Orders for the medal

For the skating of Svetlana Zhurova, the Olympic champion in the run of 500 meters, it was a real star hour. In her honor in the Russian house in Turin, a salute died out, and she, looking like the tears of happiness, went to a press conference. There, the words did not let her say gallant men. The owner of the house was the first to take the floor - the head of the company "Boszo Di Chilji" Mikhail Kusnirovich. He talked about the traditions of Russian sports.

• Yes, by the way, I remembered an interesting thing! - interrupted him in 15 minutes after 15 minutes. - After all, when I lived [on the basis of the national team] in Novogorsk, I slept on the bed of Alina Kabaeva! Good sign!

The next was the official from the Olympic Committee. He said that Russia for Zhurova created all the conditions and her victory was quite logical. After 10 minutes, the champion could not stand it again:

• And one more thing: I owe my victory to my son!

Then the coach said, and then one of the journalists asked if it was true that Putin himself congratulated Svetlana?

• I heard something about it, ”Zhurova answered frivolously.

An awkward pause arose in the hall. She realized her mistake and tried to get out. But she made only worse:

• Well, that would be logical, Putin is my fellow countryman ...

The OKR official turned thickly.

• ... Well, or I'm his countrywoman, ”Zhurova continued uncertainly.

The head of the paintings Vyacheslav Fetisov - the great athlete himself - could not help helping the champion. Before that, he calmly drank coffee aside, and now he quickly went to the microphone.

• He called me on a mobile phone, three times. Svetlana could not fit, but he handed over congratulations through me. The president watched Svetlana’s speech, he liked it, ”Fetisov explained and went behind a new cup of coffee.

In the first week, our athletes took all the medals that could only win, and even those that, it seemed, could not take at all. Already by the environment there were four “gold” (according to the most optimistic plan of the OKR for this day, there should have been a maximum of two). If for viewers in Russia, worn out of victories, this was the main result of the week, then for the gathered in Turin of sports figures, the exploits of athletes were only a background to find out who is the main in our sport. One of the debaters - the head of the Olympic Committee Leonid Tyagachev formulated the essence of what was happening in Turin in his characteristic bright, similar to the Chernomyrda manner: “Do not be shy about thank you for the successful performance at the Olympics of leaders and officials.”

And no one is shy. Everything happens right in front of the public - almost like the competition itself. It immediately became clear that the squabbles of clans in the days of failure, which became a routine in the last two Olympiads, are flowers. Berries are a showdown at the Triumph hour. The famous fellow countryman Zhurova was supposed to judge the debaters. Everyone was whispering: there will be a lot of medals - and the guarantor will definitely fly. But Vladimir Putin, to universal chagrin, did not appear in Turin.

Sports nirvana

According to a strange coincidence, the medals were most often received by those whom officials did not count at all. To begin with, the young skier Evgeny Dementyev ran the faster - there was no couple of months ago even in the application for games. Then the 34 -year -old biathlete Svetlana Ishmuratova - who was written off to the losers - won the sprint. Finally, Svetlana Zhurova. “A real Sinderella -Stori came out with her,” said Fetisov, who lived in the United States for many years and still has not got rid of overseas expressions, which the Russian official is completely in the face.

Zhurova is only a little adult for Cinderella, she is almost the same age as Ishmuratova. Before the current Olympiad, she participated in three more and showed the results quite medium. “Therefore, not a single official was expected from her“ gold ”,” anonymous source in Russia honestly recognizes and adds that no one did anything special for this, “the federation“ scored ”on it.”

Two years ago, Zhurova, instead of preparing for games, gave birth to a child. She almost immediately lost her presidential award (15,000 rubles a month) and thought to completely leave sports - it was necessary to look for another source of income. “Well, we still helped her a little, returned the scholarship,” Fetisov justifies. “And you see, a year later she is an Olympic champion.”

Ishmuratova’s almost the same story. It was believed that in individual races, nothing great shines for her, but she is suitable for a team relayer. But a couple of years ago, she extremely unsuccessfully passed her part of the relay race at the World Cup. “I then realized: because of me, the girls lost the medal,“ and decided to leave the sport, ”the athlete recalls. -I thought I would quietly train the kids somewhere in the province, maybe I’ll get some kind of in the sports committee. Well, I would not disappear without this biathlon, really! "

“In addition, she seriously quarreled with the coach,” says Alexander Tikhonov, president of the biathlon Federation. “In general, I persuaded her not to leave with great difficulty.” Ishmuratova went to Turin to quietly end her career. Tikhonov recalls that a couple of days before the start he went to her village of tea, and Ishmuratov was not even worried: “I tell her:“ Sveta, you will be the first or second - for sure! ” She smiles in response to me and says: “Where am I. I'm an old woman.” So, you know, speaks peacefully. I have never seen such calm athletes before the Olympic start. ”

