In an interview with the chief editor of the sports editorial office of RIA Novosti, Denis Kosinov, he told how he copes in training without Anton Shipulin, how he works with the new head coach of the Russian national team Anatoly Khovantsev and how he reads sports news.

“It’s enough for me to be told my last name”

As you know, there are no World Cup winners among the current Russian biathletes. The last Russian to win this prize was back in 1996, the current president of the RBU, Vladimir Drachev. However, at the Winter Sports Center "Pearl of Siberia", where the country's summer biathlon championship was held, one could see a World Cup winner, and even a three-time one. True, not a biathlete, but a rock climber. Tyumen resident Stanislav Kokorin had just returned home after another tournament and stopped by Zhemchuzhina to watch the biathlon and cheer for his fellow countrymen. With his arrival, the audience for the final day of the competition increased to twelve people.

But why be surprised? The first half of the working day, individual races... However - honor and praise to the organizers - everything went as if there was a full house in the stands, and the world elite on the track and shooting range. The presenter at the stadium commented with genuine enthusiasm on what was happening for that same dozen fans, which included the most titled Russian climber.

But even our elite was not all there. After the training camp in Sochi, the coaches of the national team did not order the athletes to run in all the championship races, and literally a few people from the team chose the most difficult one. With even greater enthusiasm, the presenter exclaimed to the entire surrounding forest: “Super-titled! Olympic champion! Honored Master of Sports! Alexey Volkov!”

Alexey was just getting ready to go to the start zone at that moment, and, adjusting his helmet, irritably said: “Super-titled!” He turned to his smiling opponents, sat down and playfully spread his arms, just like a character from the movie “Kin-dza-dza”. And he went to the start with the look of a man detached from the matter.

You clearly didn't like this show. But that’s how it is! You are truly an Olympic champion. Why such an irritated reaction?

Not exactly irritated. It just always amuses me when they list a bunch of regalia. For some this may sound like it. For me, it’s enough for me to say my first and last name.

- Why? After all, you honestly won all these titles. You are deservedly an Honored Master of Sports.

Let's just say I'm not a fan of all this. I am not one of those who shout that I am such and such. I have regalia, there are cups and medals on the shelf at home, and that’s it. They are and are. I will never say again that I have won something. Well, people know and they know. If they don't know, I don't care.

- “It doesn’t matter” is one thing, but you even performed some kind of pantomime.

Let's just say I laughed. I won't say that this offends me. I was just in a cheerful mood and decided to make a joke.

After twenty minutes, Alexei’s mood was not cheerful. However, it wasn’t sad either. Having made two misses while lying down, he drove one more lap, shot clean standing and left the race with a sense of accomplishment. Well, no one insisted. It’s good that biathlete Volkov didn’t quit the race completely. The scandals of last winter led many to the conclusion that it was time to end their careers. Since they still won’t let me go to the Olympics.

- Have you watched the Olympic biathlon broadcasts?

Yes, I watched everything.

- Isn't this masochism? “I should have been in his place” and so on...

Not really. Our boys and girls were there, I was sincerely worried and rooting for them. I didn’t particularly look at the others, but I was very interested in how our team would perform.

- It didn’t matter how well we performed.

Of course, I was worried about them. Sometimes we corresponded with the same Anton Babikov. But I didn’t understand what kind of situation they were in there, and I didn’t want to remind myself once again. Therefore, we rarely communicated.

"Stopped self-criticism"

- After being denied access to the 2018 Games, the question did not arise, why are you doing biathlon?

Even though I consider myself mentally strong, this really knocked me down. When we were at the European Championships, they announced to us that there was no chance of participating in the Olympics. Four years of preparation, and... Okay, I was at the Games in Sochi, I brought gold from there. What about the younger guys who have never been to the Olympics? And this is news for them! It turns out that they need to study for another four years in order to try to go to the Games and win prizes there! Many were in good shape, and whether they will have this shape in four years is the question.

It was all a little sad. I can say that it was only towards the middle of summer that I began to more or less digest all this. I barely swayed.

- In what sense do you mean “digest”? No motivation?

There was, but it was weak. I didn’t understand what goals I was setting for myself and what I wanted. And in general, do I want to continue training?

- It turns out that such thoughts lasted for six months?

- How did you go to training every day for six months? How's it going to work?

I went out and set some goals for myself. There was not one large-scale goal, I solved some immediate problems that helped me spend the day with at least some desire to train.

Which? You are a purposeful person and you proved it by becoming an Olympic champion. And so - there is no big goal. What could be a small daily goal?

There are different goals. Improve the technical element. Go to a certain weight of the barbell if strength work continues during the week. You can come up with a lot of things like this.

- But why? It looks like a man who grinds out a key, but there is no lock. At all. Where should I put it?

Now, let’s just say, the summer championship went well for me. There is some desire to train more aggressively. I have an understanding of where I'm going.

- Great! For what?

For the World Cup and the World Championship.

- What convinced you? What made you continue to train and even see a big goal again?

Don't know. I can not answer this question. Maybe somehow everything has eased up. Let go. I stopped engaging in self-criticism.

- Have you followed the news related to the restoration of RUSADA?

Almost not. I scroll through the news feed, not sports, but general. At most, I come across one sports news a day, so I read it.

But this is an important topic. The restoration of the SBR and normal participation in competitions depend on the restoration of RUSADA.

So at what speed do we now have all sorts of sensations coming out! I wouldn’t be surprised if in a week they close something here again. Anything can happen. Therefore, it is better not to hope again. We restored it - good, we move on with our lives.

"There is a plan - let's go"

After the Sochi Olympics, which ended for our biathletes with a victory in the men's relay, team leader Anton Shipulin went to self-training under the guidance of coach Andrei Kryuchkov. However, it is very difficult to work alone, and the specificity of cooperation was that Kryuchkov was not always next to Shipulin. Anton invited Volkov to join him, he agreed. They worked like that for quite a long time. But now everything has changed.

Shipulin has not yet decided whether he will compete in the coming season or whether he will continue his career at all. And Volkov, not burdened by such doubts, returned to the general group, training under the leadership of Anatoly Khovantsev, the head coach of the national team and the senior coach of the men's team.

- You worked together with Anton Shipulin for a very long time. Is it easy for you to cope without your usual partner?

Well... Now we have a bigger company. You won't be bored. Antokha and I sometimes correspond and laugh more often. For now, he himself doesn’t even know whether he will continue or not. Time passes, training is underway, time will tell what condition he will be in.

- The team was headed by Anatoly Khovantsev. How comfortable are you working with him?

It's generally comfortable with him. I've known him for quite a long time, and there are no problems. We discuss everything, you can always come up and talk. We always find a compromise.

What can you say about his training system? Khovantsev told how Dmitry Malyshko in the first year of working together did not understand how it worked. How suitable is the system proposed by Khovantsev for you?

As the championship shows (Russian Summer Championship - ed.), I spent the summer profitably. I add more from collection to collection. And I can roughly imagine how much reserve I still have. I'm just wondering if I can approach the start of the season in the shape I need.

Your caution in your assessments is completely understandable. Evaluate the method itself. Are you comfortable in the training process?

The main thing is to believe. There are some really interesting workouts that I didn’t understand at first. Now understanding is coming, so everything is comfortable.

- Can you give an example of something that you didn’t understand at first?

The very beginning was a little unclear. May was spent on self-training. We arrived for the first training camp in June. Nobody knows who prepared how. Whether you did something or not did it is unknown. But it turned out that there was one general plan, everyone was immediately put under the same brush. It doesn't matter what shape you're in. It doesn’t matter whether you were sick or not. There is a plan - let's go. So at the first training camp it was unclear and a bit difficult, but then we got into it. Everything is fine.

- Any other innovations from the coaching staff?

Special strength training on roller skis. I almost never did this. Not the training itself, but the way it is carried out. I mean that the loads are distributed precisely over time, and not over kilometers.

