“8 misses – legendary”. The Russian skier debuted in biathlon as Anfisa Reztsova
Andrey Shitikhin September 8, 2023, 20:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Anna Grukhvina in her first race in the new sport closed only two goals out of ten. But do not despair: she has been worse.
Skier Anna Grukhvina’s transition to biathlon has become one of the most talked about events in the off-season. She herself did not close, she explained in detail the reasons for her decision and on September 7 she made her debut in a new sport for her in the sprint at the Commonwealth Cup in Sochi. The debut turned out to be “legendary” – eight misses in ten shots. But is it worth saying that Grukhvina will not succeed?
Why did the skier Gruhvina go to the biathlon?
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“Eight misses is very legendary, the first time I shot like this. I was not angry. The first race I tried everything, the track is hard, very worked. In principle, everything is fine, we will learn from mistakes and continue to work, ”Anna said after the race on Match TV.
In fact, more work needs to be done. Gruhvina will no longer perform at the Commonwealth Cup, his next participation will be in Tyumen at the Summer Russian Championship. Surely there the results of the former skier will be greater. Native court, simple: what you need to take the first steps in a new sport.
A year before Gruhvina, Natalia Shevchenko switched to biathlon and competed in cross-country skiing under the name Mekryukova. Mikhail Shashilov, who took the former skier, did not even let her compete in the Commonwealth Cup last year, although the athlete’s name was on the start protocols. Mountains, a difficult track and in biathlon for only three months – we decided not to rush.
The former skier became the heroine of the Czech Republic in biathlon:
The former skier scored a “golden” double in the Czech Republic! At the finish line “he contributed” a minute to his rivals
Natalia held her first biathlon race at the Russian Summer Championships in Tchaikovsky. Then, in the sprint, she failed four times and finished in 23rd place. It will be interesting to compare Anna’s results in Tyumen with Natalia’s results last year. Interesting, but nothing else. In any case, it is strange to draw conclusions about Grukhvina’s biathlon prospects from the very first races.
And Shevchenko gradually added last season and had a lovely end last season, and the current season also started amazingly.
The transition to a new sport is always difficult. And no one gets it right away: for example, the great Anfisa Reztsova took 26th place in her first official biathlon race. At the World Cup in Ruhpolding in January 1991, Reztsova made nine (!) mistakes in the individual race, becoming the worst among Soviet athletes. However, the following season, Anfisa Reztsova won the World Cup and became the first Olympic champion in biathlon.
How Anfisa Reztsova performed in biathlon:
Anfisa Reztsova was amazing with her speed. She once won a race with seven misses!
Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, an Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, switched to biathlon three years ago. And so far she has not guaranteed a stable place in the national team, although she is already a winner of the World Cup phase. For Stina, the first biathlon race took place at the opening of the 2020/2021 season in the Swedish town of Idre. In the sprint she finished 11th with three penalties, ahead of, for example, her compatriot Lynn Persson and the Estonian Region Oyu. But the next day, in the shortened individual race, Nilsson failed 10 times and was only 27th.
A superb long-distance sprinter with three top-three finishes at the World Championships, Anamarija Lampić began her biathlon career with a short sprint at the Slovenian Summer Championships exactly one year ago. She made six misses and placed only sixth, losing to athletes that, even in her home country, hardly anyone has heard of. At the World Cup, Lampich placed fifth in the first race, but she was later remembered for her technical obstacles: a false start and the fact that she did not run the penalty circuit in the relay. But at the end of last season, Ella Lampic won the mass start at the national championship, allowing 10 misses on 20 shots.