On Ishmuratov’s highway it was even calmer - she missed at the first fire line (for a sprint this is a disaster), according to her, “she realized that I would not win, and stopped worrying.” But miracles began to occur around - rivals began to smear one after another. “And here is a kilometer before the finish,” says Svetlana, “they shout to me: you are the first to go!” Well then, I got together and that there was strength, I ran. I barely reached, frankly, there was no strength left at the end. ” Until February 12, she considered herself a failure. “And now ... of course, if there is an Olympic“ gold ” - life was a success,” Ishmuratov just argues.

The biathlete Sergei Chepikov had a life for a long time. But in the 40th year of his life, at his sixth Olympics, he also almost happened to Sinerella Stori-he lost only a fraction of a second in the struggle for Bronze. And this is 18 years after the first “gold”! “But the main result is not the result,” the biathlonist now says thoughtfully, who has become a philosopher over the years of an almost lackless stay at training bases.

We are sitting in his small room near the shooting range of biathlonists. More precisely, we are sitting, and Chepikov lies on his bed and with an important look explains what the advantage of age athletes is and why those who over thirty win at the current Olympiad. “The result does not press,” Chepikov simply says. “I’m striving for this too - just to run into my pleasure.” According to Chepikov, when he will manage to fall into Nirvana right on the highway, he will become invincible. True, no one except Sergey himself believes in this nirvana - and everyone is constantly trying to interfere with him. “There is an athlete, and all that is around is only interfering. For example, meetings are held the day before the start. You know, since 1988, when I first performed at the Olympics, they have not changed at all. The coach always says the same secret phrase: you, they say, must show what you are capable of. Why should I go to these meetings? Or here's more: I am running, and always one of the coaches encourages me: come on Seryoga, go ahead, you will succeed. For what? He interferes with me, because at that moment, perhaps close to the renunciation. ”

Coaches do not like Chepikov for his philosophizing, but they cannot do anything - he still speaks in every interview not about the races, but about the latest books of philosophers that he read. Now, for example, Chepikov is happy to demonstrate the volume of Berdyaev and Heidegger. He complains: the German is very difficult, but Berdyaev is “almost literature, not philosophy”.

“What to be offended by me? - objects to invisible opponents of Chepiki. - The athlete has a lot of extra time. So I decided to start reading books. ” At this moment, the massage therapist of the national team bursts to Chepikov.

• Well, Hercules dried, let's go to crush?

Chepikov lies on the massage table and pretends to listen to jokes from the masseur.

• Yes, by the way, - he suddenly asks us, - I heard that in Turin, in the days of the Olympics, two operas give for athletes. And where to get tickets - do not know? And then it’s completely boring here in our village.

We are a tree

Olympians can be divided into “urban” and “rustic”: those who compete under the roof live in Turin and walk around the city - who go shopping, who in the Russian house. And who is fighting for the open -air medals - sharpened in the mountains 100 kilometers from the city. They frankly have nothing to do in their free time, but no one goes to Turin - too far.

“Yes, and they are not called,” the sanctuary Albert Demchenko says irritably. On Monday, he took his “silver” and now he is difficult to spend the clock between breakfast and lunch. “Well, I was in a party in a Russian house. They say to me: do you want to sing to you on Valentine UMA2RMAN on Valentine's Day? I say: of course I want. Well, after that I was taken here and was no longer called. ”

Demchenko now goes to the German house - close (their house in the mountains) and you can dance at the disco. “And this is not this Moscow snobbery,” Albert says aggressively. If one could talk about some war of urban and rustic athletes, Demchenko, of course, would be a commander. He is just one who was indignant at the “too aggressive and incorrect behavior” by Mikhail Kusnirovich. “I [Bosocas workers] did not like them in Moscow,” Albert’s attack goes. - I came to the equipment center - and they cannot choose the right sneakers. They gave a size larger, they say: you wear more socks! Muscovites, damn it. "

We stand with Demchenko at the entrance to the Olympic village and see that this is really a village: in addition to residential houses and dining rooms, there is nothing here.

• You see, - Demchenko points somewhere into the distance, - the store is there. The only one. And there is nowhere else to go.

• Nowhere? And here I am also quite fun, - objects the flying skier Dmitry Vasiliev. - There are billiards, slot machines with races. I video again. We look at the whole team every day - “Diamond Hand”, “White Sun of the Desert”.

