Beijing 2022. Day 14 Roundup: Golovatsiuk among the world’s best

Since 1994, Belarusians have not been so close to the Olympic podium in speed skating as in Beijing.

On 18 February Ignat Golovatsiuk made many competitors nervous in the 1,000m in the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. He clocked 1:08.63, ahead of Russia’s Viktor Mushtakov. The Belarusian was only 0.15 seconds behind the bronze medalist Haavard Lorentzen of Norway

“I was expecting to clock approximately this result. There is a lot to work on. I dropped the ball in the second round. But this is a sport, competition at a very high level. Those in the top ten can both win the race or finish in 8^th or 9^th. Not a bad race for me, but I really could have tried harder and make up for these 0.15 seconds,” Ignat Golovatsiuk noted.

Women’s Mass Start finished at the National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou.

The best-placed Belarusian was Hanna Sola who came in 10th. Dzinara Alimbekava was 12th in the final protocol.

France’s Justine Braisaz-Bouchet won the Mass Start title beating the Norwegian Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland into second and third place, respectively.

Both of our athletes were unanimous in their opinion: the wind on 18 February and changing weather conditions seriously affected the final results.

“I am the kind of athlete who can adapt to any weather. However, when the wind treacherously blows in your back, it is difficult to handle it. I admit: I was aiming at one target but hit another one. I don’t know why it happens here. Maybe I didn’t see it because I was blinded by the sun. When I left the shooting range after my first shooting, I could not even remember how many targets I missed. The mass start started slowly, no one tried to pick up speed from the very start. The headwind affected many on the course, so the start of the race turned out to be chaotic for many. I think everyone is just tired. Yet, my physical condition today was better than in the previous races,” Dzinara Alimbekava said. Anton Smolski finished 17^th in the Men’s 15km Mass Start. He stressed that the start of the race was unusually fast.

“The first lap was very fast, after which everyone began to slow down. Only the Norwegian was accelerating. I don't know where he gets his strength from. The weather was not so good. I am still shaking all over, although the race already ended. The wind played its role, too. All the leaders missed targets on the last shooting range. Zhangjiakou is a difficult site to compete on. Of course, everything went great here for me (a silver medal), but it is difficult to hold such a big competition here without serious preparations. I am sure that many Olympians will agree with me on that,” Anton Smolski said.

Coaches of the Belarusian biathlon team Oleg Ryzhenkov and Andrei Padin stressed that they were happy with the performance of their athletes, given the weather conditions in Zhangjiakou.

The Belarusian biathletes have three more World Cup events to compete in March 2022.

Press service of Belarus’ NOC

Photos by Belarus’ NOC