Daria Virolainen. Reztsova herself has four daughters. Moreover, the difference between the youngest and the grandson that Daria gave her is a little more than a year. As Anfisa Anatolyevna herself emphasized more than once, she was both a mother and a grandmother at the same time. Her youngest daughter Maria is now 15 years old.
Reztsova was not afraid to talk about doping programs, thanks to which the victories of Soviet and Russian skiers were achieved. She did not deny anything or make excuses, saying that the journalists misunderstood when the scandals broke out. She also said that pharmacologists helped not only others, but also her.
She switched to biathlon after the leaders of the ski team did not believe in the prospects after returning from maternity leave. She explained the change in specialization by the fact that her husband Leonid Reztsov was a coach of “shooting skiers.” As the Olympic champion joked, if he were involved with figure skaters, she would go there. The athlete stood no worse on skates than on skis. If she had a worthy partner, she could win competitions between sports couples.
Reztsova was more successful with the rifle. In Albertville she won the sprint and won bronze in the relay, and in Lillehammer she again climbed to the highest step of the podium together with her “teammates.” Although she never called those who competed with her at the most prestigious tournaments friends. She could go through the “womanism” in the USSR ski team, say that they get into the relay four in biathlon “through the bed.”
The authority of the titled athlete was taken into account. She was perhaps the only one who allowed herself to criticize the leadership of the Russian Biathlon Union at a time when it was headed and financed by Mikhail Prokhorov. In recent years, it was Reztsova who was one of the most ardent critics of the RBU. And if it came to her daughter Christina, she could tear anyone apart.
The death of Anfisa Anatolyevna was reported by her former husband and coach Leonid. She spent her last days in the intensive care unit of a hospital near Moscow, where she ended up unconscious on October 15. She had a heart attack a couple of months earlier. Reztsova received blood transfusions several times. The eminent athlete will no longer talk about how her sports career affected her health in candid interviews.
The Sport editors express deep condolences to the family and friends of Anfisa Anatolyevna.