The Russian biathlete not only showed great promise, but was considered the main talent of his generation. Five gold medals at the junior world championships spoke for themselves. No one else in the country has had such success. He could tear his opponents apart at the World Cup, but he preferred piloting helicopters to biathlon, for which he had a special passion. Unfortunately, this is, to put it mildly, unsafe.

He was great in juniors, but his career did not work out

Malinovsky in juniors fought on equal terms with the Norwegian Sturla Legrade, who later became the leader of the world biathlon and almost took away the Big Crystal Globe from Johannes Be. In the last two seasons, he was second overall. Only now the amazing successes at this level have not been transformed into something serious.

By the age of 24, the talented athlete had only completed five World Cup races, never finishing in the top 60. Last year, it got to the point that there was information about the imminent retirement. Igor began to frankly hint that he would hang the rifle on a nail, but when his coach said the same, he denied the words of his mentor.

Although globally everything was clear. Malinovsky was no longer interested in biathlon at the highest level. His social networks were exclusively flights, helicopters and photos in the form of a pilot. There is no need to be Vanga to understand what goals the young guy pursued. Aviation took up most of his time, which, obviously, was not enough for fruitful preparation for the winter seasons.

“Soul in the sky – my childhood and my life”

In April 2022, Igor graduated from the Omsk Flight Technical College of Civil Aviation. And in general, it must be said that Malinovsky is a hereditary pilot and never hid the fact that sooner or later flying will force biathlon out of his life.

– An airline pilot earns a little more than a titled biathlete, such as Shipulin. A private pilot is ten times more. Aviation is more profitable, but for me it’s not about money. Soul in the sky – this cannot be taken away, my childhood and my life. I don’t want to change myself, I will be a pilot,” Malinovsky told Sports.ru.

The soul asked, and he went after the dream, knowing full well that this is associated with a high level of danger. On July 16, 2022, Igor went on another flight, the corresponding video can be found on his social networks. And then came the news that the crew of the Robinson helicopter did not get in touch in Kamchatka. According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the missing helicopter flew along the route “the caldera of the Uzon volcano – the village of Milkovo”.

Terrible news and alarm

The crew stopped communicating at around 2 p.m. local time. There were three people on board, Igor Malinovsky was at the helm. According to Ren TV, the vehicle belongs to the private company Vzlyot, owned by the father of the biathlete Vladimir Malinovsky.

The main department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the Kamchatka Territory reported that the search for the missing helicopter will continue with the onset of daylight hours, and the MI-8 helicopter with the personnel of the search and rescue team of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, as well as the helicopter of the territorial center for disaster medicine will be involved in their implementation.

From such news it always becomes creepy, because everyone understands that the matter is very serious. Sports commentator Dmitry Guberniev wrote on his Telegram channel that he believes in saving Malinovsky’s crew. There is nothing to add here. It remains to believe and hope that a talented young guy and his passengers will still get in touch.