Winter’s fairy tale in Raubichi

Four golds and leadership in the overall standings — our biathletes had a great home stage of the Commonwealth Cup

The biathlon world is in turmoil. While races of the World Cup stage in German Oberhof were postponed due to heavy rain and fog, and all the participants were cursing the organisers and officials of the international federation for the disgusting conditions of the competition and the track, which looked more like a rally road for trucks (having much more stones and snags on it than snow), the Commonwealth Cup was held in Raubichi with chic and splendour in the conditions of a real winter fairy-tale. Thousands of fans and about a hundred athletes were completely delighted: the incredible atmosphere, amazing intrigue and exorbitant level of competition did not leave anyone indifferent.

You had to see it: every day is like a separate life! Starting from Friday, Raubichi was noisy like an agitated beehive: Belarusian and Russian flags, cheerful noise of fans, friendliness in every look, a completely homely atmosphere on the sidelines and in the stands. The competitive part is a separate matter. I haven’t seen such a degree of intense struggle for a long time!

Anton Smolsky is simply handsome. Of course, his wife, Olympic champion Dzinara Alimbekava-Smolskaya, will talk about this better than anyone else, but now we are talking exclusively about the athletic qualities of our main biathlon star. Anton didn’t start the winter season very well, a lot of things didn’t go well, he had certain health problems, but the home stage in his performance is aerobatics and Das Ist Fantastisch! Smolsky began his phenomenal victory march on Friday with a sprint, making a golden gift not only to his many fans, but also to his beloved wife on her birthday, and continued on Saturday and Sunday, winning the pursuit and mass start in brilliant style. The unusually spectacular format of these competitions in itself implies an unpredictable plot, and when our unsurpassed biathlon Figaro is in the leading role, this is better than any blockbuster. The pursuit, despite three misses at the shooting range, Anton won with casual ease, finishing to a deafening ovation from the public with the state flag in his hand.

 But the most spectacular victory in this wonderful golden series was the victory in the mass start for our prime minister. The fight at the distance turned out to be such that the traffic jams burned out due to nervous tension. The first number of the Russian national team, Eduard Latypov, came to the last shooting session first and with a reserve that allowed him to take his time. However, the excitement and pace with which the native of Grodno completed the final loop took their toll: the experienced master faltered and fired twice into the milk. Along with the bullets, dreams of regaining leadership in the overall standings also flew away into the unknown forest, because Anton Smolsky did everything like a true maestro: clearly, quickly and most importantly accurately. For the Belarusian rocket, getting ahead of Russian Rustam Kayumov, who left the shooting range a little earlier, was a matter of technique, although he did not give up until the last meters of the distance.

However, our joy would not be complete if not for the magnificent Hanna Sola! We can all only hypothetically assume how difficult it is to return to professional sports after the birth of a child. But what you really have to go through and overcome — ask Sola. At the second stage of the Commonwealth Cup in Ufa, she managed to win silver in the sprint, but, alas, her shooting failed in the pursuit and mass start. Problems with accuracy continued to torment the athlete in Raubichi — they left her far behind the winners in the first two disciplines. The mass start was the last chance to rehabilitate, and Hanna took full advantage of it, performing an amazing solo on the ski track to the delight of the fans. The last shooting was the icing on the cake. Hanna missed twice, and another cartridge went into the target area, shaking the plate in the shooting rig, like the scales of fate. Fortune favoured us —  the hit was counted! Well, Sola’s speed on the track is a song: with three total penalty laps, she was ahead of the Russians Tamara Derbusheva and Elizaveta Kaplina at the finish (both had one inaccurate shot) by 5 and 15 seconds, respectively. Bravo! “I was really looking forward to all these races. Nothing worked, and I was very upset because I wanted to show the result, but there was none. Thoughts appeared: what am I doing here, it would be better to take care of the child... It’s good that people supported me. Thank them very much. Support is very important,” Hanna said after the finish.
It turns out we won together!


By Sergei Kanashits

Photos by belta