Khrustaleva Elena Biography

World Cup, 50 km, mass start, class. The game Elena Kopylova magazine "Skire Sport" Elena Khrustaleva: for the only start that was the official selection for the Olympics in Turin - the Izhevsk Rifle - the athletes of the national team did not even come. The whole team has already been approved. How does it turn out that, leaving our country with its outstanding biathlon traditions and opportunities, training individually, these girls who have never occupied prize places in the World Cup suddenly win Olympic medals?

What is their success from, and why does he so stubbornly slip away from the Russians? About this and much more - in a conversation with the silver medalist of an individual race for 15 km Elena Krustaleova, the Krasnoyarsk biathlete, who plays for Kazakhstan. While in Vancouver, it was difficult to imagine that somewhere nearby in the snow athletes compete in ski races and biathlon.

Blooming trees, cyclists, yachts - this appeared in front of the participants in the games of the Olympic capital. And how did your path to Biathlon begin? Dad we have a former skier. Naturally, "Sport Forever, everything for sports, and everything is in sport." He all in the Khrustalov family was four children on running skiing for about three years.

For example, I got up at three years old. The rest also joined the sport very early. I did not really like skiing. Always forced. Especially when she became a little older, she always did not want to see seven to eight years. But: “The issue is not discussed. We go skiing, that's all. Get ready, on the weekend. " Although the most difficult thing was to go out, and then interest appeared, they still love to ride with slides.

And at the age of six we went to the coach of skiing. We saw beautiful shoes, beautiful skis. And we did not have equipment in the running ones then, but at all not to understand what. Something is so terrible. And here are so beautiful, red. I went five years to ski classes, but at the same time I constantly went to the running ones, too, under my father’s control.

Then, interest began to disappear in mountain skis. She began to be afraid of the descents. Dad, as I understand it, was slightly delighted and gave us to the biathlon. Because the coaches in the ski racing that were in Krasnoyarsk did not like it, and the biathlon coach liked it. So he gave us all to this sport. I didn't want to. But he said: "Try it." And somewhere from the age of fourteen I already wanted to train myself.

And he gave at 11 years. The symbol of the Inukshuk Olympics, composed of stone. But only I remained in sports until adulthood. The rest were engaged in the Class - and threw it. Just then I began to like training, fees themselves. And in the m class, I had the first departure abroad - in the year for European winter youth Olympic days to Sweden. This was a turning point.

I realized that thanks to sports you can travel, travel. I liked it. And the decision to stay further in sports was natural. In the year there were trips to the world and European championships among juniors. The European Biathlon Championship in Polish Zakopan was held. Individual race 12 km - “gold” and a relay race - “gold”. Next was the junior world championship in Biathlon in Hochfilzen.

Pasyut, relay - two "silver". Of course, I did not want to stop there, like any athlete, I decided to move on. Then she fell into the Russian team, summer was preparing with a team team. I remember how hard training was given. The results that season were not very good. In the Olympic season of the year, I was invited to play for Belarus, and I agreed, because I realized that I could not get to Russia in Russia.

She spent a year in Belarus, but then I had to go back. Upon returning, I managed to win the European Championship three times, visited the national team twice another twice, that is, in centralized training, in the summer. And I realized that I can’t see the stages of the World Cup in Russia. It was necessary to make a decision - either to throw sports, or to go back to another country.

The choice stopped in Kazakhstan, and never regretted it. In addition to performances at the highest level, I can train individually, which is very important for me. I don’t know how in other countries, and in Russia, in the CIS, a fairly standard system is on which everyone trains. Charging, first training, second, simulator. We arrived at the training camp, left for twenty days, left.

A week at home, we went to the next. But I have not so. I can come to the fees for two months, linger in Almaty for two to three months. I can train alone or with someone. I spend many training with our regional team, some individual. I like fitness format, and I include it in the training process. Previously, our sport laughed over fitness, and now even experts are invited to the fees.

I have much more training-for example, hiking in the mountains almost all day, and some, at first glance-laughter, and not training, for example, classes in choreography, yoga or pool. Of course, for a whole team, it is difficult to create such conditions that each is perfect for each. Plus, everything is attached to the diet - it is strictly according to the schedule.We go to the first training in the summer at 7, which dining room will feed us at 6 in the morning?

Or the second training can end at about 9 pm, but what about dinner? It turns out that we drive training for food, and not vice versa. I try to do the opposite. I have a personal coach who trains me - Viktor Borisovich Smirnov, and dad, Vladimir Fedorovich Khrustalev, who constantly controls me. I meet the national team only at the stages of the World Cup and at the championships of Kazakhstan.

As I remember, on December 2 or 3, I flew in, the 4th we fled. Westler, February 10. Before the start of the Olympics, three days. Still, the Russian team has more opportunities, or not? Those who are in the team, of course, have more opportunities. But if you are not in the team, you have any opportunities at all, except to try to get. The “first numbers”, of course, are different, but I was not among the leaders of the Russian team.

My rating hesitated from the 9th number to go, I hardly got into the first “eight”. And if it was possible, they tried not to notice it. Basically, I was a member of the second composition. And this means that it can always turn out that you will be taken in the first composition, but they will not let them run. So they took me to the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, but I was not put on an individual race, although I had to run there as a European champion.

I went to the championship with the scandal: the Novosibirsk leadership and the coaches were indignant at why they did not take the European champion, although there was such a decision - the European champion to declare a distance it won. And they took me in an emergency, with a scandal. I didn’t even find a place in the house where the team lived.

This was the first year after my return from Belarus. Next year I trained with the team. And even at the European Championship did not get.