A new defendant may appear in the doping trial against Russian participants in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Olga Zaitseva received a notification from the International Biathlon Union (IBU) - she is suspected of violating anti-doping rules. The athlete herself admitted that she did not understand what charges could be brought against her.
Posted by Dmitry Guberniev (@guberniev_dmitry) Nov 13, 2017 at 8:17 PST
Two-time Olympic champion Anfisa Reztsova believes that, following Zaitseva, they may begin to make claims against absolutely all Russian athletes and that the situation that has arisen is caused by political tension in the world.
“I can’t imagine how to protect our athletes from adversity and slander. Let's start rechecking the 80s. I don't know how to stand up for the athletes. It's all about politics. They will not stop at Olya Zaitseva, they will dig under everyone else, and they will get to Anton Shipulin with accusations, God forbid. The most annoying thing is that there is no one to stand up for the athletes. Three years have passed since Sochi, and it is incomprehensible to the mind that they are now deprived of medals. You need to ask questions to the Minister of Sports - both the previous one and the current one. There is nothing new in doping. It can't be that we are the only ones who use it, and everyone abroad is good. Did Alexander Legkov find something concrete? No, nothing has been proven! Still disqualified. I do not believe that our athletes are so stupid to plow all their lives, and then use doping. We treat everyone with friendliness, and foreign athletes return the same to us, and politics spoils everything. It hurts and hurts from this, ”said Reztsova in an interview with RT.
Olga Zaitseva brought Russia the first "gold" at the stages of the Biathlon World Cup in the new season. Russian woman excelled in the individual race for 15 km
Moscow. January 14th. site - A month and a half has passed since the start of the season, and our biathletes have never climbed to the highest step of the podium before. On Thursday, at the fifth stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Russian Olga Zaitseva broke the chain of failures that was lengthening every day, having won gold in the individual race. Our athlete swept along the track like a snowstorm and hit every single target on four firing lines. "Silver" was won by the German Andrea Henkel, who tried to make up the gap from Zaitseva to the finish line, and the "bronze" went to the Swede Helena Ekholm. Two more Russians Svetlana Sleptsova (2 misses and 6th place) and Yana Romanova (1 miss and 10th place) got into the top ten at the end of the race.
The individual men's race, which started the fifth stage of the World Cup, brought nothing but disappointment to the Russian fans. The top steps of the pedestal were traditionally chosen by Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen, Frenchman Martin Fourcade and Austrian Dominik Landertinger. The best of our athletes Evgeny Ustyugov took only seventh place. Perfect visibility on the track left the athletes no excuses - they could only blame themselves.
Russian girls had to take the rap for men. Olga Zaitseva and Svetlana Sleptsova went to the track in the first group and set a high pace for the race - the rest of the athletes were equal to their time. The rain that poured over the track in the morning made its own adjustments. The track became loose every minute, and the slopes turned into real ice slides, so athletes with low starting numbers had practically no chance of success. Zaitseva confidently closed all the targets at the first firing line and took the lead in the race. Sleptsova temporarily moved her teammate to second place, but two mistakes at subsequent shooting ranges deprived her of leadership status.
Olga seemed to pick up speed along the track, and her sharp right eye and faithful hand worked flawlessly in combination with each other - not a single cartridge from her rifle was wasted. Zaitseva passed the finish line incredibly powerfully and quickly, it was almost impossible to surpass her final result (41:46.1). However, the German Andrea Henkel kept the intrigue in the race to the last. The representative of Germany almost did not give way to Olga, and at the shooting range she looked just as confident as the Russian woman. A kilometer before the finish line, Henkel lost only five seconds to Olga, but the strength left the German woman. Andrea not only did not close the lead, but was even further behind the Russians - by only 14.5 seconds. The third place was rightfully won by Swede Helena Ekholm, who hit all 20 targets.
After her ninth World Cup victory in her career, Olga Zaitseva gave vent to her emotions and promised to please Russian biathlon fans more than once: “Good shooting played a big role today. I’m very glad that I did it! it drains, but we are women, we are strong, we coped with it. I gathered today, probably it was just my day. I can’t say that after such a performance it will be easier - it will still be hard, but we will work and we will be very strong try to please the fans," the official website of the RRF quotes her as saying.
The head coach of the Russian women's team, Anatoly Khovantsev, promised to open a bottle of champagne for joy, which he had in store for just such an occasion: “Today there were very difficult weather conditions, it was pouring rain. Naturally, this could not but affect the movement. The girls had to work very hard, but I am pleased that everyone went well in terms of speed. Three out of six - Zaitseva, Sleptsova and Romanova - did a good job with shooting. Naturally, we are very happy - the first "gold"! Finally, everything got off the ground. This result will give a psychological confidence, now we know for sure that we can run on the same level with the leaders and win. We will definitely celebrate, I had a special bottle of champagne prepared for the first gold podium, we will open it in the evening."
