It’s hard to believe, but one of the most experienced and titled biathletes in the country, Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht, could not compete in any of the Olympic Games. Then the stars aligned; There is no other way to say it.
However, many will envy the character of the St. Petersburg athlete, because her desire to win once gave the whole country such an important victory that all fans still remember. Nobody could repeat it.
Of course, we are talking about the main triumph in Yurlova-Perkht’s career – the individual race at the 2015 World Championships in Kontiolahti.
Queen Kontiolahti
That day no one really believed in Yurlova. However, not only on March 11, 2015, but also for many years until now. Yes, in her career there were races among the top ten in the World Cup, but she did not reach medals. Although Ekaterina has been performing internationally for several years.
Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht
Photo: Image Alliance via Getty Images
And here is starting number 93 of the race. For the Russian it was an opportunity in a million and she took advantage of it. While she was running on the Finnish track, the leader of the competition, Czech biathlete Gabriela Koukalova, was already giving interviews and waiting for the moment when all the participants had completed the distance.
But the Russian crossed the line abroad with filigree precision. And I arrived at the last shoot as a favorite. The entire biathlon world was watching her, because she could create a miracle. She is an unknown Russian woman. And Katya created it, keeping her advantage. Koukalova was crying.
But if the Czech athlete roared with sorrow, all of Russia roared with joy. Katya gave the country its first women’s World Cup gold medal in six years.
“There is justice on earth, looking at the end of this wonderful woman, there is! For those who expelled her from the team, for those who did not believe in her talent, for those who said that she could not, ”Dmitry Guberniev was then happy.
How the Russian obtained that sensational victory:
“Simply incredible!” How Yurlova won a sensational victory at the World Championships
“I was afraid Denise would catch me.”
Success at the 2015 World Cup inspired Yurlova-Perkht. Now no one doubted her abilities and talent. Neither Russian fans nor rivals.
At the 2019 World Championships in Östersund, Sweden, Ekaterina was again close to victory, already in the mass start. In competition with the Italian Dorothea Wierer and the German Denise Herrmann, Ekaterina came second.
He lost 4.9 seconds to the winner, making two errors over the entire distance. It seemed that if Katya had one more kilometer, the second championship would be inevitable.
“I didn’t have any thoughts about Dora, even though I saw her from the front. To be honest, I was so afraid that Denise Herrmann, who was moving away from the finish line, would catch up with me, that I ran away from her with all my strength,” recalled Ekaterina, the 2019 World Cup silver medalist.
So Katya was prevented from reaching the goal?
Video
Damn you, objective! How a mechanism stole Katya Yurlova’s gold medal
Antholz Soloist
After success at the 2015 World Cup, Yurlova-Perkht also received World Cup medals. On the sixth stage in Antholz, Italy, the Russian team made a lot of noise. And one of the main roles in this concert was played by Ekaterina, who won medals in all races. This happened in January 2016.
It all started with bronze in the sprint, where she lost in a bitter fight to her compatriot Olga Podchufarova. Then they both shot to zero, but Katya was destined to start her chase with a delay of 22.1 seconds.
Dorothea Wierer, Tiril Eckhoff, Gabriela Koukalova, Selina Gasparin… With such rivals it was clear in advance that this simply would not happen. But the experienced Russian showed that she is a master of contact racing. She just one miss at the shooting range and a brilliant victory in the pursuit race. Gasparin came in second, losing to the Russian at the finish line by 12 seconds. But the Russian champion did not stop there and she took bronze as part of the women’s relay quartet. The Russians then snatched a medal from the Italian team.
Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht
Photo: Getty Images
Katya is a team fighter.
That medal from Yurlova was not enough. And already in 2019 she beat Denise Hermann in the most difficult conditions at Oberhof. Wind, snow, fog… In the fourth stage of the relay, in front of the German public, the Bundesteam leader was left with nothing.
While Denise finished two penalty laps after the grandstand, Katya confidently ran towards the finish line. Yes Yes! She ended up with a flag in her hands!
In general, Yurlova’s successes always occurred at critical moments for the team. She gave the country the only gold at the 2015 World Cup, helped the women’s team not lose face at the 2019 World Cup and became number one in the Antholz stage, showing the world all the power of Russian biathlon . We will miss such a strong, stubborn and self-confident biathlete. It is very good that Ekaterina is close to biathlon, and it seems that her victories will be admired by active biathletes for a long time. After all, who knows when we will have the first world champion after Yurlova-Perkht…
Ekaterina shared her plans for the future:
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“My daughter proudly says that her mother is a world champion.” Interview with Ekaterina Yurlova
