By tradition, I post a report after the trip in the company of the Russian fan team about each day spent at the biathlon! One of the tour participants, devoted fan Larisa Manokhina from Samara, shared her impressions with us. Her favorite biathlete is multiple champion and medalist of the summer biathlon and Olympic Games Alexey Volkov, who once again confirmed the title of marksman of the Russian team. Larisa has already traveled with us to one of the first stages of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk and Oberhof and is rightfully considered a full-fledged member of the Russian biathlon fan team! I think it’s correct to post an “outside view” and an assessment of what is happening on behalf of the tour participants, because the emotions of the fans are sincere and truthful! I only slightly supplemented the text with various facts. 
For me, the World Championship in Tchaikovsky began with the opening ceremony on August 23, which was enchantingly held under the bright program of Dmitry Guberniev. The ceremony began with a description of the Perm region from the ancient era and continued with a ballet to the symphonies of Tchaikovsky and the appearance of standard bearers with the flags of the countries that were to compete in the tournament. The tour program for the fan team participants began on August 25 at the railway station in Izhevsk, where fans from different cities of the country arrived.
So, why in “Chicago”, you ask? - with these words Larisa brings intrigue to the beginning of her report. And this is what my favorite biathlete called the biathlon complex in Tchaikovsky so affectionately before his arrival, and I liked this expression. So... - if the trip is made in a warm company, and even under the organizational wing of our Annushka (as we used to call Anna Maslova), then this is already the key to a fun, win-win travel option. So it is this time. The trip turned out to be quite eventful. I'm amazed how we were able to fit all of the following into three short days and two nights.
Each trip, of course, always begins with the most pleasant thing, meeting with good old familiar friends and fans from different cities, whose friendship I always value and meeting new biathlon friends! And how great it is to experience again all the goodies of the trip with our Anechka!
All three days allocated for the World Championship were filled with competitive racing from the very morning (10:30 local time) until the evening (18:00). So we had to work hard to fit everything that was planned into these days. And we succeeded!
First day of the 2017 World Championships, Friday
Great biathlon weather! Crazy energetic mood!
Summer biathlon- this is, of course, not winter. I know that some fans don’t pay him any attention at all. But just like in winter, I felt the frantic energy of the stands and the intensity of endless excitement on the track. And how can you not feel all this with such a show host as Ilya Trifanov and his assistant Antosha Babikov, who simply did not allow the stands to sit still. Ilya fully provided all the necessary information during the race about each athlete, the performing team and during breaks when the athletes were on the track, he always addressed the fans, got the crowd going and charged them with crazy energy!
But the races, already on the first day, immediately made it clear that victories would have to be fought for, and seriously and with full dedication. Thus, the price of victory in the mixed relay of the adult team was visible on the face of our finisher Anton when he crossed the finish line and could not get up for a long time.
The Slovak team played a cruel joke on us with their misunderstanding in the added time. Therefore, Antosha had to strain to be sure. Or maybe it was the cheerful fan sitting behind us who jinxed us? After all, when Volkov passed the baton to Shipulin, he had an advantage of 1:10.02, and suddenly a scream tearing apart the silence from the podium: “Give me some intrigue!” So Anton made 3 mistakes. The joker-fan caught on: “No need for INTRIGUING!” But everything was already done... I had to work hard and give a lot of energy for the victory.
On the evening of the first day we had a choice: to go to the Youth Palace to meet with Russian biathletes or to the nearby village of ITALMAS to visit the Legend of the 20th century - the great skier Galina Kulakova? And our group unanimously made a choice in favor of the second event. We didn’t regret it at all.
An amazingly soulful place with its own unique atmosphere. On the second floor of the house there is the “Queen of the Ski Track” museum. We can say that for some time we plunged into the ski world of the distant 70s and 80s. And to come into contact with the fate of such a great woman, believe me, is very powerful. During his 16 years as a member of the USSR national team ski racing G. A. Kulakova became a 4-time champion Olympic Games, 9-time world champion and 39-time USSR champion. The museum presents a collection of medals by G. A. Kulakova, which consists of 146 awards, almost every second of which is gold! By sporting victories she still has no equal. Galina Alekseevna remains the greatest and strongest skier on the planet! A sports and fitness complex in Udmurtia was named in her honor and a personalized silver coin was issued for the Sochi 2014 Olympics...
