Beijing 2022 Results of Day 8: Tough competition and hard snow

Team Belarus has, so far, won one award: a silver medal in the Men’s 20km Individual. Saturday, 12 February, had its hiccups that affected the final result and are a reason for a deep analysis by the coaches.

Biathletes competed in the 10km Sprint. Objectively, a podium finish would have been a great success for Belarusian biathletes. France, Norway, and Germany perform well in the sprint. Anton Smolski did well in the race finishing 10^th. Other Belarusian biathletes are still finding their way in shooting, according to the coaches. Belarusians make a lot of mistakes, but we can understand them: there is no point in taking a lot of time on the shooting range in the sprint. But Belarusians clearly lack accuracy.

“After the individual race, I knew that sprint race would be difficult for me. But I had good practice sessions in the past days, and today I was in a very good condition. However, the last leg was hard. Muscles feel constrained at this altitude and the movements become not as sharp as I would like. As always, my skis worked well. But the snow here is specific, hard, and the lubricant quickly wears off. As for shooting, I am satisfied with shooting prone. I did well and fast. But shooting standing didn't go so well. I tried to shoot quickly and accurately, but I hurried with the third shot and as a result I had a miss. This is solely my mistake: there was no wind or other interference. In general, I am satisfied with the pre-Olympic training. I am in optimal condition."

Senior coach of the men's biathlon team Andrei Padin summed up the sprint:

"I would like to mention Anton Smolski. He showed a good result in the sprint. I would also like to note a good speed on the track by Mikita Labastau, who, despite four misses, made it to the pursuit race. Before, we would miss out on the pursuit with one or no penalties. Shooting is not the strongest side of all our three biathletes. We know that they can do better. After the pursuit, which is due on Sunday, we will focus on the men's relay. We will have a short rest, then train a bit ahead of the race.

Belarusian speed skater Ignat Golovatsiuk had an unfortunate mistake in the Men’s 500m. The leader of the Belarusian men's team kept up with European champion Piotr Michalski before he stumbled on his own skate blade on the last turn. The women's team of Maryna Zuyeva, Ekaterina Sloeva and Yauheniya Varabiova will compete for the seventh place against Poland on 15 February.

“It was not an easy day for me as a coach. You always want to do better, get more. In my opinion, the Women's Team Pursuit was good. We competed against the world’s top skaters. The girls set their lowland record of 3:02.00. With the time of 3.05 we won championships medals at faster rinks in Europe, so progress is evident. I would say that if Yauheniya Varabiova had had more training, we could have shown even a better timing. Anyway, everyone did great! On 15 February we will compete for the seventh place against Poland.

Without any doubt, Ignat would have made it to the top 10 in the Men’s Sprint. He kept up with reigning European 500m champion Piotr Michalski until the last turn. Golovatsiuk said he had never made such mistakes before. We can only guess what place Ignat might have taken. He is in a good shape and is ready to continue competing in Beijing,” head coach Sergei Minin said.

Press service of Belarus’ NOC

Photos by Belarus’ NOC and BelTA