Natalia Shevchenko won the sprint race at the third stage of the Alfa-Bank Russian Biathlon Cup in Demino (Yaroslavl region).

Shevchenko covered the 7.5 km distance in 19 minutes 37.3 seconds, making no mistakes at two shooting ranges. Second place went to Anastasia Khalili (0 misses, lag – 22.1 seconds), who returned to the competition after illness. The top three were completed by Kristina Reztsova (2 penalties, +47.4 seconds).

On Saturday, the Russian Cup will feature women’s and men’s pursuit races.

Watch live broadcasts of the Alfa-Bank Russian Biathlon Championship races on the Match TV and Match! Arena”. You can also follow the progress of the competition on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

The overwhelming majority of biathletes from Russia who changed their citizenship dreamed of achieving significant results at international competitions. In fact, their performance leaves much to be desired.

They even rejoice at finishing in last place!

Left for international starts

The backbone of the Moldavian biathlon team has been made up of former Russian athletes for many years. This season, the men’s relay four consists exclusively of ex-Russians. Pavel Magazeev, Andrey Usov, Maxim Makarov have been representing this country since 2020. A couple of years earlier, Mikhail Usov joined the team.

All athletes have the same transition story, give or take. They showed good results in juniors; Magazeev was a world champion, but at the adult level they failed to make it into the Russian national team. Changing citizenship was a way to try my hand at the highest level.

Under the new flag, the guys sometimes even showed good results, both in individual races and in team races. Mikhail Usov was once in the top 4, and Magazeev was repeatedly in the top six at the IBU Cup. In 2024, Makarov was one step away from a medal at the European Championships in single mixed doubles.

But lately the ex-Russians have not been particularly pleased with their high results at international competitions, especially the relay four. The last time the team simply reached the finish line was in January 2024, when it finished 21st at the stage in Ruhpolding. Then we even managed to overtake our rivals from Bulgaria and South Korea.

Maxim Makarov / Photo: © Kevin Voigt / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Local success after two years of waiting

This season, the Moldavian team was represented in the men’s relay only at the stage in Oberhof, where it was removed during the race for being a lap behind. Only the disqualification of the Bulgarians and the withdrawal of the Austrians allowed Moldova not to be in last place in the protocol.

In Ruhpolding, the coaching staff also entered the team into the men’s relay. This time the ex-Russians finally reached the finish line. The Moldavian team finished last out of 22 teams, but still finished. This fact caused joy among representatives of the coaching staff and the federation, who soberly assess their capabilities. Andrei Usov, who closed the relay, was also pleased with the finish. The athlete warmly greeted the stands, which responded with loud applause. Last place and a seven-minute gap from the victorious French could not spoil the small reason for joy.

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist and world champion Alexander Loginov said on Match TV that he competed in the sprint at the Alfa-Bank Russian Cup stage in Demino without having time to recover from an illness.

On Friday, Loginov took first place in the sprint in Demino. The 33-year-old athlete covered the 10 km distance in 22 minutes 3.3 seconds, making no mistakes at two shooting ranges. Kirill Bazhin came second, Roman Eremin rounded out the top three.

“I understood and realized that today it was impossible to force the speed, because I still cannot recover from the illness. Literally: I take a little jog on the street and start clearing my throat. Today this is what happened after the first round. I started coughing and, honestly, I stopped giving my best on the climbs a little. I understood that I had to go with a reserve and leave my strength for the final part of the race,” Loginov said on Match TV.

At these moments, a women’s sprint is taking place in Demino as part of the Russian Cup stage; watch the live broadcast on the Match TV channel, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.