Biathlete Loginov left the national team himself, but Babikov was not taken there

On May 16, the RBU press service published the lists of coaching groups for the 2023/24 season. Biathletes Loginov, Babikov, Slivko and Mironova did not get into centralized training. Alexander and Anton trained in the group of Sergei Bashkirov, Svetlana – with Artem Istomin, Slivko – in the team of the Tyumen region.

Let’s leave aside the question that can be procrastinated for years: is centralized training necessary in general, and now, in the absence of international competitions, in particular? Memory helpfully throws two striking examples at once, albeit from cross-country skiing: Norwegian Johannes Klebo refused to work with the national team. And our Sergey Ustyugov joyfully emphasized his absence from the national team all season long – the famous showdowns with the “bags” from the national team after Sergey’s victories are remembered by everyone.

Yes, the stars had different reasons for abandoning the national team: Klebo referred to the fact that in the current economic conditions, the regime of saving everything and everything frees up a place in the national team for one of his colleagues. But at the same time, he untied his hands and got the right to decide where and when he should train, which he had been striving for for a long time. And Sergei Ustyugov does not accept a common bridle at all, he needs an individual approach, and this is probably already known to everyone.

So – not even centralized training itself has now become a high-profile subject of discussion. And the question is, why are there no Loginov and Babikov in the team that will be on it? Those whom we do not just call leaders, but who they are. The leader reaches for the leader, and everyone else follows them, right?

It is very difficult to look for the truth in our biathlon internal relations. This has also been proven time and again. The official explanation came from Pavel Rostovtsev, vice-president for sports of the RBU. (Some still continue to call him the head coach, but the specialist was not approved for this position due to the lack of necessary criteria).

Rostovtsev says that world champion Alexander Loginov will prepare for the season on his own, as he announced on May 5. Although, in fact, he planned to train as part of the group of Sergei Bashkirov. And the Bashkirov group will continue to work, no one is disbanding it, but the head coach of the men’s team Yuri Kaminsky will methodically accompany it. And from this season, in general, be responsible for the methodological preparation of the entire men’s national team. The latest news just fits into the comments of some experts that the RRF is centralizing control in the hands of Yuri Kaminsky.

Talk about the fact that the Bashkirov group would be disbanded hovered in the biathlon space for several days. Moreover, Anton Babikov’s failure to get into centralized training was directly linked to the problems that the biathlete had with the coach because of the group analyst Dmitry Shukalovich. But to dig into this means to completely bury the topic. Now only one thing can be said with certainty: analyst Shukalovich, now the chief curator of the RBU project for the development of youth biathlon, will be responsible for the progress of 18-year-old athletes.

And Babikov, according to the vice-president, did not get into the national team due to inconsistency with the criteria for forming a team. Only 32 biathletes, 15 men, are in centralized training. Eight athletes were selected according to the results of the season, the rest – by the decision of the coaches.

According to the selection criteria, the team got: Latypov, Serokhvostov, Khalili, Bazhin, Porshnev, Pashchenko and Povarnitsyn. But Pashchenko and Porshnev decided to stay in the regional team, Tsvetkov and Tomshin moved to their place. Denis Irodov, the leader of the RRF junior rating, also got into the team. (And the seven according to the coaching decision is Loginov, Eremin, Mukhamedzyanov, Kolotov, Emerkhonov, Kornev and Domichek.)

Pavel Rostovtsev emphasizes that Anton Babikov took 16th place in the consolidated rating. And the decision to exclude it is connected with the preparations for the 2026 Olympic Games. True, on May 5, when Loginov announced his refusal, Anton was offered to take the vacant seat. He refused. It’s strange that he refused, right? And in the rating of the RRF, Babikov was seventh, what did they mix with?

And the president of the RRF, Viktor Maigurov, says that if Babikov, and Loginov, want to, they will still be in centralized training. But there are conditions: the preparation plan, the dates of the training camp, the coaching methodology.

There will be many more conversations. But – again: we knew and will see many more athletes who showed results even without centralized training. So the point is in it, but in how the rights and rules are observed.

By the way, Victoria Slivko topped the RRF rating in the season without friendly work in the national team team. The biathlete has now decided on self-training. Rostovtsev even stressed that, as shown last season, this scheme works. He said that the athlete would be assisted with equipment and equipment.

Svetlana Mironova in the new season will train at the expense of the Sverdlovsk region, but in the group of coaches Artem Istomin and Vitaly Noritsyn. Both Kristina Reztsova and Uliana Nigmatullina will train independently, she will start working as part of the Tyumen team from the end of summer.

There is also very good news: the return of Andrey Padin. The well-known coach will officially become an assistant in Shashilov’s group, he is already working with might and main with the team at the training camp.

And the main start of the season, as promised earlier, will be the Spartakiad in Zlatoust from 9 to 19 February. After the performance, it is there that coaches and athletes will receive an assessment for the season. There, apparently, everyone will appreciate who, where and how it was necessary to prepare.

Sergey Bashkirov’s group: Alexander Povarnitsyn, Vasily Tomshin, Kirill Bazhin, Ivan Kolotov, Maxim Tsvetkov, Oleg Domichek.

Mikhail Shashilov’s group: Irina Kazakevich, Tamara Derbusheva, Anastasia Shevchenko, Natalia Shevchenko, Anastasia Batmanova, Yulia Scheller, Kira Dyuzheva, Anna Grukhvina.

Yuri Kaminsky Group: Eduard Latypov, Roman Eremin, Denis Irodov, Ilnaz Mukhamedzyanov, Alexander, Evgeny Emerkhonov and Larisa Kuklina.

Artem Istomin’s group: Daniil Serokhvostov, Karim Khalili, Ekaterina Noskova, Elizaveta Kaplina, Ksenia Dovgaya, Alina Kudisova, Anastasia Goreeva, Natalya Gerbulova, Anastasia Zyryanova, Anastasia Grishina.