In the evening, we then sat for a long time over a cup of tea in the cozy cafe of our hotel and heatedly discussed our first busy day.
Second day of the 2017 Summer Biathlon World Championships, Saturday
The stands are crowded! Despite the small number of starting athletes, the dynamics of the races themselves were simply breathtaking. The men's sprint seemed the most intense (probably because my favorite was running here!) After all, it would seem that here it is already, victory is in Alexei Volkov's pocket! But Belarusian Chepelin literally took the lead on the last lap and was 3.4 seconds ahead of Alexey. The advantage of the subsequent starting number had an effect. Well, it's a sport. And everyone strives to win! And we were heartily happy for Vladimir!
Juniors and junior women, of course, also fought on the track like adults. But they stood out for their greater openness and brightness. They were so childishly happy, responding to the cries of the fans, bowing and joking. As if with subtext in thoughts: “But now everyone knows us by name!” Lerochka Vasnetsova always thanked her fans for a particularly long time.
And here the main news On the second day, for all of us, words from Ilya Trifanov about the completion sports career Svetlana Sleptsova. It’s no secret that many already believed that it was time for Sveta to hang up her skis, but she tried hard, showed results and fought... fought..., prepared to participate in the 2018 Olympic Games. And so... The fans immediately made a diagnosis - Sveta is expecting a baby!
Already on this day one could see the words with the inscription: “RAY OF LIGHT” in many places throughout the complex.
During the breaks between races at the stadium, everyone found something to do to their liking. Some enjoyed the beautiful views of Tchaikovsky's nature, others hunted for autographs of athletes.
But, as it seemed to me, an integral part of the holiday all days was the site with the Laser Biathlon gaming complex. This is a wonderful game of chance. Of course, a true fan simply cannot pass by and not try it. During the break between races, the fan team organized fan races between fan clubs from other cities. The fan team under the team name of the same name competed among 4 teams and took an honorable second place in time! Each participant was able to feel almost like a biathlete for a moment! and shoot and run penalty loops! Instead of medals, the reward was delicious sweets, a great mood and enthusiasm for the rest of the day!
Saturday promised to end with the awarding of medals based on the results of the first two days on the main square of the city. We hurried there. And before the start of those solemn moments, our fan group, “by personal agreement,” managed to separately congratulate our most titled biathletes on their excellent results. Congratulations, photos as a souvenir, and we are the happiest fans!
The award ceremony itself on the square looked beautiful, chic, and solemn! The organizers did their best! The Russian anthem was played five times. And in the square at that time there was simply nowhere for an apple to fall!
I wanted to continue such a wonderful evening... After all, BIATHLON is, first of all, a holiday for us! Therefore, I wanted to spend these moments as much as possible in such a way as to take with me the most turbulent memories! And so, the narrow circle of our fan group decided to finish off the voices that had been undermined in the stands in a cozy karaoke-cafe-bar! That evening we were accompanied by Olympic Champion Evgeniy Redkin and his mother Olympic champion Alexei Volkov, who, just like the fans in the stands, united to the soulful music, singing from the heart!)
And of course, continue the night at a meeting with the skillful songwriter of our time, “The Voice of Biathlon” Dmitry Guberniev! Sang songs from the heart!
A killer festive atmosphere reigned everywhere! And even the lack of a taxi on the morning trip to the hotel did not spoil our mood! We walked more than 3 kilometers with pleasure! enjoy it!
Final day of the 2017 World Championships in Tchaikovsky, Sunday
New - last - day of the Championship! And new emotions! The races of the last day generally flew by at lightning speed. Yes, these are short-lived pursuit races. The main rivals of our guys were Bulgarian Anev, Belarusian Chepelin, Slovakian Hasilla. But they couldn’t do anything about the tenacity of our guys!
Well, as for the women, Svetlanka simply could not slip up. She deservedly became absolute champion this Championship, giving all her last strength on this happy track for her!
All Russian athletes went to the start with the inscription on their face or hand: “RAY OF LIGHT.” This is how they saw off the titled biathlete, our Olympic champion!
The same inscriptions could be seen on many fans...
Her teammates recorded a video with words of support for Svetlana, and the brightest moments of her sports career were shown on big screen to the whole stadium! Svetlana expressed kind words of gratitude to the coaches, fans and teammates and timidly announced to the entire stadium the main reason for ending her sports career: “I will soon become a mother,” she said with tears in her eyes. The entire stadium applauded and cried at the same time from this touching farewell of an athlete from a strong era of women's Russian biathlon.
It's always a pity when athletes leave big sport... I remember that at the 2012 Summer World Cup in Ufa, Anya Bogaliy was seen off touchingly... But that was a different story..
We will miss Svetina’s smile, her interview... But she managed to retire from the sport with dignity and grace!
youtube.com
And, undoubtedly, the highlight of the last day of the Championship was such an unusual meeting in format - our two groups of fans, united into one, loudly called Dmitry Guberniev with poetry!
“Dima, Dima, don’t pass by!”, “Dima, don’t pass by!” We thanked him for his work and sang the converted ditties to him! The “voice of biathlon” laughed for a long time at such an unexpected “shot” and signed autographs and took photos for everyone without exception.
Video from Dmitry Guberniev himself:
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Such unusually cheerful and bright moments adorned all three days of the summer World Championship in Tchaikovsky!
Having summed up all the events of the biathlon weekend, I can say that the holiday was a success! I would like to say THANK YOU to ALL ATHLETES!, as well as to the organizers of this wonderful event... It’s a pity, of course, that everything flew by so quickly! And special thanks to OUR Anechka! Everything was planned very well! We look forward to a new beginning biathlon season KM 2017-2018! See you again, friends!
The Russian biathlon fan team is recruiting a group of fans for the KM stages in Anterselva, Kontiolahti, Tyumen and for the 2018 Olympic Games in Korea! Anyone can join our group by applying for participation in sports tours!
Two winter capitals and one summer capital, biathlon Island and the Academy are the main centers where major biathlon competitions will be held in Russia.
Summer World Championship - 2017
The Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) decided that the 2017 Summer Biathlon World Championships will be held in the city of Tchaikovsky. For the young biathlon center in the Perm region this will be the first international start, and for Russia it will be the fifth summer world championship. In 2000, these competitions were hosted by Khanty-Mansiysk, in 2006 and 2012 by Ufa, and in 2014 by Tyumen. IN last years center winter species sports "Snezhinka" in Tchaikovsky was the constant venue for the Russian summer championships. The course and shooting range here are of the highest standards, the only problem is transportation. There is no airport or train station here, and therefore you will have to get there by land transport from Izhevsk, located 90 km away.
World Cup Final (2016-2018)
The final stage of the World Cup will traditionally be held in Russia in the coming years. In 2016, the well-known Khanty-Mansiysk will close the season, and in the next two years Tyumen will take the baton from it. In the future, the rotation of the two Russian biathlon capitals will most likely continue, and each of them is able to compete for one of the upcoming world championships. There is no talk yet about two stages in one season, but the European weather is increasingly hinting that it would be a good idea to hold the start of the season in Russia. All that remains is to defeat the conservatism of the IBU.
European Championship - 2016
However, before you take a swing at final stage, Tyumen is due to hold a dress rehearsal this coming February. One of the most majestic stadiums in the world, the Pearl of Siberia, will host the European Championships. Work on eliminating individual shortcomings and adjusting the arena to the high level is ongoing. National teams of many countries held training camps at Zhemchuzhina this off-season, and recently the IBU commission headed by Anders Besseberg visited here. The European Championship program has undergone significant changes. Instead of an individual race, a mass start will be held, and the classic relays will be replaced by mixed relays. These will be the first official competitions, which will compete for the championship title in the single mixed relay.
Junior World Championships - 2017
The Yunost base in Ostrov (Pskov region) is one of the Russian biathlon centers closest to Europe. In 2013, major international competitions for the IBU Cup took place here for the first time (in conjunction with the Estonian city of Otepää), and a little over a year later the Island will host the world championship among juniors and young men. This competition will be held in Russia for the second time (in 2001 it was hosted by Khanty-Mansiysk), and for Pskov this is a serious challenge. Set the bar high For junior championships in the last decade, Ruhpolding, Nove Mesto and Raubichi have been set, which will not be easy for Ostrov to surpass.
