The great winter season has begun in Russian cross-country skiing: the first races of the Russian Cup were held on the top of Töya. Traditionally, at the end of December there are many questions for discussion, and with them the “Championship” came to the coach of the national team, Yuri Viktorovich Borodavko.
He, with his characteristic frankness, spoke about the state of health of Bolshunov, who seems to be improving, but suffers from his back, and about the great problems of Natalia Terentyeva. He also explained what needs to happen for Russian skiers to access the world stage.
“Bolshunov’s injury was and remains serious”
– Yuri Viktorovich, how serious are Alexander Bolshunov’s back problems? He ran four races, if you count the Khakassia Cup, and won them all. – The injury was and continues to be very serious. It requires a very long treatment. This is not a cold when you can rest for a week and then catch up with everything without problems. Great athletes like Björn Deli and Vegard Ulvang ended their sports careers due to the same injuries. Sasha and I agreed to take it step by step.
We have two excellent specialists: chiropractor Sergei Chechil and masseuse Igor Ivanusenko. They work very closely not only with Bolshunov, but also with Lyosha Chervotkin. Very tight. After each training, special treadmills and gymnastics were developed, which the athletes did and continue to do. We are constantly monitoring our health, using MRI to see how healing is progressing. In this case, the main principle is not to damage the training in the first place.
Bolshunov, even when wounded, is the strongest:
Bolshunov did not train at full strength for three months. But in the Russian Cup he is unbeatable.
Thanks to them Bolshunov can compete. Before starting treatment, it is necessary to have a clear idea of what to treat, how to treat and develop a treatment method. And then follow it religiously. This is a great responsibility for specialists, because they work with athletes of the highest level, there can be no mistakes here. Chechil and Ivanusenko spend several hours a day with the children. Every day.
— Something constantly happens to Bolshunov in recent years. “Apparently, I was destined to overcome these obstacles.” Just look at the cost of surgery under anesthesia on the maxillary sinuses, after falling off a bicycle I had problems with my Achilles tendon, and much, much more. To be on top, you have to constantly overcome something. This is his way. The warrior’s path.
—It turns out that Chervotkin has the same wound? – Yes. Just in a slightly different place. His injury worsened a couple of days after Alexander. Lyosha follows approximately the same recovery method.
— With the boys it is more or less clear. How is Natasha Terentyeva? – Not very well, to be honest. There is still no indication that she can start training seriously. Sometimes he gets on skis just for a ride. One cannot speak of serious charges. Unfortunately, there are no positive dynamics. I will not make predictions about when we will be able to see Natasha at competitions. Until she fully recovers we will not start training. Health is the most important.
Natalia Terentyeva
Photo: RIA Novosti
—If our team were now competing in international competitions, could the athletes’ recovery be accelerated? —Every vegetable has its time, as they say. When we competed in international competitions, we had different motivations, different opportunities, different attitudes, different training camp locations and accommodation. While we were in Russia we encountered a lot of illnesses: Covid, colds. We are constantly in large crowds of people, but the virus has not disappeared, it is always with us and even mutates. In different training groups, one or two athletes constantly get sick. He is a whirlwind. So it was in Malinovka, continued in Khanty-Mansiysk and then in Vershina Teya. But this is our Russian specificity, we cannot escape it.
During the preparation for the Olympic Games we lived only in a small group, we moved around Europe on our own transport and flights where we could meet many people were reduced to a minimum. Now we are simply covered in diseases. All the athletes in the group fell ill, and more than once.
—How long does an illness of this type last that leaves an athlete out of their training regimen? — On average, 7-10 days. And it is not clear what to do in such a situation: start again or ignore the missed work and move on to other training. The physical and especially functional condition of athletes decreases very drastically. And then, for a long time, athletes recover the level they had before the disease. The coherence of the training plan is completely lost. The result is preparation blocks that are dispersed and not interconnected as was the case before.
Even Klebo fails after illness:
“It’s not fun when you’re in bad shape.” Johannes Klebo completely failed at the start of the season
“The level of the team has stabilized and the leaders are not far behind”
— Last year, in Khanty-Mansiysk, you said that the biggest fear is that the team leaders without international competitions will lose motivation and the speed will begin to slow down. Are the problems the same now? “We survived the acute phase of last year’s suspension, but problems persisted. Life makes you move forward. However, you can’t jump over your head. Although the psychology of athletes is oriented towards victory, the level of leaders, in my opinion, is somewhat lower. If we talk specifically about Bolshunov and Terentyeva, previously the difference of 15 and 10 km respectively between them and their rivals was significant. Now this advantage does not exist. Everything is a struggle and serious competition. This is not an opponent. The average level of the entire Russian team has been equalized and the leaders are not far behind.
What Borodavko said a year ago:
Exclusive
“I’m worried about Bolshunov.” Direct and honest answers from the Russian national team coach
– Maybe they are being careful somewhere, because they can win with less effort? – Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. This won’t work internationally, where you need to constantly pump, pump, pump and run at higher speeds. And the human body adapts to the speeds at which it runs, and they become habitual. This is scary. Then it will be necessary a certain number of races in the World Cup stages to regain enough speed to obtain high results.
