Russia (bbabo.net), - As is usually said about children from sports families, he learned to skate/ski/bike before he could walk. Something like this happened with Konstantin Ivliev. At the age of six, he was already confidently skating. It couldn't be otherwise. Mom Elizaveta Ivlieva - European champion in short track in the women's relay in 2004 and 2006. Dad Alexey Ivliev participated in the world championships, was the coach of the national team. Now both parents are also coaching.
Konstantin, to the delight of the whole family, has already surpassed the achievements of the older generation. He is the winner (mixed relay, 3000m) and silver medalist (1500m) at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival. In 2021, he already won the adult European Championship at a distance of 500 m. Despite the fact that he is only 21, and his track record is small, he was considered one of the contenders for the medals of the 2022 Games.
In the sprint qualification, Ivliev began to work out advances. He showed the second time, losing only to the champion of the 2018 Olympics in the 500-meter race, the Chinese Wu Dajing. Already in the final, he lost to another very worthy opponent, the Hungarian of Chinese origin Shaoan Liu - the champion of Pyeongchang in the relay, the world champion in 2021 in the 500-meter race, the bronze medalist in the 1000-meter distance here in Beijing.
In the final race, Ivliev finished with a score of 40.431 seconds. Shaoang Liu was slightly ahead (40.338s). Canada's Steven Dubois finished third with a score of 40.669. Another Russian, Pavel Sitnikov, finished second in the B final (41.217).
- My trump card is a quick start. Therefore, at all stages, I gave everything to the maximum in order to realize my advantage and to have a more convenient track in the final. It is much more comfortable to run first than in the back, - Ivliev said in a conversation with reporters. - And in general, oddly enough, I did not feel any pressure or discomfort due to the fact that this is the Olympics. There were no jitters or sweaty palms. I ran and enjoyed the competition, the environment. And in the end ran to the medal. Its cool.
Beijing 2022 is the debut Olympics for Ivliev. In the next Olympic cycle, we will definitely hear more about this guy - tall, curly, daring and, as experts say, cold-blooded. The athlete himself also admitted: "In the last race, the speed was high, it was hard to climb. I covered the curb so that they would not overtake me, I tried to protect my position." Given the refereeing at the Olympic tournament, he competently ran the race. It was possible to take a risk and literally fight for the "gold". Short track is still a contact sport. But the rules regarding interference with the opponent are strict here. We have already experienced the disqualification of our team in the mixed relay and the failure of Sofia Prosvirnova in individual distances. An even more offensive situation happened with one of Ivliev's idols. In the 1000m, Shandor Shaolin Liu, brother of the 500m champion, finished first and was already celebrating with the coaching staff when the judges gave him a yellow card for breaking the rules during the race. As a result, the champion "fell" in last place. The Chinese Ren Ziwei climbed to the first, followed by his compatriot Li Wenlong. The third place - as compensation - was taken by Shaoang Liu. So in his final, Ivliev did everything right. And experience will help him in the future.
Konstantin Ivliev came to the rink at the age of six. Played hockey and short track
Although now there will still be an opportunity to prove themselves. You just need to calm down, get distracted - listen to your favorite rap, play a computer game - and start again. The Russian men's short track team - consisting of Ivliev, Semyon Elistratov, Pavel Sitnikov and Denis Airapetyan - qualified for the final A in the 5000m relay. The boys took second place in the second semi-final. In the main race, the Russians will face the teams of Canada, Italy, South Korea and China. Recall that in Beijing Yelistratov won the "bronze" at a distance of 1500 meters. He is also the Sochi Olympic relay champion. So cheer for the guys on February 16th.
Professional's opinion
Russian national team coach Tatiana Borodulina thinks that Konstantin Ivliev competently held the final at a distance of 500 meters."Konstantin has been showing a high level for more than a year. He is a European champion and last year at the World Championships he showed good results. In the quarterfinals, Kostya had the best result. The composition of the semifinals also influenced which track. His main advantage is starting speed. The task was to explode at the very beginning and take advantage of the strengths... Kostya is a good fellow, he competently held the final. If he tried to pass Liu, he could have been disqualified. In terms of speed, the Hungarian is not stronger, but he has the skill of holding the position. If If Kostya had taken the risk, he could have lost the medal altogether.It was clear that he had more speed, but Liu began to slow down a little, and there were no options to pass him.Kostya has a great future, we must continue to work and in four years to be on the first place," Borodulina said on the air of our colleagues from Match TV.
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