“I myself didn’t understand what happened.” In Russian biathlon, the sensation of a nameless 23-year-old young man
Tatyana Postnikova April 12, 2024, 16:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Young Usov took care of Latypov, Povarnitsyn and everyone else.
Russian biathlon, even at the end of the season, does not cease to please. The men’s sprint at the Commonwealth Cup stage in Murmansk ended with a real sensation. Perm resident Daniil Usov unexpectedly won the race. The 23-year-old biathlete faced the experienced Alexander Povarnitsyn and Eduard Latypov. And he made it really beautiful!
unexpected champion
The sprint was marked by a fight between Eduard Latypov and Anton Smolsky. Athletes compete hard against each other in the general classification of the Commonwealth Cup and in the classification of individual disciplines. But the duel between the Russian and the Belarusian did not work. Smolsky started the race poorly and, after making a mistake in the first prone position, abandoned the fight for the medals.
But Latypov competed for victory with other athletes, in particular with Alexander Povarnitsyn and Daniil Usov. The 30-year-old biathlete, who competed with the Russian national team, was for a long time the intermediate leader in the finish line. Alexander covered the distance with excellent speed, so not even a mistake prevented him from finishing in first place.
This season, Perm biathletes have already become unexpected champions:
“The prize money is more than my monthly salary!” Unexpected champion in Russian biathlon.
But Povarnitsyn was quickly knocked out of first place by Usov. The 23-year-old biathlete from Perm unexpectedly became the leader after stopping, passing both marks to zero. The lead over Alexander before the final lap was 14 seconds. Daniil had the strength to maintain his lead until the end, where he beat Povarnitsyn by 4.2 seconds.
Latypov had the opportunity to deprive Usov of an unexpected championship, but he made two mistakes on the stands and reached the distance only fourth with a delay of 27.6 seconds. But with every meter of the last lap, Kamyshli’s Buffalo got closer to the leader. At the 7.6 km cutoff, Latypov lost to Usov by 14.9 seconds, at the 9.1 km cutoff – only 7.4 seconds. The intrigue in the fight for gold continued until the end, but Eduard did not have enough distance to overcome Daniil and Alexander. As a result, the leader of the Russian team in the race was only third, losing 5.6 seconds.
“A dream come true”
Under such conditions, Usov’s victory seems even more unexpected. For Daniil, 23, this is his first gold at such a high level. Perhaps we can safely say that the driver from Perm had the best race of his career.
Daniel never grabbed stars from heaven. Usov won the Russian Summer Youth Biathlon Championships, but never made the podium at the adult level. Last season in the Russian Cup and Championship he did not finish in the top 10. This season Daniil has significantly improved his results. He usually finished in the top ten seconds, but the biathlete managed to get into the top ten in several races. Usov was eighth in the Russian Cup and tenth in the Russian Championship. Daniil’s best result was fourth place at the Commonwealth Cup stage in Ufa. Then, in the big mass exit, Usov was close to being a real sensation, but he still let Lazovsky, Loginov and Babikov get ahead.
How was the massive start to the Commonwealth Cup stage in Ufa?
The leaders of the Russian biathlon made 13 mistakes and lost to the veterans. How did it happen?
“The dream has come true. I want to thank the guys for the fight. I still haven’t realized what happened. This is quite unexpected for me. Before there weren’t enough shots. Today, for the first time in my life, I managed to roll two zeros. Today I had the feeling that I would shoot two zeros. I do not know why. And so it happened. Although today it was very difficult to run. It seemed to me that I did not lose against Povarnitsyn, but in the end I lost. Apparently I didn’t finish it at some point during the descent,” Usov said on Match TV.
On Sunday, April 14, the final races of the Commonwealth Cup (mass starts) will be held in Murmansk. Usov’s victory clearly secured him a spot in this race. So who knows, maybe another sensation awaits us!
