Kristina Reztsova won the first race after returning. What a pity it’s not at the World Cup!
Tatyana Postnikova December 3, 2023, 1:24 PM Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The biathlete already has three medals at the start of the season.
Kristina Reztsova is back! Now it’s 100% clear.
The best biathlete of the Russian team, who missed last season due to pregnancy, began to destroy her rivals from the first outings. Kristina already managed to take silver and bronze in the MLKB and the Russian Cup, and today she added her first victory to her collection. Reztsova faced her rivals very competently, showing her power and experience. Well done!
Great start
Before leaving for her second maternity leave in 2022, Christina was a true team leader. Not only did she compete in the World Cup and the Olympic Games before her suspension, but she also won gold medals in the Russian Cup in isolation. Cristina’s last victory dates back to April 2022. Then, at the Russian Championships, Reztsova won the mass start.
Recently, Christina lost her mother; Anfisa Reztsova left:
“Your smile will remain in our hearts forever.” The world said goodbye to the great Anfisa Reztsova
Then the biathlete went on maternity leave and missed the season. After the birth of her second child in March 2023, the athlete immediately began to regain her shape and succeeded. Reztsova was able to open the season at the beginning of September, at the summer national championship. There Kristina ran two races: she won silver in the relay (Kristina Reztsova, Ekaterina Noskova, Alina Kudisova, Elizaveta Kaplina) and came 22nd in the sprint.
At the beginning of the winter season, Reztsova also showed great promise. In the mass start at MLKB she finished in the top 10 and in the pursuit she took bronze. At the first stage of the Russian Cup she took fourth place in the mixed relay (Kristina Reztsova, Elizaveta Kaplina, Dmitry Ivanov, Pyotr Pashchenko).
Kristina Reztsova
Photo: RIA Novosti
The second stage of the tournament turned out much better for the athlete. In the sprint, Reztsova won silver, losing 15.1 seconds to winner Natalia Shevchenko, and in the pursuit she finished tenth, although she could well have been higher if not for problems with the clip. Yes, Christina’s form is not ideal. So far the biathlete cannot impress with incredible speeds like she did two years ago, so she can only count on good shots and a minimum of misses in high positions. However, even in this state, Reztsova imposed a tough fight on last season’s best biathletes. So gold in the National Cup was just a matter of time.
First victory
We didn’t have to wait long. Christina showed all her power in the massive start of the second stage. From the first meters of the distance, the biathlete remained in the group of leaders, helped by both good movement and an impeccable shot.
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Reztsova made her first mistake on the third line: she entered the penalty circuit. But her rivals also did not stand out for her precise work on the stands, so Kristina was able to take second position, seven seconds behind Anastasia Grishina. Ekaterina Noskova ran just 2.5 seconds behind Reztsova, so the biathlete had to compete for a medal.
On the last lap, Reztsova managed to get close to Grishina and then overtake her by 0.5 seconds. Noskova also reached out to the leaders. Everything was decided in the last position: Christina worked accurately, Anastasia missed once, and Ekaterina missed twice. As a result, Reztsova took the lead with a comfortable lead of 13.6 seconds. In the last lap, the rivals managed to recover a couple of seconds, but failed to threaten Christina’s gold. Grishina finished second, 11.6 seconds behind the winner, and Noskova finished third, 37 seconds behind.
Since her return, Reztsova has managed to accumulate three personal medals (gold, silver and bronze) and one team silver. This beginning clearly shows that this season Christina intends to break and throw.
It’s a shame he can only compete in Russian tournaments.