"All-Russian Bunny" - Olga Zaitseva received such a nickname at the peak of her career from devoted fans of biathlon. The champion, who closed the doors to big-time sports a long time ago, admits that fans still address her in this way during random meetings. Olga was able to get two gold medals for Russia at the Olympics, she won world championships three times.
Childhood and youth
Olga Zaitseva was born into a Muscovite family - a pilot and a kindergarten teacher. Elder sisters Elena and Oksana in their teens could already boast of some achievements in skiing. Following the example of girls, Olya also wanted to ride and in the third grade she joined the ranks of the ski section of the sports school. The coach Svetlana Nesterova took care of the future champion, who was soon replaced by Elena Chukedova.
The school program was supplemented by another "snow" sport - biathlon, but the pupils were in no hurry to change cross-country skiing for it, there were sorely lacking girls in the team. Olga became interested in this direction, so she gladly agreed to the proposal to prepare for the competition.
Only two weeks were allotted for training in the basics of shooting. Zaitseva, under the guidance of Viktor Izotov, managed to master the basics and went to competitions in Krasnogorsk, and from there to the All-Russian Winter Olympics in Perm. Since then, the girl decided to seriously engage in biathlon. However, she did not give up skiing.
After the 8th grade, Olga entered a sports college, managed to combine her studies with two sports. The biathlete recalls that time as one of the most difficult in life. But she did not give up and even became a master of sports in biathlon, after which she said goodbye to cross-country skiing, finally deciding on her career path.
Zaitseva did not stop at the red diploma of the college, she entered the Academy of Physical Culture, which she successfully graduated from. In the late 90s, the girl managed to serve her native state in the form of a policeman, in the 2000s she worked in the tax police, then with the rank of captain she was listed in the federal drug control service.
Sports talent, supported by perseverance in training, did not go unnoticed. Soon Olga got into the junior team of Russia and won the first silver medal at the championship in Kontiolahti. A year later, she brought the championship title from Italy, obtained as a result of team races. In 1999, Zaitseva was accepted into the ranks of the adult team.
Professional sports
The new millennium began with training under the guidance of his sister Oksana Rocheva. Olga Zaitseva made her debut at the Dynamo CS, having added to the piggy bank the title of master of sports of international class. And in 2001, the sports biography reached international proportions - the biathlete got silver at the European Championships. A year later, she successfully debuted in the World Cup and received a pass to the 2002 Olympics.
The athlete delighted biathlon fans at the 2005 World Championships, where she collected the entire set of medals and received the honorary title of Honored Master of Sports. The next season, the list of awards of Olga Alekseevna Zaitseva was decorated with the first Olympic gold won in Turin.
The woman had to take a break in her sports career. Olga got married and gave birth to a child, for a long time she returned her lost form - she did not please her with success in performances. Experts did not pin their hopes on the athlete nominated for the 2009 championship after a doping scandal that deprived the Russian team of the biathlon color: Dmitry Yaroshenko and Ekaterina Yuryeva did not participate.
But the biathlete surprised by snatching two gold and the same number of bronze medals from her rivals. The following year, she replenished her asset with several World Cups, as well as gold and silver (relay and mass start) at the Vancouver Olympics.
In 2011, the champion was going to put an end to professional sports. The impetus was the negative results of the women's team at the World Cup, which was held in Russia. But, having declared publicly about the end of her career, Olga Zaitseva soon changed her mind and stayed for another three years - until the next Olympics.
During this period, the athlete has collected a rich harvest of Cups and other awards. She won performances in Finland, took second and third places in Austria, and also led the sprint races and pursuit races. At the beginning of 2012, she won the third winning position at the World Cup in Germany, and she took first place in the competitions held in the Czech Republic.
In 2014, Olga Zaitseva graced the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The titled athlete ended her career with dignity - a silver medal. But the sport did not just let go of the skier: Olga Alekseevna took the post of acting head coach of the Russian women's biathlon team.
Personal life
In the fall of 2006, the athlete celebrated her wedding. Olga Zaitseva's husband was a colleague, biathlete from Slovakia Milan Augustin, who ended his career back in the 90s due to a back injury.
The couple even got married, the ceremony took place in the homeland of the chosen one. The celebration was modest, in the circle of the closest people. And the newly-made spouses spent their honeymoon in Brussels.
Soon Olga and Milan had a son, who was named Alexander. The girl's mother approved the decision to return to the sport, taking on the main chores of raising her grandson.
In 2013, the fans of the athlete learned the news about the divorce of a pair of biathletes. Zaitseva did not voice the reasons for the breakup, moreover, she asked fans on the official website not to ask unnecessary questions.
