Alexander Loginov’s career is full of ups and downs. And in 2023, he is clearly going through tough times in biathlon. As it turned out, in the summer he thought about quitting big sports after a whole season of fighting the disease and missing stages, but he decided to continue. At the beginning of the new season he competed in one race, finished fifth and again missed the starts. We will see Alexander again on the track only at the Russian Summer Championships in Tyumen.
But can he accelerate there and return to a high level?
Shipulin’s successor is the leader of the Russian national team.
After Anton Shipulin retired, the burden of leadership in the national team fell on Alexander Loginov. And following the best traditions of Anton, he immediately got into the top three according to the results of the general classification of the World Cup for the 2018/2019 season. Only the Norwegian Johannes Boe was ahead. In the same season he achieved success at the World Championships, where he won individual silver in the sprint, losing to Boe himself, and bronze in the men’s relay.
And a year later, at the World Championships he did something almost incredible: he won the sprint, leaving Fourcade, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Boe behind. That day in February, Loginov broke the dark streak of Russian biathlon: more than 12 years without gold medals in individual races and three years since the last team victory.
Loginov’s famous sprint victory at the World Championships:
“I want to enjoy this moment.” How a Russian defeated the French and won World Cup gold
Loginov arrived from the Beijing Olympics as a two-time Olympic medalist, but never returned to the World Cup. He, like other Russian athletes, was deprived of the opportunity to compete in international competitions.
“There is gunpowder in the flask. Will fight!”
And then a series of diseases began. First a concussion, then a cold and missing the early stages of the Commonwealth Cup. As a result, during the entire season, Alexander participated in only six races and in none of them he even finished in the top 10.
All this time, Loginov underwent medical examinations, received endless treatments and, according to coaches Sergei Bashkirov, Maxim Kugaevsky and Alexander Kasperovich, wanted to “quickly return to the level and compete.” But he was simply tired of struggling with his body and lack of proper motivation in the absence of international competitions.
Fans were worried whether Loginov would decide to end his career, but then the coach of the Tyumen region, Maxim Kugaevsky, reassured them.
“He was diagnosed, something I have no right to reveal. The specific problem has been identified and formal treatment has been prescribed. Before this, it took a long time to identify the diagnosis. Regarding his career, he said that he wants to continue. There is gunpowder in the flask. He will fight! “– The coach explained.
Alexander Loginov
Photo: RIA Novosti
“I’ve had a long career”
And only after the offseason, Alexander admitted that, despite the encouraging statements of his coaches, he really thought about retiring.
“There were thoughts about retiring. I will even say that I lived with these thoughts all spring, all of June and July. It wasn’t until August that I tried to keep them away. There is a responsibility for everyone, that’s why I decided to move forward,” the athlete admitted in Sochi.
At the same time, he is not afraid that those thoughts will arise again.
“I’ve had a long career, so anything can happen. I’m fine with this. I won’t say anything for now. I live for today. “I know what it’s like when you make plans,” Alexander said ironically.
There were many health problems, fortunately everything is going away little by little. I hope everything returns to normal. At the moment, these problems have not completely disappeared. However, I can train and even act.”
And indeed, at the beginning of the season, Loginov, who was preparing for the season alone in the company of Babikov and Povarnitsyn according to the plans of Dmitry Shukalovich, looks good. In the first race in Sochi he placed fifth, and the leader of the Belarusian biathlon, Anton Smolsky, even admitted that, in addition to Latypov, he considers Alexander Loginov his main rival, and this despite the fact that he was absent almost all of it. year. the entire previous season.
How Loginov performed in the first race of the season:
The Russians lost the first race of the new biathlon season. Latypov ran too fast
Only we won’t see Alexander in Sochi anymore. He will again miss the remaining races and the next meeting will take place in Tyumen in mid-September. Does this mean that Loginov will miss a large number of races again? It’s not clear yet. But Alexander, like a phoenix, managed to be reborn from the ashes again and again. Will it work now?
If you don’t see the survey, you can follow the link.
