Eliseev, Matvey Pavlovich. Biathlete Matvey Eliseev: from race to race at the Olympics there was a disaster Eliseev biathlon

I have already spoken more than once or twice in my LiveJournal about the biathlete from Zelenograd, Matvey Eliseev. Three years ago, when Matvey had just made his debut in the country’s first team at the World Cup, we did with him, fragments of which were later retold by Dmitry Guberniev himself from his reports. :) Last week, Matvey Eliseev’s first meeting with fans took place in one of the Zelenograd restaurants, and I, of course, could not miss this event, especially since it took place not far from home. :) Below the cut is a short report from this meeting, from which you will learn about the reasons for the unsuccessful performance of our biathletes this season, how Matvey worked with Rico Gross, and what he thinks about Martin Fourcade (answer about Fourcade in the video).

About 30 people took part in the meeting in the Dikanka tavern, to which its main culprit, by the way, arrived on a scooter (although, as far as I know, he had already received a license and was driving a car himself). Some of them came to Zelenograd from Moscow and other cities. One of the most active participants in the event was the girl Tatyana from Pushkino near Moscow, who performed solo for a good half of the meeting.

She noted that Matvey had lost a lot of weight, and for a long time tried to bring the athlete and his father and personal mentor Pavel Konstantinovich, who was also present at the meeting, to a frank conversation about the national team coaches and the situation in the team. Both Eliseevs diligently refrained from harsh assessments, but some fans (let’s not point fingers at Tatyana :)), in my opinion, this only provoked them and they actively shared their opinions on various issues. However, the absence of a refutation of certain judgments on the part of Matvey can also be considered food for thought.

The theme that ran through the entire conversation was the serious training loads the team received in preparation for the Olympic season. Matvey said that he reached the peak of his form already in September, when he won the Russian summer championship, and expressed the opinion that after that the coaching staff could adjust the load for him, but this did not happen.

Pavel Eliseev, in turn, noted, answering the corresponding question, that a personal mentor practically cannot influence the training process in the national team - this was only possible until the junior age. And he complained that Matvey himself never complains about anything.

Speaking about coaches, Matvey said that in general he worked fine with the German Rico Gross (head coach of the Russian men's team last season), but perhaps Gross is not yet ready to take the position of head coach. Communication with the German specialist took place in English, which Matvey speaks, but for substantive professional conversations they still needed a translator.
In the future, Matvey would not mind working with Vladimir Bragin, although he admitted that not everyone gets along with him. But in general, regarding the future of Russian biathlon and his prospects in the first team (elections of the new president of the Russian Biathlon Union will take place in May), the athlete made it clear that now everything is in a state of complete uncertainty.
Matvey now has no ambitions to train individually, like Anton Shipulin, realizing that Shipulin received such a privilege for serious merit. And in general, according to Pavel Eliseev, it is, of course, better to prepare as a single team, but with an individual approach to athletes, giving those who need it the opportunity to rest.

They asked, of course, about shooting training. Matvey said that at the summer training camp he asked the coaches to distract him with their voices during shooting. The team did not use any other methods of this kind. And in general (although it was not said directly), I got the impression that no one in our team really dealt with shooting, which is clearly Matvey’s weak point.
We were also interested in the presence of a psychologist on the team. He's not there either. There were such conversations, but things did not come to specifics. Not all athletes supported this idea, but Matvey himself would only be in favor of working with a specialist of such a plan.

Matvey called the relationships in the team, which were also of great interest to the fans, friendly, explaining that, of course, everyone cannot be friends with everyone. He said that on his birthday on March 31, which he celebrated while at the Russian Championship, he invited the entire men's team and some athletes from the women's team.

Eliseev refused to give a personal description of the main star of world biathlon, Martin Fourcade, explaining that he did not communicate closely with him. But at the same time he noted that sometimes the Frenchman’s behavior on the track can be ugly. This moment is in a short video that I edited following the meeting. From it you can find out how Matvey prepares for the race, whether he trains in the off-season and what nickname he has among athletes.

One of the fans presented Matvey with a gift in the form of a large homemade figure of a biathlete. The athlete said that he does not often receive gifts from fans, and it seems that he immediately realized that he had gone overboard. :) I feel like now he will be inundated with gifts. :)

Matvey Eliseev called his performance at the Olympics unsuccessful and admitted that he did not get the experience he expected, since he fought in Korea with the wrong athletes with whom he should have. At the same time, the biathlete made it clear that he does not regret going to the Olympic Games, since “if you don’t go there, then why train at all.”
About Korea itself, Matvey said that he hadn’t really seen it. What amazed the Koreans was that they walked without hats in minus 15 degrees with strong winds.

