Latypova was covered by Loginov’s shadow at the finish, and Kolotov “climbed out of the hole” with gold.

The men’s pursuit race at the Russian Biathlon Championships in Tyumen brought a surprise victory. Maybe someone bet on the champion, but, of course, they looked preferable, for example, Karim Khalili, who won the sprint, or Eduard Latypov, eager to correct his ninth place the day before. And Ivan Kolotov, it turns out, had very clear plans for this championship. And he even exceeded them.

Who did win? Ivan Kolotov? Yes, in this situation, when all the strongest were running in the pursuit, and even Eduard Latypov and Anton Smolsky, who were already hungry for victories, it was time for those who did not follow the race to ask again. But Ivan completed the race in such a way that it was all right. Shooting was zero at all levels, but it was shooting on the melted snow that was decisive in the pursuit race, as it was the day before in the sprint.

After the victory, Kolotov looked somewhat taken aback. No, he decided for himself on the eve of the championship that he would stop taking a spoon full of the failures that plagued him during the season. And he came to Tyumen with very specific thoughts: “it’s time to get out of this hole.” Even the dreams before the Russian Championship were repeated: he goes into the sprint, always shoots without missing a beat, and ends up “in the colors.” However, his nightly thoughts did not aim at a medal. He says he understood: “the guys are running much stronger now and only zero can save me.”

All that remained was to materialize the dreams. I went to the “flowers” ​​and became fifth in the sprint. And then reality quickly gave birth to new requests. Before the pursuit, a different goal appeared: to shoot again without penalties, but “to be already 100% with a medal.” But what about the strong move of competitors? He understood the risks, but he also realized something else: “zero (at the boundary) is the best lubricant.”

So Ivan Kolotov went the distance. Shot as expected. And then you just had to restrain yourself so that your strength doesn’t run out at the most necessary moment. “I understood that the main thing is not to rush from the very beginning.” And you need, as Ivan said after the finish, to drive in the same rhythm as before for four laps. And then – finish, wave to the audience, thank everyone.

Under these wonderful thoughts, the coaches told him how many seconds the leader had ahead of his opponents. And the understanding that “no matter how bad I run, no one will be able to beat me for 30 seconds” was reassuring. Which was not in vain. Victory remained with him. Although even in his dreams he didn’t bet on it. And well done, he had problems with his skis, but still said “thank you” to the service department for their work on Match TV: “the guys have been working since the very morning, they are working, a low bow – this is the result of them too.”

This race is also a story about how Eduard Latypov at first couldn’t cope, then he was able to, and at the last second he couldn’t cope with the shadow of Alexander Loginov. Four misses in a pursuit is an extra 600 meters. I would like to say almost like in the famous cartoon: it will be too much! Although it would be better, of course, as in the original: not enough. But that’s what Eduard and Latypov are for, so that such situations would not only not confuse him, but would not break him. Although he voiced his understanding after the finish: all the misses were annoying, “he could have hit anywhere.” But in some places I was in a hurry, in others I really wanted to get there and “go into the fight.”

He comes from the struggle, really. and didn’t leave. Was included in it until the very last meters. And he missed the silver in an instant. He will say that he knew: Alexander Loginov is behind. But I already gave all my strength to catch up with the leaders and because of my penalty laps. “On the last climb I didn’t have enough frequency, Sanya added a little.” And at the finish line, Eduard understood that “Loginov’s shadow” was approaching, and by the sounds he felt that he was close. “But I was already going as far as I could, there was already a question of who had more strength left and who could do the step-up better.” But Latypov no longer had this strength to do it. Edward will tell you all this, but will immediately rejoice: “It was a good, beautiful fight.”

Alexander Loginov, who won silver, will say the same. He admits that the route was even more difficult than the day before: at first the ski track was a little frozen, then the sun melted it. And therefore there was no doubt: from the first lap it would be difficult everywhere – on the descents, on the plains, and on the broken climbs. This meant that clean shooting again came to the fore. But, alas. “I had two standing penalties that hurt, which prevented me from finishing comfortably,” admits Sasha.

He will also tell you that when he had already finished, he approached Anton Smolsky and said: “God gave me competitors for the finishing circle.” During the final climb, a group of biathletes went to “pull”, they had the strength to reach the finish line. But it turns out that Loginov, as he says, hesitated a little on the overpass, so he lost speed. Oh, don’t hesitate, I should have rolled out next to Eduard, “it would have been a little easier.” But it turned out that he reached the finish line slightly behind Latypov, so he “had to finish through gritted teeth.”

Russian championship. Pursuit

Men

1. Ivan Kolotov – 36.35.9 (0)

2. Alexander Loginov – 8.1 (2)

3. Eduard Latypov – 8.3 (4)

4. Anton Smolsky (Belarus) – 9.4 (1)

5. Karim Khalili – 12.8 (4)

6. Petr Pashchenko – 15.5 (3)

7. Alexey Kornev – 18.3 (4)

8. Kirill Bazhin – 18.9 (2)

9. Ilnaz Mukhamedzyanov – 22.5 (3)

10. Alexander Povarnitsyn – 27.6 (2)