Three-time Olympic champion Alexander Bolshunov won four victories in four starting races of the Russian Cup. But he hasn’t even recovered from a serious back injury yet. The Sports columnist is trying to understand the secret of the 26-year-old skier.
Before the start of the season, fans were stunned by the injuries of two leaders of the Russian national team – Natalya Terentyeva (nee Nepryaeva) and Alexander Bolshunov. The starting Russian Cup risked being left without its main stars. Plus, Olympic champions Sergei Ustyugov and Yulia Stupak were in no particular hurry to get into the season.
““Bolshunov’s injury is quite serious, and it takes a long time to recover from it,” said senior coach of the Russian national team Yuri Borodavko in early November.
At that moment it seemed that “boss, everything is lost.” But no. The Olympic champion was able to start already at the Khakassia Cup, winning the 10-kilometer time trial. I did it in crazy competition… With myself. Starting without having to fight for victory is definitely not for Bolshunov. But you also need to maintain that necessary balance, which will allow you not to aggravate the damage.
“Having done certain interval training, Bolshunov came to the conclusion that he could try the race. The body responded normally, but in the future we will again look at the body's reaction. If something had gone wrong and pain had started, Bolshunov would have immediately finished the race,” — Borodavko said after the first start.
What is Alexander’s secret? Many people wonder and don’t understand how he manages to win with an untreated injury.
Firstly, this is the highest level of readiness of the body. We are talking about endurance, the strength component, and, of course, excellent technique. When every movement is honed to absolute automatism. When you know how to control any muscle of the body and feel the level of load that can be applied without risking – this is true professionalism.
There was also a bit of luck. No matter how strange it may sound, it is good that he received the damage in mid-August, when the skiers had already done most of the basic work to prepare for the season. That is, the necessary foundation has already been laid. It is also worth praising the medical staff, who, together with a massage therapist and a physiotherapist, managed to stop the injury in a timely manner.
If you think that's all, you're wrong. Another secret weapon of Bolshunov is his trainer, Yuri Borodavko. Imagine how difficult it is to suddenly change and adapt the preparatory plan for the season. A kind of anti-crisis management in sports, where the price of the slightest mistake is very, very high.
“”If there were even the slightest hint of a return of pain, then we would immediately stop all racing and training and receive treatment. But the current state of affairs says that everything is being done correctly, everything is going as usual,” Borodavko noted before the start of the second stage of the Russian Cup.
All these factors together allow Bolshunov to win even now, and this scheme works exclusively as a whole. And now about what worries me. If we analyze the results of past races, Bolshunov’s gaps with his rivals were small. It seems that this is competition, which was also noted by the coaching staff of the Russian national team. But. Bolshunov speaks, in fact, half-heartedly.
Which cannot but rejoice. Or rather who. Savely Korostelev. Three podium finishes in time trials are a great start to the season for the skier who celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday. And here it’s also worth making allowances for changing the coach, because Korostelev recently moved to Yegor Sorin’s group. “It’s clear that the boy is already growing up,” noted Elena Vyalbe, president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR).
The show that Bolshunov and Ustyugov put on last season is still missing. Sergei admitted that he had “relaxed his buns” and was behind schedule, adding: “We old people harness for a long time, and then we run.” So the most interesting is yet to come.
Recent Comments