“I’ll step aside and find something else to do.”

In principle, there was nothing new in this method for Alexey. The distribution of loads over training time was also adopted in the Kryuchkov-Shipulin-Volkov mini-group. But in addition to the general direction, there are many details. However, that’s what experience is for, to quickly adapt to new conditions. This is especially important for an Olympic champion. Especially for a matured champion.

You are no longer the same young man who won the Olympics in Sochi. And you perceive life more consciously. Is sport still the most important thing in your life?

No, I wouldn't say so. I wouldn’t say at all that sport was ever the main thing in life for me. Yes, I like him, but there are more important things. For example, family. The main thing is that sport is something you love. If you like to exercise, you exercise. So far there is a result. As soon as the result goes away or I stop liking it, I’ll just step aside and find something else to do.

- They say that you have to put your whole soul into sports, otherwise there will be no results. Do you disagree with this?

I put everything in. If you do this just for yourself, and don’t spend this time with your family, then it’s a waste of time. And if you’re going to play sports, then invest yourself to the fullest.

- Can we say that after the summer realization you have already got into a rut and went as expected?

Probably yes. I think this will happen.

- “Most likely...”, “I think that...” Where does such uncertainty come from? You are a clear person!

Well, how clear is it? I can’t yet imagine what awaits us at our first training camp in the snow. I don’t even know the approximate plan. I understand that it will be different from how they worked before, but I don’t know what the differences will be. Therefore, for now we can only believe that everything will be fine.

You concentrated on continuing your career and set a goal for yourself. What shape do you feel in now? How similar is Alexey Volkov from 2018 to Alexey Volkov from 2014?

Now I have become more technical, I have gained strength... (Sighs) But as I grow, so do my rivals. What matters here is how much I grow in comparison with them. If they add 20% and I add 10, then I lose another 10, right? Compared to my 2014 self, I have grown. But the question is how much the rivals have grown.

- So do you have an answer to this question?

For now, I can not say it. Tomorrow will be the day, there will be food. Let's go to the start and see.

The Russian biathlete came to the sport at a young age. Having become a multiple champion of Europe and Russia thanks to his perseverance, talent and enviable zeal, Alexey Volkov continues to delight fans with his high results. The biography of this young man is full of sporting achievements.

Carier start

Alexey was born on April 5, 1988 in the city of Raduzhny, Tyumen region.

He became interested in cross-country skiing early on, which he successfully practiced under the constant supervision of coach Andrei Kolisnechenko.

Over time, Aleksey Anatolyevich Volkov, together with his younger brother, began attending a biathlon school. Volkov worked with Ivan Zelenin and Petr Dubasov for two years before joining the junior team in 2009. And it became a real find of the Russian Championship, which took place in the Tyumen region in April 2009.

In December 2009, Alexey Volkov, a biathlete, participated in the World Cup in Sweden for the first time. But he didn’t show a very good result (he was 74th).

At the 2009 Junior World Championships in Canada, Alexey received a silver medal for participating in the individual race.

In 2009, being essentially a novice athlete, he had a fairly impressive number of medals. In addition, Alexey was awarded a large prize awarded by the governor of the Tyumen region. Volkov Alexey Anatolyevich received a new car.

To new heights

The Russian athlete strived for victory. The ambitious young biathlete took his first place at the European Junior Championships in Ufa. The second gold medal was not long in coming.

The very next year, at the 2010 European Championships in Estonia, Aleksey Anatolyevich Volkov took medals in all four disciplines: first place in the pursuit, second place in the sprint and relay, and third place in the individual race.

In February 2011, Alexey competed in the European Open and won silver and gold in the sprint and pursuit respectively.

The young athlete's career was rapidly growing. And already on December 18, 2011, Volkov took part in the race for the first time as part of a mixed team and won the competition. A year later, he made his debut as part of the men's relay.