A couple of years later, Sasha's 8-year-old son had a brother, Olga Zaitseva named her second heir Stepan. The father of the child is the servicer of the ski team Peter Trifonov.
Olga Zaitseva now
After saying goodbye to biathlon, Zaitseva devoted her life to raising children and social activities. The woman was a member of the Commission of Athletes of the Olympic Committee of the Russian Federation, participated in the construction of a sports complex for small skiers and biathletes in the capital of the country.
At the end of 2017, the authoritative athlete, by decision of the IOC, was deprived of the silver medal won at the 2014 Games. In pursuit, Olga Zaitseva received a life ban on participating in the Olympics. The biathlete got into the lists of “suspicious” athletes in terms of doping by accident. During a total check of the samples, scratches were found on the test tubes - they were supposedly opened to replace the "dirty" biomaterial with a "clean" one.
Together with Zaitseva, biathletes and Yana Romanova lost their awards and the opportunity to compete at the Olympics. In February 2018, the athletes filed an appeal against the IOC decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (USA). In early March, it became known that the date for the consideration of the claim had not yet been set.
Now Olga is on maternity leave, in an interview she notes:
“I'm resting for now. My goal is to raise children."
A woman receives another education - she studies in absentia at Moscow State University with a degree in sports management. She often becomes a guest and organizer of competitions, helps her sister Oksana develop sports school No. 102.
Awards
- 2001 - silver at the European Championship
- 2005 - bronze, silver and gold at the World Championships in Hochfilzen
- 2006 - gold at the Olympics in Turin
- 2009 - two bronze and two gold medals at the World Championships in Pyeongchang
- 2010 - gold at the Vancouver Olympics
- 2010 - silver at the Vancouver Olympics
- 2014 - silver at the Olympics in Sochi
Wednesday marks its 40th anniversary.
Below is a biographical note.
Russian biathlete, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Olga Alekseevna Zaitseva was born on May 16, 1978 in Moscow in the family of a civil aviation pilot.
In 1996 she graduated from the College of Professional Education and Sports, in 2002 - the Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism.
As a child, Zaitseva attended the ski section, since 1991 she studied at the Moscow Sports School No. 43 under the guidance of Svetlana Nesterova, then with Elena Chukedova.
She became interested in biathlon when the team of the sports school did not have enough girls to compete, and Olga was offered to try her hand at this sport. In a short time, she learned the basics of shooting from biathlon coach Viktor Izotov and took part in competitions - first in Krasnogorsk, and then at the All-Russian Winter Olympics in Perm.
Since 1994, Zaitseva completely switched to biathlon and began to train with Alexander Suslov. Since 2000, she has been training under the guidance of her sister Oksana Rocheva.
In 1996, the athlete joined the junior team and won a silver medal at the World Championships in Kontiolahti (Finland).
In 1997, at the World Junior Championships in Forni Avoltri (Italy), Zaitseva won the gold medal.
In 1999, Zaitseva entered the second team of Russia.
In the same year, she entered the service in the internal affairs bodies of the Podolsky Internal Affairs Directorate as a policeman in a separate battalion of the police patrol service.
In 2000, she moved to work for the Russian Federal Tax Police Service, and in 2003 she began working for the Russian Federal Drug Control Service.
In 2001, Zaitseva won a silver medal at the European Championships in France, collected a full set of awards at the Universiade in Poland and received a place in the main team.
In the 2002/2003 season, at the World Cup stages, Zaitseva won gold medals in the sprint and individual race, a silver medal in the pursuit and a bronze medal in the relay.
In the 2003/2004 season, the athlete became the absolute champion of Russia (sprint, pursuit, mass start), and also won one silver and two bronze medals at the World Cup.
At the 2005 World Championships in Hochfilzen (Austria), she won a full set of medals: gold in the relay, silver in the sprint and bronze in the pursuit, as well as a silver medal in the mixed relay.
According to the results of the 2004/2005 season, she became the fourth in the overall standings of the World Cup. Won a small Crystal Globe in the mass start.
Since 2005, she has taken the position of a highly qualified sports instructor for CSKA.
In 2006, at the Olympic Games in Turin (Italy), Zaitseva won a gold medal in the relay race, and also became the champion of Russia in the mass start and pursuit.
After the Olympic season, Olga decided to take a break from performing. Season 2007/2008 she spent on an individual schedule.
In 2009, at the World Championships in Pyeongchang (South Korea), Zaitseva won four medals (two gold and two bronze).
In 2010 at the Olympic Games in Vancouver (Canada), she won gold in the relay and silver in the mass start.
In the seasons 2009/2010, 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, the biathlete repeatedly became the winner and winner of the World Cup stages.
In 2014, at the stages of the World Cup, the biathlete won two bronze (mass start and pursuit) and silver (sprint) medals.
At the home Olympics in Sochi, Zaitseva won silver in the relay.