— It turns out that if the Russian national team is conditionally allowed to participate in the World Cup tomorrow, then our leaders will not immediately fight for victory? “We will only know when we return.” Judging by the broadcasts we saw from the first phase of the World Cup, we did not see anything supernatural. You may be able to return with a slight delay, which can be made up fairly quickly. Our level is even lower.
— Hasn’t the level of the World Cup gone down without the Russians? – I do not think. Just look at the classic men’s 10km race in Ruka: the density is crazy! There were times when in five seconds there were eight people sitting. We must also strive for it. Now is the time for the training of our young people, when they can gain strength, improve their functionality, to be able to look decently at the World Cup after their return.
“It’s easy to say: let’s allow Russia. But this is impossible.”
— About the World Cup. How did he react to the words of the Norwegians who say that he is boring without the Russians? – Well, they don’t say that directly. It is clear who is in charge, because the IOC sends the international federations not even wishes, but orders. And who runs the IOC is no secret either. Nothing surprises me. This is just the personal opinion of athletes who cannot change anything. We are waiting for the victorious completion of the special military operation. Only after this will our return be considered.
What exactly do Norwegians say about Russians?
“We hope the Russians come back.” Are Norwegian skiers waiting for their main competitors on the slopes?
—Don’t you think the FIS can allow the Russians to start without superior orders? — The FIS is a public organization and all decisions are made by vote. We remember who were the first to impose sanctions on us: the Anglo-Saxons. The decision was made by the political leaders and the sports leaders took the initiative. Until politicians reach an agreement, sports organizations will do nothing on their own to allow Russians to enter. The FIS president simply does not have the power to solve this problem. But even if there were such powers and he said: we allow the Russians, the Norwegians would simply say that they would not give us a visa. The Finns have generally closed the borders and do not allow people with Russian passports to enter the country. All FIS decisions will simply be altered by the decisions of the political leaders of each country. It’s easy to put this into words, let’s face it. Ultimately, it will be impossible.
— But, in any case, is the task ahead of you the preparation for 2026? – Certainly. And no one has canceled this task. And athletes are dedicated to this. For now, our admission is a distant dream. We took off our rose-colored glasses a long time ago.
— Do you share the position of Elena Valerievna Vyalbe, who is totally against speaking in a neutral state? — Neutrality in Pyeongchang and Beijing is one thing, but what is now required of us in Paris is completely different. They are simply trying to make us outcasts. Now, after all, everything is being done to prevent even those who seem to meet all the requirements from participating in the Olympic Games. Anyway, then there will be a special commission for admission. I don’t even know what to call it when they try to explain to us that the war Israel is fighting is completely different. If Russia had followed the same path, the Northern Military District would have ended long ago. But with so many casualties among the civilian population! This is the easiest way.
Vyalbe has a categorical position:
Elena Vyalbe: is the life of an athlete short? The SVO guys may have it even shorter
— Can you imagine that some of the Russian skiers, if the requirements for the 2026 Olympic Games apply, will want to go in a neutral state? – Everyone wants to go. The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of a sporting career. But the demands are impossible. Athletes should condemn the SVO, not count on government support and prepare on their own. Yes, just give up on your country completely. And why meet such requirements?
— It turns out that Verónica Stepanova is right when she says that there is no point in going to initially lose to those who will have no restrictions in the coaching staff, physiotherapists and service. — You’re right, but this is the last stage. So far everything is being done to get us to refuse. And after that it will be possible to make a statement: you were admitted, but you did not go. Yes, we can close this topic, it is no longer useful. You just need to live life today. We have an excellent calendar, many competitions, no less than at the World Cup stages.
“In March there will be a show with the participation of skiers and biathletes”
— Can the Russian competition calendar be made even more interesting? — At the Russian Cup final in Kirovsk, the last race will be an alpine skiing finish line, like in the Tour de Ski, and you can watch the fight of the best from one place. In March, a show with the participation of skiers and biathletes will take place in Tyumen. The format has not yet been approved, while work is being done in this direction. This will be fun and will not affect the athletes’ competition schedule.
Yuri Borodavko
Photo: RIA Novosti
—What do you think of the idea of club competitions? We tried biathlon, although there were not enough clubs. – That’s the right idea. There was a time when we didn’t take the Ski Classic seriously; well, the Norwegians created something and created something. And the idea grew. Nowadays, many international teams compete in marathon series. The same thing has been happening in cycling for a long time. I think little by little everything will come to this. The format of the competition will probably change, there will be more opportunities. I have a positive attitude towards this. What happened in the biathlon was a trial balloon. But in reality there were practically no clubs. And when athletes perform as individuals, how are they different from regular competitions? It seems to me that the cart goes before the horse here. Let’s create clubs, see how they work and attract these sponsoring clubs to provide funding. This is the future.
“You seem to be in the mood to fight.” Last year you seemed busier, so to speak. – We live here and now. At first we thought that a year would pass and we would return. But it’s been a year and we haven’t returned. So let’s just trust ourselves. We will continue to maintain a high competitive level, as has always been the case in this system. The new sponsors arrive eager to hold competitions. In this sense, we have advanced three orders of magnitude. Interest in internal competitions without the participation of compilers was of secondary importance, but now it is the highest. Our entire ski sport benefits from this, but especially the younger ones who have the opportunity to compete with the best.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS