“Exclusive interview of Ukrainian biathlete for Sport.ua”, – WRITE: Sport.ua
Despite his age, Vitaliy already shows good results at an adult level, in particular at the World Cup and Biathlon World Cup, he is also one of the men’s national team leaders. Vitaliy told about the current season and his achievements in an exclusive interview for the site Sport.ua.
– How do you evaluate the season? Are you happy with yourself and the team?
– Well, this season is composed for me with downs and downs, but such a full season brings me pleasant emotions, because there were many positive races and each of them can be made a certain lesson. And of course, this is an invaluable experience. Despite the fact that the season is not over, I can say that it was satisfied with him, because there were good results, both I and the team. We can compete with the strongest.
– Which race in the season do you consider to be the best and what is the worst?
– Probably, it will be pretty banal, but the best was an individual race in which I took 4th place. In general, there were many good races, but then I showed the best personal result. As for the worst, it was probably an individual race in the rupolding, where I finished outside the top 40. Then I did not manage to show what I wanted.
-What didn’t you have to win the medal in the race where you took 4th place?
– Apparently, there was not enough speed on skiing. I fired well, but my opponents also shot well. I will not say that if they did not hit, I would be higher, because here I was not right at the distance. So, that’s.
– How do you evaluate competition at the World Cup? How difficult is it to resist topical biathletes from Norway and other countries?
– The World Cup is probably the most important starts in the season, because all athletes try to get to the best form just before the competition in this tournament. Of course, competition at the World Cup is very high, but some athletes who claim the highest places are added to the World Cup. As you can see, it is very difficult to compete with countries such as France and Norway.
– How do you think that in Norway is such a good biathlon level? What should be done in Ukraine so that we have the same level?
– I think that competition in the country itself plays an important role here, because a large number of children and adolescents are engaged in biathlon and ski races. They have a very large selection of children and it is much easier for them to choose the best.
We, in Ukrainians, are not very much honestly in Ukraine, who are engaged in biathlon, and I do not even know what we need to change in Ukraine so that we have this sport. Well, here the role of the climate plays, because Norway is good winter, and we can see snow in the peak of winter and only in the mountains, in the west of Ukraine. I think that because of the warm weather in the winter, we do not have the right conditions for training.
– What can you say about weather conditions during the World Cup? Did they interfere with the best results?
– Personally, the weather was good for me, because the sun was shining. Only in one day, in my opinion, there was such windy weather in the female sprint, but in other days it was beautiful. You can usually say about the state of the highway, because it did not last a heap in places, because the sun was heating and the snow was drowning.
There may be some complaints because of this, but it is biathlon, it happens. Moreover, there is such a trend now that there is no harsh winters, so one should not wonder that at such a time of the year it is quite warm and snow cover does not meet certain standards. But, all in the same conditions.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine – How can you appreciate the role of Dmitry Podruchny in the team?
– Well, he is a captain and a person who makes final decisions in the team. Dmitry trains separately with the coach, but it does not affect our personal relationships. During the season we work as one team and I can say we all together.
– With each season and with each tournament you are gaining experience. Can you say that you have already managed to get rid of the excitement before important races? Do you feel confident before the race?
– If we take into account this World Cup, then everyone focuses on it, they say that it is the most important tournament, but personally I do not see a serious difference between the World Cup and the World Cup.
Therefore, I will say that even in this tournament I was in a calm state and it did not prevent me from showing good results. In this full season, I realized that we should treat everything calmer and now I feel much more confident than it was at the beginning.
– What are your further plans? What will you do the next months?
– First of all, I want to finish the season successfully, so that then I do not torment the conscience that I did something wrong. Next, go to the Ukrainian Championship in Bukovel, run some start there. Well, then you want to relax a little, do more ordinary things, because I have little time for it.
– What is your main goal in the biathlete career?
– I just want to finish my career and realistically understand that with my strength I achieved everything possible in this sport, so that I would not bite my conscience, that I could not do or achieve something. I want to be sure that I did the maximum of myself and made every effort.