Race of Champions
In the near future, our country will not be left without major commercial starts. In the calendar of the upcoming season, Tyumen has reserved a place for a mega-mass start as part of the Governor’s Grand Prix and the Race of Champions, already beloved by domestic and foreign fans. The latter will take place not at the biathlon “Pearl of Siberia”, but at one more suitable for such events football arena"Geologist". Last year's experience showed that the Tyumen team was in no way inferior to the Muscovites in terms of organization, and even surpassed them in fan excitement.
Universiade 2019
It has been known for a long time that Krasnoyarsk will host the Universiade 2019, but what winter Games without biathlon, the most spectacular and bright look sports in the snow. The biathlon competition will be hosted by the Biathlon Academy complex, built in 2011. He received the B license necessary for this two years ago, but by the time the competition takes place, some minor reconstruction will be required - in particular, the installation of a track lighting system. Due to the large time difference with Europe (five hours), biathlon starts will be held in the evening.
Biathlon in the 2017-2018 season will be rich in sporting events of various sizes. Viewers will see performances of star athletes at the World Cup, European Championships, World Championships and Open Cup Europe. But the most important event of the publication will be olympic tournament in biathlon. It will be held in the Korean city of Pyeongchang in February 2018. The competition will gather best biathletes world, among whom there will be many domestic athletes!
Biathlon season schedule 2017 – 2018
The first competition will begin on August 24, 2017, and end on March 25, 2018. Let's take a closer look at the most significant tournaments.
World Summer Biathlon Championships 2017 (August 24 – 27, 2017)
The world championship in this unusual type of traditional biathlon will take place in the Perm city of Tchaikovsky from August 24 to 27. Competitions will be held among men, women and juniors. This is what the event calendar looks like:
- August 25 – mixed relay (2 × 6 + 2 × 7.5);
- August 26 – sprint (10 km for men/7.5 for women and juniors);
- August 27 – pursuit race (12.5/10 km).
However, spectators should not expect biathlon stars of the first magnitude. At this time, top athletes will be preparing for competitions that will start in late autumn.
European Open Cup 2017/18 (24 November 2017 – 17 March 2018)
An annual series of biathlon competitions consisting of 8 stages. The tournament is not very popular. But he also has his fans.
IBU Cup fans will be able to see their idols at the following stages:
- November 23 – 26, 2017: Beitostolen (Norway);
- December 8 – 10: Lenzerheide (Switzerland);
- December 13 – 16: Obertilliach (Austria);
- January 5 – 7, 2018: Brezno-Osrblje (Slovakia);
- January 11 – 13: Arber (Germany);
- January 31 – February 3: Martel Val Martello (Italy);
- March 8 – 11: Uvat (Russia);
- March 13 – 17: Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia).
Biathlon World Cup 2017/2018 (November 24, 2017 – March 25, 2018)
This is one of the most prestigious tournaments. It is a series of 9 separate competitions. According to their results, athletes who scored greatest number points, receive a Crystal Globe.
The upcoming World Cup will begin in November in the Swedish city of Östersund and end next spring in Tyumen, Russia. This is what the tournament calendar looks like:
- November 24 – December 3, 2017: Östersund (Sweden);
- December 4 – 10: Hochfilzen (Austria);
- December 11 – 17: Annecy (France);
- January 2 – 7, 2018: Oberhof (Germany);
- January 8 – 14: Ruhpolding (Germany);
- January 15 – 21: Antholz (Italy);
- March 5 – 11: Kontiolahti (Finland);
- March 12 – 18: Oslo (Norway);
- March 19 – 25: Tyumen (Russia).
The current winner of the main prize for men is Frenchman Martin Fourcade, and for women - German Laura Dahlmeier.
Our team includes Anton Shipulin, Tatyana Akimova, Maxim Tsvetkov, Olga Podchufarova and others. Let's hope that they will be able to compete with their opponents!
