Biathlete Olga Zaitseva biography personal life. Biography. “The current generation of biathletes is simply missed. Something else must grow."

The beginning of the season for our biathletes is especially important in their biography, because the Winter Olympics will be held in February. So the preparation was very carefully and responsibly. The greatest attention of fans is directed to Olga Zaitseva, the recognized leader of our team. Of the current generation of Russian biathletes, only Zaitseva and Pyleva-Medvedtseva hold the titles of Olympic champions. Following the results of last year, in which she won two golds at the World Championships, our “All-Russian bunny” was recognized as a laureate in a wide variety of nominations.

Her older sister Oksana Rocheva-Zaitseva, who is also her personal trainer, talks about the famous biathlete.

Came to the sport after the sisters

— Oksana, you have a big and sporty family. Did your passion for sports begin with skiing?

Our parents weren't athletes. Dad is a pilot, mom is a kindergarten teacher. But a healthy lifestyle has always been welcomed. And we were taught to exercise from an early age. I am three years older than Lena and five years older than Olya. But I myself was fond of volleyball at first and also went to the theater club. Moreover, the second passion was even stronger than the first - in my dreams I saw myself as an actress. In the drama club, I put on wigs and long dresses and learned how to make up. But then the coach invited Lena to a sports school - namely the 43rd school in Bitsa, from which we all later graduated. And Lena was still small. And my parents told me: take your sister. On Sunday, I didn’t have any club classes or volleyball. I took the lead. And Lena’s coach, Svetlana Vyacheslavovna Nesterova, also persuaded me to take up cross-country skiing. (By the way, this excellent teacher still works as both a coach and a physical education teacher at school.) Well, after a year, the youngest, Olya, also began to follow us. The coaches agreed to take her, when she was very young, to training camps as an “add-on” to me and Lena, with prospects for the future. And it was more convenient for our parents that the youngest one was under the supervision of her older sisters. But Olya sometimes caused trouble for Lena and me.

- How?

— For example: during training they will order you to do some work. If Lena and I are not in the mood, we may not finish one lap. Coaches ask us: “How was training?” We answer: “We did everything.” Then the coaches ask Olya, and she, in her simplicity and youth, reports: “Oksana and Lena did not run to the circle, but sat out in the bushes.” But she was 9 years old or even younger then. And when Olya “pawned” not only her sisters, but also other athletes in this way, I also had to quarrel with my teammates because of her. I tried to prove to them: “What’s the demand from a little girl?!” But my arguments didn’t make it any easier for my friends after Olya’s “reports” to the coach.

Family Jewels

— Are you related to the large ski clan of the Rochevs?

— I married Dmitry Rochev, also a skier and biathlete, but a Muscovite. He has people from Komi in his family, but he was not familiar with Vasily Rochev and his parents before. When I first attended a joint training camp with skiers, Vasya was still single and jokingly greeted me: “Great, wife!” Some took it seriously. In fact, Rochev is the most common surname in Komi. It is translated into Russian as “Russian”.

— They say that Olya has accumulated souvenirs in the form of hares. Which one is the most original?

— In fact, there are a lot of souvenirs. And Olya treats everyone very carefully. Just recently, sports journalists asked her for one of the hares as a gift for the editorial museum. But Olya categorically did not want to sacrifice at least one of them. After all, everything was given from the heart and to her. Olya brought some kind of souvenir not related to hares. Original and very touching hares were given to Olya and me as her coach by children from the Khanty-Mansiysk creative center. They sewed them themselves from scraps of fabric.

wedding with rifles

— Is it true that you organized a shooting competition during Olya’s wedding? (“Express newspaper.” - “Trud-7”)

— In fact, the Slovakian national team, which went to training camps on their buses, gave a surprise to Milan and Olya. They were waiting for the wedding procession, which was heading from the church to the restaurant. The athletes blocked our way and began jokingly demanding ransom and everything that is required in such cases. Then they pulled rifles out of their bus and photographed the newlyweds with them. So it all happened by chance. Nobody planned a photo shoot with rifles, although the photos of the bride and groom ended up being fun. And, of course, there were no shooting competitions at the wedding.

- Does Olin’s son Sasha already understand what his mother is doing?

- Certainly. Already at the age of two he watched biathlon with great interest. As his Slovak grandmother taught him, he keeps his fingers crossed for his mother. And when she shoots prone, he himself lies down in front of the TV on the floor. Unfortunately, his dad, the famous former biathlete Milan Augustin, is also a very busy man. As director of the Winter Universiade, he has to travel all over the world. Therefore, Sashka spends a lot of time with our parents or Milan’s mother.

