E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon

Dmitry Malyshko, the World Cup debutant from St. Petersburg can certainly be called a hero of the right-to-end season – during the final stage in Khanty-Mansiysk, he showed the best results of the men’s team.

Right after the pursuit race which he finished fourth, Dmitry Malyshko shared his impressions of the past five months with those for whom he had seen only on television.

– The end of your first season at the World Cup is coming. How was it?
Dmitry Malyshko: At the beginning of the season I did not even set a goal to participate in the World Cup, because I was specifically preparing for the IBU Cup. In winter, when the selection started, I realised that I was in good shape – it was proved by my victory in the sprint at the IBU.Then I came to the World Cup stage in Hochfilzen, where we were quite good – Timothy Lapshin and me.Then everything went on  the results became better and better, they even surpassed my expectations.
– How do you estimate the courses of Khanty-Mansiysk and local fans?
Dmitry Malyshko: The fans always support their idols, and now we were doubly pleased. Last laps run are always difficult to run, and the fans help and encourage – On the last lap I was catching Svendsen and I saw that he was turning around. As to the courses – they are nice, tough, and very good for our team.
– You have good relations with your teammates. Was it difficult to get the feel of the team?
Dmitry Malyshko: I know all the guys for a long time – Vanya Cherezov, Evgeny Ustyugov, and Anton Shipulin – that’s why it was quite easy. The situation in our team is normal, friendly, no incidents and no problems.
– How do you prepare for the race?
Dmitry Malyshko: I inspire myself that I need to work out a good race. Here, in Khanty-Mansiysk, every start is very important for me. This is the last competition of such a level in the season, so I set a goal to finish it on a positive note.
– Which of the competitive disciplines do you like most?
Dmitry Malyshko: Previously I loved sprints. I was badly preparing to the four laps – the two latest always failed, and two was quite OK. However, this season, I noticed that I improved my results in the pursuits and the mass starts. Also my skiing was better than shooting, and I always won back by speed. But if there is no clean shooting during the World Cup, it is useless to run, so you need to find a golden mean. I improved my shooting in four lines, and in Norway I managed to reach the level of an only penalty. It helps to fight for a position among the top three.
– What should be done in the next two years to get to the Olympic team?
Dmitry Malyshko: This season we did a great job in summer, we got the right rhythm – and the World Cup confirmed it. So in the next two seasons, we simply have not to spoil anything, to continue our work in the same direction. Throughout the season there were small declines, but generally I’m satisfied.