In January 2015, Zaitseva ended her career.
On December 1, 2017, the International Olympic Committee stripped Zaitseva of her Sochi 2014 medal for an anti-doping rule violation and banned her from the Olympics for life. On December 11, Zaitseva filed an appeal against this decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On December 22, the IOC published the reasoning of the decision. It follows from it that Zaitseva was included in the so-called Duchess list, the samples of which were planned to be replaced during the 2014 Olympics. Numerous scratches were found on Zaitseva's test tubes with two doping samples, and a physiologically impossible level of salt was found in one sample. Also, in one of Zaitseva's samples, taken not during the Olympic Games, two DNA samples were found.
Zaitseva herself stated that she had never taken doping, and all the evidence was fabricated. On February 21, 2018, it became known that Zaitseva, as well as two other Russian biathletes Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova, filed a $30 million libel suit in the Manhattan Supreme Court against the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, now a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov .
During her sports career, Olga Zaitseva won more than 40 victories and won more than 100 prizes. In her piggy bank there are three Olympic medals (two gold and one silver, the Sochi-2014 athlete was deprived of silver) and three gold of the world championships. She also has two silver and three bronze medals of the world championship.
She was awarded the Order of Friendship (2010), two medals of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd Class (2003, 2007), and a medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st Class (2014).
Olga Zaitseva has two sons.
Two-time Olympic biathlon champion Olga Zaitseva has been accused of using banned substances. According to Sport Express, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspects a Russian woman of manipulating doping tests during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
During the rechecking of all doping tests of domestic athletes from that Olympics, IOC experts noticed suspicious scratches on Zaitseva's test tubes.
Earlier, because of these microcracks, two other members of the Russian relay team, biathletes Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova, were on the list of suspects.
The former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, and now a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) whistleblower who fled to the United States, Grigory Rodchenkov, said that such scratches indicate that the test tubes were opened in order to replace a positive doping test with a negative one.
Based on the words of the chemist, the IOC has already managed to disqualify six Russian skiers for life - Alexander Legkov, Evgeny Belov, Alexei Petukhov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Evgenia Shapovalova and Yulia Ivanova, annulling their achievements in Sochi 2014. This led to the deprivation of the Russian team of four medals.
Now our country is at risk of losing another award - silver for the biathlon relay.
This medal is the only one that Zaitseva won as part of the team at home Games: the Russian woman won two more Olympic gold for the relay and one silver for the mass start at two other Olympics - in Turin and Vancouver. These awards are unlikely to be taken away from the biathlete, but the Sochi medal was under serious threat.
Curiously, Zaitseva had not previously appeared on any list of suspects and had not received any public claims from Rodchenkov. And now, according to media reports, the biathlete will have to appear before the IOC commission led by Dennis Oswald, which is rechecking doping tests given by Russian athletes during the Sochi Games. The meeting is scheduled for the end of November 2017.
However, the President of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) Alexander Kravtsov hastened to refute this unpleasant news.
“The information about scratches on Zaitseva’s samples is not true. In Lausanne, her case was not heard, the current proceedings concern only two athletes - Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova, ”R-Sport quoted the official as saying.
Gazeta.Ru discussed the current situation with the former head coach of the Russian women's biathlon team Alexander Selifonov, who previously coached the athlete.
- The media reported that Zaitseva was accused of doping during the Games in Sochi ...
- Olga absolutely did not need any kind of stimulation in order to show the results that she achieved.
She was already in good shape and always performed at a high level. It was only necessary to correctly bring Zaitseva to the competition - then she already gave results, won medals. True, during Sochi-2014, the leadership missed something (the athlete was only able to achieve silver in the relay. - Gazeta.Ru), but I was no longer at these Games. Everything was then led by the German coach Wolfgang Pichler.
In any case, Olga is a 100% pure athlete. They did not take anything forbidden.
- What do you think about the disqualification of our athletes because of scratches on test tubes?
These scratches are some kind of absurdity. I believe that this is a pure order with political overtones.
If the suspension occurs only because of scratches, then an appeal must be filed with other authorities. It is unrealistic to disqualify athletes on this basis alone. It is clear that WADA rests on the fact that Russia allegedly had a system of state support for doping, although it is clear that there was nothing.
- Will this affect the reputation of Zaitseva, who has already completed her career?
- I do not think that this will change the attitude towards Olga, even if she is somehow found guilty of doping. It's really unclear why they do it. I still don’t understand why our skiers were suspended, especially for life. This means that WADA has some hard evidence. Or is it all only on the basis of the testimony of Rodchenkov, who himself invented something and offered athletes there?
Here, either something is hushed up, or they simply want to remove us from the 2018 Olympics by any means. Perhaps, when the Games are over, the IOC will say: “Oh, we realized that we were wrong.”
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