But the life of a successful biathlete does not consist only of training and camps. Aleksey Anatolyevich Volkov graduates from Southern State University with a degree in physical education and sports. When not competing, Alexey likes to get acquainted with the architecture of other cities and visit historical places. For psychological relief, he often listens to music. Prefers Russian rap and hip-hop.

Of course, big sport is daily hard work, overcoming oneself, testing one’s personality for strength. We hope that the young biathlete Aleksey Anatolyevich Volkov will continue to bring new medals to the Russian team and conquer the steep peaks of the sport.

Russian biathlete Alexey Volkov joked about the fact that the team wins medals in the main competitions when he runs the race.

“Sometimes the guys joke that as soon as I come to the relay, we either get prizes or win. So today I decided to make a joke.

After the finish, Anton shouted: “I am your mascot, you should take me to the Olympics in Korea.” Seriously though, the team is probably less nervous when I run the first stage. You can rarely expect serious mistakes from me,” Volkov said.

Alexey Volkov is truly the luckiest relay runner; he is at the first stage - a necessary condition for victory at the main start of the season. Judge for yourself:

2011, World Cup - did not participate, silver;
2012, World Cup - did not participate, 6th place;
2013, World Cup - did not participate, 4th place;
2014, Olympic Games – first stage, gold;
2015, World Cup - second stage, 4th place;
2016, World Cup – did not participate, 6th place;
2017, World Cup - first stage, gold.

You know Nefartov very well. Evgeny Garanichev, taking into account the Olympic mixed doubles, entered penalty loops in five (!) relay races in a row at the main starts. When Evgeniy was not in the lineup, the team took gold.

The Russian biathlete, Olympic champion, world champion and the only seven-time European champion in history has other titles that are important for his sports career, but one of the main events of his personal life was the birth of his daughter, who was born a year and a half ago.

Alexey Volkov’s wife is his colleague - many people know the name of the Russian biathlete Evgenia Seledtsova, who united her fate with him in April 2014 and from now on will compete in all competitions under her husband’s surname. Alexey is considered the most accurate Russian biathlete, and he showed his ability for biathlon already in childhood.

First, together with his brother Alexander, they began skiing, and later decided to try their hand at biathlon. The brothers were helped in their development in this sport by the fact that a specialized biathlon school was opened near their hometown of Raduzhny in Nizhnevartovsk, where the Volkov skiers, who showed good results in the races, were gladly accepted.

In the photo - Alexey and Evgenia Volkov

The first participation in a major competition - the 2009 World Cup, did not become something outstanding for Alexey - then he took only seventy-fourth place, but already in the individual race in Canada, held as part of the World Junior Championships in the same year, Volkov was able declare himself by taking first place, and for the relay he received a silver medal. This was the beginning of the young biathlete’s great victories, for which he trained hard, sometimes even forgetting about his personal life.

At the European Junior Championships, Alexey Volkov took third place and first place in the team relay race. Having moved from juniors to the adult category, Volkov did not get lost and continued to win notable victories - at the next European Championship, held in Estonia in 2010, Alexey performed very successfully and won prizes in each of the four disciplines.

While performing at competitions and training hard, Alexey did not forget that one cannot live only for today, and he entered YSU to major in physical education and sports.

In the photo - the wife of Alexei Volkov

Alexei Volkov's wife Evgenia Seledtsova grew up in a sports family, and therefore, like her husband, she has been involved in sports since childhood, and since her parents are skiers, she decided to try herself in this sport. Evgenia started doing biathlon after school, and for this she moved to Khanty-Mansiysk. Like Alexey, Zhenya entered Ugra State University, but not in the physical education department, but in the economics department and successfully graduated, although it was quite difficult, because she had to combine training and competitions with studies, it’s good that the teachers were cooperative.

In the future, higher education will undoubtedly be useful to the children, but for now they are busy with their sports career, trying to achieve even greater results. As for the personal side, Alexey and Evgenia Volkov still have everything ahead of them, and their daughter Arina will probably not be the only child in the family of Alexey and Evgenia.