The Russian skier was deprived of gold due to an overly aggressive attack on the last climb
Andrey Shitikhin September 17, 2023, 10:45 Moscow time
Passions are running high at the summer national championship: Stepanova fell heavily, Kuznetsov was left without a victory and Pekletsova caused a sensation.
At the Russian summer championship among skiers held in Malinovka, passions simply boil. In the men’s sprint, a loud scandal broke out after the finish line, in women’s speed skating, a sensational victory (although it’s time to get used to it) was won by a junior, and one of the Olympic champions fell seriously during the race. .
However, this is not shown on television. Thanks to the “On Skis!” project, which broadcasts live on the VK network, to the “Radio Skis” channel, which quickly publishes the most interesting moments, and to subscribers on social networks who share their materials. There is definitely something and someone to see in Malinovka, as Yuri Borodavko predicted.
Scandal after the goal
The classic men’s sprint, like almost any men’s sprint, developed with controversial moments that decided the fate of the races. Thus, in the semifinals, Fedor Nazarov broke Denis Filimonov’s stick. They both made a decisive acceleration on the climb before the finish, and an incident occurred at the top of the climb. In this case, there were no consequences from the jury.
But the contest jury took a long time to resolve what happened in the final. On the same climb before the finish line, in a tough fight, Andrey Kuznetsov from the Krasnoyarsk region overtook Sergei Ardashev from Tatarstan. But the Tatar team filed a protest against the actions of the Krasnoyarsk skier.
After a long process, the jury issued a written warning to Kuznetsov and moved him to sixth place for interfering with his opponent. Ardashev came first, Ivan Bezmaternykh from the Yamalo-German Autonomous District took second place, and Andrey Parfenov from the Tyumen region moved up to third place.
Representatives of the Krasnoyarsk Territory were outraged by this decision and did not hide their emotions. In addition, on his part, Ardashev was accused that if he had not trained in the main team of the national team (in the group of Yegor Sorin.-Note “Championship”), the protest would have remained unsatisfied. But the outrage did not affect the result.
In the women’s sprint there were no such passions. Anastasia Faleeva took a convincing victory, Alena Baranova was second and Daria Nepryaeva third. All athletes train in different groups of the national team. Olympic champion Yulia Stupak, who missed the time trial and was preparing specifically for the sprint, failed to reach the final.
National Summer Ski Championships
Photo: FLGR
The fall of Veronica Stepanova
Another Olympic champion, Veronika Stepanova, also did not start the sprint. But she had another reason. During the speed skating test, the athlete fell heavily and injured her left leg.
This happened on a flat section of the route: Veronica herself stumbled. She didn’t get up immediately, but she still got up and continued the race. It is true that the fight was no longer talked about, but in this case this is not the main thing. The main thing is that there are no health consequences. The athlete already missed the sprint and the big question is whether she will participate in the classic race. But if it doesn’t happen, don’t worry. The main thing is that everything has completely disappeared by the winter season.
Victory for junior Pekletsova
The women’s time trial was won in great style by junior Alina Pekletsova. Only in December she will turn 18 years old. Much was said about this athlete during the Russian winter championships in Tyumen, when she won silver in speed skating, slightly losing to Ekaterina Smirnova. Then her performance became the most popular sensation of the tournament.
Pekletsova’s emotions after the sensation at the Russian Championship:
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Now – after a convincing victory – this is becoming a pattern. The second and third places were taken by the athletes of the Russian main team Ekaterina Smirnova and Anastasia Prokofieva.
But the most striking thing was the performance of the youth. Zarina Kutlumbaeva, a very young skier from Bashkiria born in 2006, came fifth, and Ekaterina Nikitina, bronze medalist of the 2023 Russian Adult Championships in relay and captain of the youth team, finished seventh. And this despite a leg injury that forced her to prematurely interrupt the training camp in Krasnaya Polyana and which she cannot get rid of.
The men’s time trial turned out to be the calmest: Ivan Yakimushkin won, ahead of Savely Korostelev and Evgeniy Belov.
The championship program still includes classic time trials, which will take place on September 18. And within the framework of the All-Russian competitions, the tournament will close with long-distance races.
Bolshunov and Ustyugov do not participate in the Russian Summer Championship:
“Athletes need to be protected.” The Russian Summer Championship will be held without Bolshunov and Ustyugov
