Translated material
Made it to the top ten
All our participants were pleasantly surprised
The Olympic women's single sleigh final ended with a real surprise for the Russian team. Based on the results of four races, three athletes - Tatyana Ivanova, Alexandra Rodionova and Natalya Khoreva - were in the top ten. This has never happened in the history of Russian and Soviet sports. The best result - fourth place - was shown by 19-year-old Ivanova, who celebrated her birthday on the day of the final.You can get to the bobsleigh track in Whistler by different means of transportation. First by bus, then by suspended cabins - funiculars. In any weather, the mountain landscapes around are amazingly beautiful. Whistler is truly worth seeing the famous mountain resort with your own eyes.
True, journalists staying in Vancouver are not too willing to visit this paradise. The fact is that the one-way journey takes two and a half hours. And it turns out that a lot of time is spent on moving. Almost half of the way the route winds along the ocean shore, and every turn reveals a stunning picture. On one side there is water, on the other there are mountains on which trees grow. A riot of greenery - tall spruce trees and grass. No hint of snow. But gradually the road climbs up, and suddenly you find yourself in the kingdom of Santa Claus with meter-long snowdrifts.
However, in recent days, due to warming, the snow in the mountains is rapidly melting. The organizers are making every effort to ensure that no problems arise with the competition. On the hills there are snow cannons and tractors at the ready. Ski slopes are watered with special solutions. Bobsledders and lugers are not experiencing any difficulties yet. By the way, on this mountainside, unlike snowy and rainy skiing and biathlon, the sun almost always shines.
Before the last race, the head coach of the national team, Valery Silakov, assessing Ivanova’s chances, said that our girl would not be able to grab third place. “Sleigh is a technical sport, and willpower alone or, as they say, biting the bit is not enough here. But the reality is that German women are better equipped than our athletes. Equipment, equipment, variability of training - all these factors play an important role. The German team has no problems with this. As a rule, it is German women who take the first five places at competitions,” said the coach.
Tanya Ivanova herself reasoned differently. “If I hadn’t made mistakes and rode more competently, I could have ended up in the prizes. But I’m happy with fourth place. You can't even imagine how. This is my first time participating in the Olympics, and these competitions gave me a lot. Most importantly, I realized that it is possible to fight the Germans. You can beat them,” Ivanova said.
Ivanova’s namesake, German Tatyana Hüfner, confirmed her high level on the Olympic track in Whistler. After the competition, when almost all the spectators left the stadium, the happy German-Austrian trio, jumping on the stage, shouting “congratulation”, rushed to hug our Ivanova.
“Tatiana could have been third here if she had not performed below her capabilities in the third race. But the athlete is young. She turned 19 years old. I haven’t left junior age yet. The youngest member on our team. Tanya has great potential, and there will be victories ahead. In general, three of our girls made it into the top ten at the Games - no one could have predicted this. Probably someone will say that the change in the starting location played a major role in this breakthrough. But I believe that this is not an accident, but a pattern,” says Vera Bardina, head coach of our team.
Both in the men's and women's competitions, after the tragic incident with the Georgian luger, the organizers lowered the starting point to 200 m. This required a hasty change in the tactical scheme of the races. But the most important thing, as Tanya Ivanova admitted, is to “rebuild your head.” “The tragedy on the track really shocked us, but no one canceled the Olympics,” said Alexandra Rodionova. - Yes, and we engage in a sport that involves risk. We don't dance, we race. Sorry man. But I had no right to give free rein to my emotions. I blocked myself and tried not to think about what happened. No, I didn’t see or watch on the Internet how this happened. It's hard to go through. Lately the boy has been training with us. I think that after that incident they will introduce speed restrictions. Men fly across the ice at 160 km per hour. Why test human capabilities? After all, athletes are not guinea pigs.”
“After that tragedy, I was scared to go out on the track, but I had to pull myself together,” Ivanova did not hide. — When I switched from alpine skiing to sledding six years ago, at first I was terribly afraid to ride. It would seem that alpine skiing is extreme, but there was no such feeling of fear there. I left skiing and cried, but now I don’t regret it at all. Parents suggested trying a new sport. They are my luge coaches. I liked the speed and overcoming the feeling of fear. I am a very shy person by nature, and apparently I needed all this.”
On Tatyana's birthday she was presented with flowers. She held a bouquet, accepted congratulations and blushed. Then she said that she feels very uncomfortable when she is the center of attention. “Tanya, if you had one wish come true on your birthday today, what would you wish for?” - I asked. The athlete thought and was silent for several minutes. Journalists standing in the mixed zone began telling me to get a bronze medal. But Ivanova was taken aback by the answer: “No. Because you have to earn a medal, but just getting it is not interesting,” Tanya said.