First hallmark gold

On the second day of the Olympics, Russia won medals of all merits

The first gold medal of the Russian team at the White Olympics in Turin was brought by 23-year-old skier from Khanty-Mansiysk Evgeniy Dementyev. His victory in the men's duathlon (15 + 15 km race) was a real sensation. Before this, no one could have imagined that the “dark horse” from Russia (and this season Dementyev was among the medalists only once at the World Cup stage in the Italian Val di Fiemme at a distance of 30 km “skate”) would be able to beat the strongest riders planets. Dementyev was six tenths of a second ahead of the Norwegian Frode Estil, and the Italian Pietro Piller-Kottrer finished third, 0.9 seconds behind the Russian.

Two hours earlier, another Russian, Evgenia Medvedeva, opened the medal account for the Russian team. In the women's duathlon, she won a bronze medal, 14.5 seconds behind the winner, Estonian Kristina Šmigun. “Silver” went to Czech Katarina Neumannova. And late in the evening Albert Demchenko brought “silver” on his sleigh (see page 10) .

Russian skiers, whose chances at these Games were considered very doubtful, with the exception of the planned medals of Yulia Chepalova and Vasily Rochev, once again confirmed the old truth that the Olympics are the most unpredictable start. True, both Medvedeva and Dementyev can boast of awards in duathlon. Medvedeva won the same race in Krasnogorsk in December, then ahead of Chepalova. Dementiev was a silver medalist last March at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden.

But a month before the Olympic start, serious passions flared up around Dementyev’s name. The senior coach of the men's team, Yuri Borodavko, insisted on including the athlete on the team and exempting him from Olympic selection so that during the remaining weeks Dementyev could calmly and purposefully prepare for the Winter Games. Despite the objections of some national team coaches, this point of view was supported by the president of our cross-country skiing federation, Vladimir Loginov. Dementiev got into the team “early” and at the Olympics he fully worked out the advance payment given to him.

The men's race began with a terrible collapse. Estil was at the epicenter of it. Due to the damage, he even had to change his skis. The Norwegian was the last to leave the start. At the finish line I was second. The fact that it was Dementiev and Estil who would fight each other in the last meters of the distance was a real surprise. A kilometer before the finish line, the group of leaders was headed by Swede Anders Cedergren, with two Italians breathing in his back - Giorgio Di Centa and Pietro Piller-Kottrer. Dementiev brought up the rear of the quartet. The last meters are a victorious dash. Dementiev is the first to cross the finish line. He himself does not believe what he did. The thirteenth number, under which the Russian started, brought him good luck, contrary to signs.

The women's race was no less dramatic. Even before the start, it became known that the leader of the German team, one of the contenders for medals, Eva Sachenbacher, was suspended from the start by the leadership of the International Ski Federation (FIS) due to high hemoglobin. All appeals by the German team, based on the fact that the athlete had high hemoglobin from birth, were rejected. Another sensation happened during the race. One of the favorites, Norwegian Marit Bjorgen, withdrew from the race after covering a little more than five kilometers. The Norwegian woman silently walked past the journalists. However, the Norwegian team doctor said that Bjorgen had stomach problems. By the way, this is not the first such complaint from athletes in Turin.

Fortunately, such problems did not affect our skiers. This Olympic day in Turin, which brought the Russians two medals, the authors of which were the namesakes of Medvedev and Dementyev, should be renamed Evgeniev Day.

Olga ERMOLINA