Russia (bbabo.net), - After the drama at the finish of the men's biathlon relay, when race leader Eduard Latypov failed to clear two targets at the last shooting range, used all three extra cartridges and went for two penalties, the bronze medal burden hung on the necks of our athletes.

This is the third bronze medal for the Russians at the Beijing Olympics after the mixed relay and the men's pursuit. And each time there was a real opportunity to take the "gold". Counting all the previous failures in the individual races and estimating the chances of a podium in the women's relay, how could it be assumed that the girls would perform better than the guys and win the "silver" even with one penalty loop?! But this miraculous result is already in the protocols and in the table of medals.

The Russian team, which was represented by Irina Kazakevich, Kristina Reztsova, Svetlana Mironova and Uliana Nigmatullina, lost to the Swedes, who overcame the 4x6 km distance in 1 hour 11 minutes 3.09 seconds, used six extra rounds on eight firing lines and avoided penalty loops. We have 12 seconds behind the leaders, 12 extra rounds and one penalty loop. The Germans finished third (37.4 seconds back; 0 penalties + six extra rounds). This medal success was the first for our biathletes in relay races since the victorious finish in Vancouver 2010, when Svetlana Sleptsova, Anna Bogaliy-Titovets, Olga Medvedtseva and Olga Zaitseva became Olympic champions.

The biathletes in Beijing already have four medals, but there is no "gold" yet. There is only hope for mass starts

The current “silver” is just the revival and rehabilitation of the entire women's team and its coaching staff, who have heard a lot of criticism from all sides. There was a reason. Mironova, for example, finished 23rd, 47th and 41st in three races in Beijing. Kazakevich - 20th and 23rd. Only Reztsova could reach the podium in the sprint and in the individual (6th and 9th places). But the shooting failed. So all the comments on the results of her lost medals, including those from her mother, Anfisa Reztsova, an Olympic champion in both biathlon and cross-country skiing, boiled down to the following equation: if she hadn’t missed, she would have won a medal.

In such a situation, a miss could happen even before the start of the relay - at the stage of formation of the composition. And here again, there was a controversial and even conflict situation, when Evgenia Burtasova was not put in the top four. She allegedly refused to run a friendly mass start, as Karim Khalili did the day before and secured a place in the top four. However, Burtasova did not understand that the start was qualifying and the coaches wanted to assess her condition based on it.

And although Mironova did not cope with shooting on the rack, as often happens with her, and went to the penalty loop, to the quartet - without any complaints.

President of the Russian Biathlon Union Viktor Maigurov told journalists about this.

Viktor Maigurov: In terms of the composition of the women's relay, the decision was absolutely correct. We do not know the current state of Burtasova. And the same Kazakevich was stable in training, in shooting. Let it not be fast, but on the first lap, as practice shows, there is no need to rush forward.

Which stage impressed you the most?

Viktor Maygurov: Kristina had a great stage, and Ulyana did not flinch at the last shooting. And she withstood everything. If on the first lap she let the German woman in a little, then then she not only did not concede, but on the finishing lap she returned all the backlog that she had lost. As for the "stand" Mironova, then look at the leaders - the French, Norwegians, Germans - they smear everything. There is not a single athlete who would not enter the penalty loop.

Do you also treat Latypov's two penalty loops?

Viktor Maygurov: There was disappointment, but also understanding. Edik is a young athlete, literally the second season shows decent results. Probably, he got into a rush, got agitated, could not cope with his nerves. But I'm sure it will show itself. I think he has a long sporting life ahead of him. After the finish, we had a conversation. He accepted the situation well. The guys cheered him up, we must give them their due. Everyone understands that at the last stage this can happen to anyone.

Before the mass starts, the national team has four medals, but no "gold". Satisfied with the result?

Viktor Maygurov: Before the Games, I said that we are able to claim medals in every race. These were not empty words. The Olympics show this. The guys probably had more opportunities. Girls may have less. But they did what they could. Of course, there is something to strive for, of course, I want "gold". For athletes first. After all, for someone it may be the last Games. We will still fight in the mass starts.

Direct speech

Irina Kazakevich, first stage:- For me, the stage went very quickly. The most important thing was to cope with the shooting. We were in a very tight group. At the finish line, there was a little lack of strength. But then Kristina was able to catch up with the girls, who broke away from me, already on the first lap. And in the next stages we maintained this speed and showed good shooting. Therefore, we managed to take the long-awaited medal.

Kristina Reztsova, second stage:

- Now it's a little easier to realize that I again became the winner of the Olympics. When this happened on the first day in the mixed relay, I had an incomprehensible feeling. I did not know what to think, what to do and how to behave. Now I feel more or less calm. And there was a feeling of joy. I'm happy. Maybe we were aiming for gold. But it is impossible to be dissatisfied with "silver". We really deserve it.

It is difficult to say whether the second stage in the women's relay was my best performance at the Olympics. I don't even know how to compare. In fact, in every race I had a little, but not enough. In the relay, I also had an unfortunate blunder, but it did not affect the situation so much. You can say that I worked 98 percent of the maximum.

Svetlana Mironova, third stage:

- My stage was very dynamic. She coped on the prone without a miss. Unfortunately, she did not close the target on the stand, she went to the penalty loop, but, fortunately, she passed the baton to the third one. The last lap was hard, but I endured until the end. But this is a team race. I am glad that together we managed to win a medal.

Ulyana Nigmatullina, fourth stage:

- At first it was interesting to watch the race - live and on the Internet. Then it was interesting to run. This turned out to be a great result.

Where will we watch

February 17, Thursday, "Russia 1"

13.00. Figure skating. Women. Free program. Live Stream.

"Match TV"

7.10. Hockey. Women. The final. Canada - USA. Live Stream.

9.25. Freestyle. Women. Ski cross. Final competition. Live broadcast.

11.40. Ice-skating race. Women. 1000 m. Live broadcast.

13.20 - 14.50, 14.55 - 16.30, 17.15 - 18.00. Roll call broadcasts from the Olympic arenas.

"Match! Country"

7.25. Freestyle. Men. Halfpipe. Qualification. Live Stream.

10.55. Ski biathlon. Team competition. The first type is jumping from a large springboard. Live Stream.

"Match! Game"

9.00. Curling. Women. Russia - Great Britain. Preliminary stage. Live Stream.

15.00. Curling. Men. Playoffs. Semi-finals. Live Stream.

"Match! Arena"

8.55. Skiing. Women. Super combination. The second, final view is the slalom. Live Stream.

13.55. Ski biathlon. Team competition. The second, final view is a ski race, a 4x5 km relay race. Live Stream.

The start time of the broadcasts is indicated in Moscow. The program is subject to changes and additions.

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