When asked whether he notices the support of fans during the race, Matvey answered in the spirit that he tries to isolate himself from everything outside, especially during the shooting. He told a funny story about how his teammate Anton Babikov drove up to him in Oberhof and said: “Look, there’s a flag with the inscription “Zelenograd” over there.” Matvey himself did not notice this flag point-blank, although he had been hovering next to it for an hour.

Fans were also interested in questions about Matvey’s life outside of sports. He said that he is interested in hiking (I think this topic was covered in some detail in our interview, so I won’t go into more detail), follows world news (but not every day), and did not refute the information voiced by one of the participants in the meeting about his imminent marriage . The day after the meeting, this information was confirmed by a message in

I came to the editorial office of Soviet Sport during the short vacation that our men's team received during a two-week break between the stages of the World Cup. Matvey did not come alone, but together with his father, Pavel Konstantinovich, who put his son on skiing as a child and is still his personal trainer. Father and son Eliseev told us a lot of interesting things.

“You won’t get hungry in the forest: there are berries, fish and mushrooms”

Matvey, tell us how these days are going at home? Were you able to rest and catch your breath?

M.E.: Now I train not in such a strict regime as in the national team. But the necessary amount of work needs to be done: this is at least two hours a day. I live in Zelenograd, and the nearest well-prepared track is in Krasnogorsk. You can, of course, go on hiking trails close to home, but the terrain here is worse.

Is your father currently supervising your training?

P.E.: Yes. But the main thing I can do for my son is not to interfere. After all, what happens: the kettle cools down after a huge heat. No need to touch it. Now they will return to where they need to be, and grinding and cutting off unnecessary parts will begin again.

How long before this arrival was Matvey not at home?

P.E.: Yes, we have already lost count. Not seeing each other for six months is a common thing. As a rule, he calls and says that he needs to be met at one airport and taken to another. There is no time to stop home between flights.

On your phone all the time?

P.E.: As necessary. Sometimes I see his eyes on TV and understand: no, it’s better not to come to him with advice. I see: all the cells are occupied, there is an overload - and he will no longer perceive any information.

Yes, you are a psychologist.

P.E.: I have no choice. We have a ton of advisers, but there are not so many people who can step into the shadows in time and just be nearby. At one time I wanted to enter the psychology department, but two children were born - and there was no time for science. There have been all sorts of times. It was difficult financially.

What did you do to save yourself when things got really tough?

P.E: Nature saved us. We went hiking all summer. The children were still babies, and my mother tried to object, saying there were mosquitoes and all that. I told her: “Of course, you don’t have to go, but the children need you.” In general, when perestroika broke out, we lived in the forest every vacation.

Isn’t there anything hungry in the forest?

P.E.: What are you talking about! There are fish, berries, mushrooms.

Matvey, did you like these holidays?

M.E.: Of course. And now I miss it.

P.E: We even used to celebrate the New Year in the forest. The whole family gets up on skis, goes five to seven kilometers from the city, decorates the Christmas tree, builds a fire. And the four of us sit. We didn’t invite anyone else to such gatherings - we doubted that anyone would come. But this is so great!

When was the last time you went hiking?

M.E.: Yes, three times this year. But we are now limited in time. It turns out to leave for just a few days.

Have any of your teammates been offered to go on such a trip with you?

M.E.: In such a busy schedule, it’s unlikely that anyone will agree. Yes, it’s interesting, but we only have a few days to see our family and solve some of our problems.

“We froze in tents at night, and swam in icy water during the day”

M.E.: Not only am I planning, the guys from CSKA and I believe that we need to go and defend the prestige of our army sport. I just saw Fourcade for the first time at a military competition. They usually come there with their brother. I hope Martin will come to Sochi. We'll try to give him a fight. Plus, if you perform successfully, you will be able to move up the army ladder. My next step is the rank of lieutenant.

“I only need warmth from my mother”

Matvey, what is your ideal morning?

M.E.: Depending on what’s coming up during the day.

Race.

M.E.: But again - evening or morning? If it’s late, then you should get a good night’s sleep in order to gain strength and not bother yourself. If it’s early, then you should definitely go for exercise before breakfast.

