Anastasia Kuleshova won the race on February 12 kilometers in freestyle at the All-Russian Spartakiad. The Sports columnist looks back at the career of the 29-year-old skier and explains why this success makes her a little sad.
Kuleshova, whose maiden name was Sedova, belongs to the galaxy of talented Russian skiers that the 2018 Olympics truly revealed to fans. Her debut Games brought her bronze in the relay. Then the skier repeated the same result at the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld.
Team Russia then significantly lacked stability. The positions of Kuleshova, Yulia Belorukova and Natalya Nepryaeva in the relay four seemed unshakable. But Anna Nechaevskaya, although she closed her position, was inferior to many competitors from other countries.
In November 2019, it became known: Kuleshova was pregnant and was temporarily suspending her career. At the same time, Belorukova (Stupak) and Tatyana Aleshina (Sorina) went on a similar break. In May 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Anastasia gave birth to a daughter. But, unlike the two aforementioned athletes, Kuleshova did not prepare for the next Olympics. And I didn’t go to Beijing. Having missed the chance for Olympic gold.
Of course, the head of the FLGR, Elena Vyalbe, was, to put it mildly, not happy with such a decision by one of the leaders of the team.
“I learned about this decision from her dad,” Vyalbe said three months before the Games in Beijing. “I tried to persuade her, but Nastya decided that her daughter and family were more important to her. Although I was angry, I was also a mother and I understand her. One can only be happy for her.»
I don’t want to think and speak for Anastasia. But it’s still unlikely that she could watch that Beijing relay race with peace of mind. Understanding: this gold must be hers.
“I think that Nastya regretted her decision,” Vyalbe reasoned after the Olympics. “She probably admitted this to herself, of course, she can’t tell everyone this. I understand that she probably regrets it, because fourth place in the relay «She could have been at peace. But this is how she decided her destiny, her life. Now we will wait for new world championships, Olympic Games and results, including from Nastya.»
And this is where the “sad” thing begins. Kuleshova returned to the sport immediately after the Olympics and showed that she had not forgotten how to be the best. These include three medals at the 2023 Russian Championship, podiums at the Russian Cup, and now gold and silver at the Spartakiad, the main start of the season. Victories have returned, but times have changed irrevocably.
As Kuleshova herself admitted in an interview with her friend Yulia Stupak, the weather conditions favorable for Russians that were in Beijing should not be expected in the near future. This is the first thing. Next: will the Russians even have the 2026 Olympics? At the moment, the “no” option significantly outweighs.
The same Stupak, or, for example, Sergei Ustyugov, can afford to miss the entire start of the season. Set priorities and “save” as the year progresses. Think and talk about ending your career. Treats something even carelessly. They are Olympic champions. They can. But Kuleshova is not allowed. She had already missed her chance once. And he can’t afford something like this a second time. If there is even a tiny opportunity to get to the Games in Italy, she has no right to miss it. Therefore, he bites into the ski track in pursuit of a dream. But is it missing?
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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