General
Bolshunov turned on beast mode! Alexander waited for this victory for 277 days
What a pity that you won’t be able to cheer for such an Alexander at the Olympics!
This winter season has been difficult for Alexander Bolshunov. Our athlete seemed to have forgotten how to win. But everything changed in the champion’s first race after the New Year.
Bolshunov recalled himself as an example of better times.
“Private Zone” by Bolshunov
The beginning of the 2025/26 season can easily be called the worst for Bolshunov in recent years. The three-time Olympic champion did not win a single victory before the January break. To be fair, before the New Year holidays, Alexander began to show consistently high results, but the last time he climbed to the top step of the podium was on April 13th.
In addition, Bolshunov dealt a blow to his own reputation by staging a showdown with his namesake Bakurov at the PhosAgro Russian Cup stage in Kirovsk. This incident even led to a deterioration in relations with the President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR) Elena Vyalbe. Before the stage in Kazan, she did not communicate with the leader of the team and was not aware of whether the skier was going to compete in the 15-kilometer freestyle time trial. The senior coach of the Russian cross-country skiing team, Yuri Borodavko, was better informed about Bolshunov’s plans.
— Alexander plans to compete at the stage in Kazan. As for readiness, all questions should be directed to Alexander. After all, an athlete’s well-being is a private zone. Let him answer himself,” Borodavko told Match TV.
There is the first victory of the season
At the start of the race, Bolshunov did not force the speed, showing the fifth result and losing to Sergei Zabaluev by a symbolic 2.6 seconds. By the end of the first lap, Alexander took the lead. He was 6.1 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Yegor Mitroshin. The leader of the overall Russian Cup standings, Sergei Ardashev, lost more than ten seconds.
On the second lap, Alexander significantly strengthened his advantage. It was clear that the skier had improved physically compared to his own last year. Bolshunov also looked fresher than his opponents. Every movement was filled with the desire to break this prolonged black streak. Mitroshin was already 16.1 seconds behind at the 10 km mark.
In the last one and a half kilometers, Alexander’s advantage began to shrink, but very little. The gap gained in the first two laps was enough to win the first victory of the season. Mitroshin finished second (+16.9 sec). The top three was completed by Ivan Gorbunov (+30.7 sec).
Alexander can only be congratulated for overcoming the protracted crisis. And what a pity that with such form Bolshunov does not compete at the World Cup. He will also be missed at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Watch PhosAgro’s live broadcasts of the Russian Ski Cup on the TV channels of the Match group, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
General
Commonwealth Biathlon Cup: when does it start, where to watch the mixed relay online on January 25
On Sunday, January 25, at the fourth stage of the Alfa-Bank Commonwealth Biathlon Cup in the Belarusian Raubichi, a mixed relay will be held.
The competition will begin at 13:45 Moscow time. The live broadcast will be available from 13:35 on the Match TV and Match! Arena”, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
10 teams will take part in the race, consisting of four biathletes each (2 men and 2 women). The relay has four stages of 6 kilometers each.
Team compositions:
1. Russia-1: Anastasia Khalili, Natalia Shevchenko, Saveliy Konovalov, Kirill Bazhin;
2. Belarus‑1: Dinara Smolskaya, Anna Sola, Stepan Danilov, Anton Smolsky;
3. Russia-2: Anastasia Tomshina, Victoria Slivko, Evgeny Sidorov, Eduard Latypov;
4. Belarus‑2: Irina Shakleina, Elena Kulak, Maxim Vorobey, Nikita Lobastov;
5. Russia-3: Tamara Derbusheva, Yulia Kovalenko, Alexander Povarnitsyn, Oleg Domichek;
6. Belarus-3: Ksenia Vorobey, Alina Zaitseva, Pavel Belko, Dmitry Lazovsky;
7. Russia-4: Victoria Metelya, Anastasia Grishina, Ivan Kolotov, Daniil Usov;
8. Russia-5: Irina Kazakevich, Inna Tereshchenko, Mikhail Strebko, Andrey Ostapiy;
9. Russia-6: Svetlana Mironova, Anastasia Shevchenko, Egor Prokudin, Yaroslav Konkin;
10. Russia-7: Elizaveta Nasotovich, Anastasia Egorova, Vyacheslav Maleev, Ilnaz Muzamedzyanov.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
General
The Italian team won the mixed relay at the World Cup stage in the Czech Republic, the Germans were deprived of victory in the mixed single due to disqualification
Dorothea Wierer / Photo: © Christian Manzoni/NordicFocus / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
The Italian team won the mixed relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
The Italian team, consisting of Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi, Lukas Hofer and Tommaso Giacomel, achieved a time of 1 hour 3 minutes 11.7 seconds (0 penalties and 10 extra rounds). The second place was taken by the French team (Ocean Michelot, Justine Brezaz-Boucher, Oscar Lombardo, Quentin Fillon Maillet; backlog – 24.7 seconds; 0+7), the top three was completed by the Czech team (Essika Jislova, Tereza Vobornikova, Viteslav Hornig, Michal Krcmar; +57.2; 0+7).
In the single mixed relay, Germans Marlene Fichtner and Leonard Pfund took first place. However, the German team was later disqualified due to violating safety rules when handling a rifle – after the second shooting from a prone position, Fichtner incorrectly secured the weapon on her back.
After this decision, the victory went to the Finnish team, which was represented by Suvi Minkkinen and Tero Seppälä (34.59.8; 0+8). The second place was taken by the French Jeanne Richard and Emilien Claude (+11.3; 0+6), the third – by the Norwegians Uni Arnekleive and Martin Nevland (+16.7; 0+8).
The World Cup stage in Nove Mesto will end on Sunday with races from a general start.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
General
Ex-skater Klimov on missing the 2018 Olympic Games: “I won’t say that I felt a strong upset, but rather total devastation”
Photo: © Wang Haofei/Global Look Press
Former figure skater Fedor Klimov spoke about how he coped with missing the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
Klimov, performing in tandem with Ksenia Stolbova, won a gold medal at the 2014 Olympic Games and also became a three-time Russian champion. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not allow the couple to participate in the 2018 Olympic Games.
— In general, I didn’t follow what was happening at the Games. And even then I didn’t rewatch the performances. I knew from hearsay what was happening and how, but nothing more. For me, this start didn’t exist; I couldn’t bring myself to be interested in it. I won’t say that I felt any strong upset, but rather total devastation. There were no emotions at all,” Klimov told RT.
Some time after missing the 2018 Olympics, the athlete retired. After that he started working as a coach.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
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