European Biathlon Championships 2018 (22 – 28 January 2018)
Another European championship. In addition to representatives from Europe, athletes from Mongolia, Australia, Brazil, Canada and many other non-European countries will take part in the tournament. Athletes will be able to test their strength during 4 January days:
- January 24– individual race;
- January 26– sprint;
- January 27– pursuit race;
- 28 January- mixed relay.
In the “table of ranks” the competition is inferior in prestige to the World Cup, the Olympics, and the World Cup. However, this is not a reason not to follow the European Championship. Russians regularly perform as part of the sporting event, and they perform, I must say, excellently! Based on the results of the last edition alone, our biathletes won 13 awards, 6 of which were of the highest standard!
Olympic Biathlon Tournament 2018 (February 10 – 23, 2018)
This is the most important event of the season! The best of the best will clash in Korea. After all, it's at stake olympic medals, for which you can only compete once every four years!
The biathlon battles will take place from February 10 to 23. The detailed schedule is not yet known. The athletes' competition will most likely be hosted by the Alpensia ski and biathlon stadium, which is located in Pyeongchang.
At the Sochi Olympics, Russian representatives won only one gold medal. At the upcoming games in Korea, our guys have every chance to improve their previous results!
August 26, 2017.
Russian junior Kristina Reztsova became the sprint champion at the summer world championships in Tchaikovsky.
With one penalty, she was ahead of Dinara Alimbekova from Belarus by 32.7 seconds. Valeria Vasnetsova became the bronze medalist. Having made three mistakes, she fell behind the leader by 1:02.1 minutes.
Sprint. Juniors.
1. Kristina Reztsova – 20:48.7 (1)
2. Dinara Alimbekova (Belarus) +32.7 (0)
3. Valeria Vasnetsova +1:02.1 (3)
4. Natalya Ushkina +1:04.6 (1)
5. Yulia Konshina +1:15.6 (2)
7. Ekaterina Moshkova +1:48.2 (1)
10. Ksenia Zhuzhgova +2:03.5 (1)Russian biathlete Kristina Reztsova commented on her victory in the sprint: “This is my last world championship among juniors. And when yesterday I didn’t quite cope with my stage, having two penalty loops, I was terribly upset. But then I came home and reminded myself that since I promised my little sister personal gold, I had to take it. I was getting ready to work on the firing lines. After all, in mixed doubles it was the shooting that let me down. It was not easy with my legs on the last lap, but I worked until the end. Even if she overtook Dinara Alimbekova from Belarus who started in front of me, who was my main rival, she still gave her all. Somewhere I was already thinking about tomorrow’s pursuit, trying to make a break. Even yesterday in mixed doubles I was simply shocked by how many people came to the junior start. Almost full stands and there are a lot of fans cheering on the track. During the warm-up, you drive and you can’t hear the sticks hitting the asphalt due to the noise of the spectators. Insanely nice."
Based on materials from the Tyumen Arena Sports News Agency.
Biathlete of the Russian national team Igor Malinovsky won the sprint race.
He made one mistake, but managed to get ahead of other Russians - Vasily Tomshin and Nikita Porshnev, who took second and third places, respectively.
Sprint. Juniors.
1. Igor Malinovsky - 24:37.8 (1)
2. Vasily Tomshin +12.6 (1)
3. Nikita Porshnev +28.3 (3)6. Stepan Parfenov +1:10.3 (2)
9. Nikolay Dmitriev +1:39.0 (3)
12. Karim Khalili +2:13.2 (2)Russian biathlete Igor Malinovsky commented on his victory in the sprint: “Today I already have my second Golden medal at this championship. How do I feel about this? Tired. In fact, until I realize there are already two. Maybe because this is the first personal one. Yesterday was teamwork, today individual. Of course, I wanted an individual medal, it’s also gold – which is doubly nice. The minimum program has been completed. Today I watched more than half of the men's race. The main thing for me was to see how Alexey Volkov shot. After that I went to bed because our race was only at six o'clock. That’s why I missed the women’s race and only found out the result later. But today I was rooting for the juniors. I was worried about the girls and watched the whole race. I won’t wonder whether I’ll win three gold medals here. I’m still connected with aviation, but that’s not accepted there.”
Based on materials from the SBR.
Photo by Andrey Anosov.