Dima and I go to a coffee shop near the village, and he does not look at all a man who is killed heartily. Although everyone would understand, even if he sobbed: last weekend Vasiliev almost took “gold” in jumping from the springboard. It would probably be the largest sensation of the games - Russia, and before it and the USSR for decades were outsiders in this sport. Four years ago in Salt Lake City Vasiliev and his partners were an object for ridicule of OKR officials - they called jumpers and two -workers “tourists”.

At the weekend, after the first attempt, Vasiliev walked ahead, jumping on and cleaner than all world stars. But during the second, decisive, he almost plopped, and did not land - and became the tenth as a result.

• Can you have a photo with the champion of one jump? - A Polish fan comes up to us in a coffee shop.

Vasiliev laughs at ease.

• Although a couple of days ago I was not at all laughing, ”he says. - I could not fall asleep: I closed my eyes, saw myself on the pedestal, they like me to hang a medal on my neck. And then he woke up.

• What did my friend say? She probably called immediately after the finish?

• Girlfriend ... no, I didn’t call. I ... too many of them. That is, there is no girlfriend, one might say. You see, we, athletes, have two ways: either you find a girl at eighteen years old - and then she sits with children, is waiting for you from the competition. Or already at the end of the career. Otherwise, nothing will work out: you will get to the start, and you are jealous. Well, this is a specificity, a completely different life.

• And our life is not interested in anyone at all, - Demchenko’s sanctuary is angry. - And in the Russian house they needed me only to take a picture with me! The first one came up to shake his hand, the second said something about the sleigh, he wanted the third photo. We are just a tree!

It's a shame to go

Late night of Monday in the Russian House, everyone was photographed with Tatyana Totmyanina and Maxim Marinin, who won the “gold” in paired skating. They, unlike the rebel Demchenko, perceive their fate steadily - their “gold”, like the “gold” of the loneliness of Yevgeny Plushenko, was predicted in advance - and the officials were not afraid to make a mistake.

• Yes, yes, we are leaving amateur sports because we decided that we reached the ceiling, - Totmyanina cheerfully mints.

Marinin stands nearby and nods his head. To the question of the end of the career, they answer for the twentieth time in the evening - after each “photo shoot” with another official or businessman.

In the cafe of the Russian house, meanwhile, great fun. Tikhonov lit from the biathlon federation - Ishmuratov defeated him, and on this occasion he even left his mountain village to the "city".

Tikhonov performed a song about the coach and the chapel. “The one who takes us into the master-a-a-a-a,” the coach mentally finishes. He does not even notice that they are not listening to him very carefully: firstly, this is his third song for the evening (before that there were “Focus-Baranchki” and “The Team of our Youth”-also a chapel), and secondly, only fresh rumors about Putin appeared. There is something to discuss.

Until Thursday, the question of the president’s arrival was open. “Of course, the background here is wonderful for him,” the anonymous official of the Federal District reasoned. - There are heroes - and real, not invented: Ishmuratov, Chepikov, Zhurov. It would be nice to stand nearby with such. ”

But the main thing is that the officials hoped that if Putin arrives, he would finally decide the dispute of sports business entities. And then there is no strength - the Olympic Committee even tripled the scandal for the whole world, wearing the Bosco and the Russian house only because Fetisov and his people from Rospoom spending all the time. Tyagachev with subordinates for this reason in the possessions of Bosocas almost does not appear.

We discussed what will mean Putin's visit. “Support of Tyakachev and a blow to Fetisov,” said in the OKR. “No, no,” the source objected in Russia. - If Putin arrives, it means that Fetisov is just in order. "

On Thursday morning, the biathlete Olga Pyleva came across doping, and it became clear to everyone: there would be no president. “It’s ashamed to go to such a shame,” said Fetisov’s colleague, scrubbing furtively on the enemies sitting not far from the OKR.

Their chief was really disgraced with dust - not only could not organize control over the use of drugs even the leader of the national team, and also arranged a scandal after that. He accused of everything the Schelkovo vitamin factory, which produces phenotropil, stimulating brain activity and attentiveness - they say, pharmacists under the guise of this medicine sold a dusty forbidden Carphedon. Then it turned out that phenotropil and Carphedon are synonyms, which every pharmacist knows about. And all the fault of the pharmacists is only that they refuse to write the word “doping” on the package.

But this is nothing-at the Olympics in Salt Lake City in a similar case, Tagachev shouted something inarticulate and threatened to take the entire national team from the games. So the morals are changing for the better, no matter what non -conformist Demchenko said there. So the salute in honor of the medalists in the Russian house is actually excellent.