What about the ideal breakfast?

M.E.: I don’t have any special preferences, but there is a rule - not to drink tea before the race. Either clean water or sports drinks. This helps me. But it doesn't work for everyone.

What does your mother cook for you when you arrive?

M.E.: I only need one thing from my mother - warmth.

Matvey Pavlovich Eliseev is a Russian biathlete, member of the Russian national team, member of the CSKA sports club, medalist of the World Junior Biathlon Championship, European champion in the mixed relay, international master of sports.

Matvey was born in March 1993 in the administrative district of the capital - Zelenograd. The boy was initially doomed to a sports career. From early childhood, his biathlete father made every effort to raise and develop his son. Pavel Konstantinovich Eliseev became Matvey’s first coach, paving the way for the boy to future victories. Matvey’s mother is a skier.

The future biathlete first started skiing at the age of 3. Matvey had no dream of devoting his life to sports. The boy just did what he liked. And determination and the desire to win appeared in grades 3-4.

According to Pavel Eliseev, he told his little son that competitions for participants of different ages should be held in Krasnogorsk. But he refused to go himself, since it was necessary to get to the destination by two trains. Matvey expressed his desire to definitely take part in the competition. Then the father gave the boy the phone numbers of the students who had cars. The guy called the guys and found transport.

Eliseev Jr. took part in the Krasnogorsk competitions and became the winner. Probably from that moment Matvey’s serious preparation for future victories began.

The parents put a lot of mental, physical and material strength into their son’s athletic development. Expensive equipment for the young athlete had to be purchased with his own money. For a long time, the athlete has been using skis from Madshus; among rifles, Matvey prefers weapons from the concern "". As Eliseev Sr. jokes, if friends bought dachas, then the Eliseev family bought skis. “My friends had cars, but we had ski poles”.

The father also spared no time in going on long hiking trips with his sons (Matvey has an older brother). The boys learned to get their own food in the forest and survive at the expense of nature. The brothers fished, picked berries and mushrooms, cooked over a fire and kayaked along mountain rivers.

Matvey Eliseev began to win his first victories in sports early. Listing the certificates and medals that a young man received during his school years is a long task. At the age of 14, Matvey became the winner of the Moscow Ski Track 2008. And this is just one line in Eliseev’s long sports biography. In 2011, the young man passed the standards for a candidate for master of sports.

After graduating from school, Eliseev Jr., already an accomplished athlete, on the recommendation of his parents, acquired another profession. The biathlete received a specialty as a bakery production technologist, having studied at the Moscow State University of Technology and Management for the required time. As they say - just in case.

It is noteworthy that the athlete spent a long time at the training camp, but managed to pass the sessions on time. While classmates who did not miss classes retook exams and tests several times.

Biathlon

Matvey Eliseev seriously thought about continuing his sports career in biathlon towards the end of his studies at a sports school.

In 2013, the athlete received a place in the junior biathlon team of the Russian Federation. Eliseev’s first victories in biathlon appeared in 2014. This year, an athlete from Zelenograd became the world champion in biathlon among juniors.

The competition took place in the American city of Presque Isle. Russian athletes Matvey Eliseev, Eduard Latypov, Ivan Alekhin, Alexander Povarnitsyn lost first place to participants from Germany, and second place to the French. The women's team, which included Victoria Slivko, took an honorable second place in the relay.

In the same year, the athlete won the summer biathlon tournament. The competition took place in his homeland, in the city of Tyumen. The group of Russian biathletes again became third, but now at the pursuit stage.

The spring of 2015 brought Eliseev new victories, which raised the young biathlete to the next level of his career: in March, the young man won in the Canadian city of Canmore, winning the individual races at the IBU Cup (European Open Cup) stage. In the overall standings of the 2014-15 season for the IBU Cup, Matvey took 9th place.

The victories of 2015 did not end there. Matvey Eliseev was allowed to participate in competitions at the World Cup. The young man showed good results in two races: in the sprint race the athlete came 17th, and in the pursuit he took 27th place. For a beginner, this is an excellent result, which allowed him to gain a foothold in the biathlon elite. The athlete is called one of the most talented Russian biathletes of the new generation.

The head coach of the Russian biathlon team, Alexander Kasperovich, highly praised Matvey’s potential, calling the biathlete and his colleagues – and Pyotr Pashchenko – the future of Russian biathlon.

The victories received allowed Matvey Eliseev to come close to his own dream - to gain a foothold in the World Cup in the main team. In January 2016, a performance in France brought the biathlete second place in the relay competition.

Eliseev was included in the country's men's team for the 2016 World Championships, which took place in Holmenkollen, a suburb of Oslo, Norway, on March 3-13. Participation in the IBU Cup brought Matvey three gold medals in two sprint tournaments and an individual race.

Personal life

Matvey Eliseev's energies are concentrated on sports. There are ambitious goals ahead. The athlete has little time to rest. Matvey is a fan of fishing and kayaking. A young man with his father and brother visit the Tver region, where they go rafting and relax in nature.

The personal life of Matvey Eliseev is closed from prying eyes. As is known from social networks, the young biathlete is seen together with a girl named Anna Shcherbinina. The athlete posts joint photos in “Biathlonist Matvey Eliseev

Together, the biathletes have already competed at the 52nd World Championships, which took place in Hochfilzen, Austria in mid-February 2017. Participation in the World Cup relay also resulted in second place.

To stay in shape, Matvey does not miss the opportunity to compete at international competitions. At the end of February 2017, Eliseev visited the Military World Games, which took place in Sochi. The Russian men's team, which included Matvey, won two gold medals in the team race and patrol race, as well as silver in the mixed relay.

Achievements

2014 – bronze medal at the World Junior Championships
2016 – gold medal at the European Championships
2017 - two gold medals and one silver at the Military World Games

Immediately after the finish in the mixed relay race, he told reporters, among whom was RIA Novosti correspondent Anatoly Samokhvalov, why he and his partners did almost nothing at the starts in South Korea, about incomplete dialogues with the coach and about criticism from titled biathlon veterans.

There wasn’t much good in this race,” Eliseev said after the mixed relay, in which the Russian team finished ninth. - Nothing worked out today. The reason is the general readiness for the season. As it was, so it remains. There was no power reserve and it was unnerving. You need to grab seconds, but you can’t. And you're nervous. And this also affects shooting.

Our preparation since the summer has most likely been unsuccessful. It seems to me. But these are my feelings. Or maybe even since the fall. In my opinion, we should have rested more after the summer championship and built on what we did in the summer. Or change summer training. Most likely, mistakes were made at that time.

- Did you discuss this topic with Rico Gross?

Yes. They discussed it, but only at the Olympics. And he is not happy about this situation either.

- Before the start of the Olympic Games, Gross was pleased with your speed in training.

I wasn't happy with my speed before the Olympics. He may have been trying to instill confidence in us in this way. We still gave our best, we can’t just take it and stop running. We fight to the end in every race. Until the last meter. But now we have such strength that we simply cannot fight.

-General impressions of the Olympics?

Definitely not the best.

- stated that there is practically no interaction between coaches and athletes in the team. Do you agree?

We only have two coaches here. We have enough contact with Rico, but still, whatever one may say, we communicate with him only in English. His English is quite good, ours is average. We cannot express in conversation among ourselves what we really want to convey. There is no full communication with coaches.

- Why didn’t you manage to get a medal? All because of those very mistakes in summer preparation?

Yes, it’s all due to general preparation.

- So the preparation for the Games in Pyeongchang was wrong?

In the end, this is what happens. If we lost a lot all season, then at the Olympics we lost a lot. Race after race at the Olympic Games was a disaster.

Previously, coaches said that athletes were getting into shape, and at the Olympics they would push forward. Was everything wrong from the start?

It turns out that way.

In recent days, two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasiliev has strongly criticized the team. How do you feel about this opinion?

Dmitry Vasiliev always likes to say something tough, no matter what. I won't say anything about him.

- The Olympics are over. What emotions will you return home with?

Hard to tell. There was no Olympic atmosphere here. Somehow she didn't feel it. This is the first thing. Secondly, when there is practically no opportunity for the body to compete with the best, then even if it gains experience, it is not very much. What I learned more for myself is that in the future I still need to change my preparation.

- And how do you see your preparation for the next season?

I understand what needs to be done, but if I talk about it, I’ll just freeze here (Eliseev’s communication with journalists took place outdoors in the mixed zone at the Alpensia Biathlon Center).

- You performed in the last stage of the relay. How did you feel in this role?

In fact, I wanted to run it (the last stage), but I still hoped that my body would be capable of the best, and not what happened in the end. I thought it would give me more strength than it actually did.

, Moscow

Date of death A place of death