— What languages ​​can he speak?

— In Russian and Slovak. So he will be a polyglot, like his dad.

— Recently, foreign sports specialists are increasingly coming to work in Moscow. Olin's husband has no plans?

— Let's start with the fact that there were no invitations to Milan from the Russian team. there are other circumstances. Firstly, his work is related to the preparation of international competitions, so he travels to many countries. Secondly, if he moved to Moscow, he would have to rent housing.

Why doesn’t Olya let her husband into her home?

“Won’t your wife let you in?” After all, with what pomp it was announced that Zaitseva was given an apartment for winning the Olympics!

— “To yourself” is still an abstract concept for Olya. During her rare visits to Moscow, she either lives with her parents or with me. The saga with the apartment, which the CSKA management allocated to my sister after the victory in Turin, continues to this day. Firstly, in the apartment in Mitino for which Olya was given a certificate, there is still only one concrete box, even the rooms are not fenced off from each other. Secondly, if Olya undertakes to carry out finishing and repairs at her own expense, there is still no guarantee that the money will not be wasted. A certificate and a property right are not the same thing. Although Olya has been paying rent for three years. Several other famous athletes, including our champion figure skaters, found themselves in a similar situation. And when Olya brings Sasha to Moscow, he lives with his grandparents in the apartment in the south of Moscow where we, three sisters, grew up. When I got married and gave birth to a daughter (she is already 15 years old, she is a biathlon athlete at the same school), and then my middle sister Lena gave birth to a son, our family was allocated a two-room apartment in Lyublino. Until that time, our mother had been in line for expansion for 20 years, and the solution to the issue was then influenced by Olya’s first major successes at the international level. But in this “kopeck piece”, besides Olya, I live with my husband and two children. Olya, in order not to embarrass me and our parents, whenever possible, tries not to come to Moscow so often. There was a time when I even rented housing with my own money.

— It’s strange to hear all this, knowing about the great reputation of the CSKA club.

- In my own biography, there was also an incident: I played for CSKA as a skier, and when I got pregnant, the club management offered me to quit. I was 19 years old then, and I was used to doing what my elders said. True, such a gross violation of rights can be explained by the general situation in Russia in the dashing nineties. At that time, wages were not being paid everywhere in the country and there were massive layoffs. I hope the situation is more stable now. However, the solution of Olya's housing issue may further delay the uncertainty of the future status of CSKA itself.

Maternal cares brought the team together

— Where did Olya rest from such a successful, then difficult season?

— I went with my family to Egypt. But complete rest, that is, a state of absolute immobility and without restriction in nutrition, is unacceptable for her. I continued to do exercises, run cross-country, swim, and exercise. Now Olya and her son have gone to Brussels, where her husband has an apartment.

- With whom did Olya from Russian and foreign biathletes have the best relationship?

“She strives to maintain good, even relationships with everyone, and she succeeds. In the current composition of the national team, there is an extra reason for communication outside the ski slopes and shooting ranges, perhaps with Olya Medvedtseva. She has a child about the same age as my sister, and both often discuss childhood problems. With young unmarried biathletes there are fewer such points of contact. Among foreigners, the best relationship has developed with Olya Nazarova from the Belarusian national team, whom we call a foreigner conditionally, because she is a student of an Omsk school. However, in principle, it is possible to be friends with foreign women from far abroad. For example, one day Olya, Simone Denkinger and I from the German national team were delayed during doping control, and then the three of us went to the canteen. I can’t say that Olya and I speak English very well. But our knowledge was enough to discuss sports matters with Simone and talk about our family affairs. The mentality of athletes from different countries is quite similar. There will be common ground and there will be a common language. And my sister’s best friend among high-class athletes is Anya Bogaliy-Titovets. They became close friends even before the Olympics in Turin, then walked at each other’s wedding. And in general they often call back, even if they are in different parts of the world.

— I was recently surprised to read: Olga Zaitseva’s favorite music is Metallica and Ramstein.

— In fact, our father and mother most loved Russian songs performed by Anna German, as well as Alla Pugacheva. We constantly listened to all the songs they performed on vinyl. Since childhood, we were raised to be omnivorous in musical preferences. They loved classics, pop music, and bards. But they always gave some preference to Russian music. And now Olya constantly plays music in her headphones throughout the day when her son Sasha is not around, and she begins to miss him more and more.

Our laws make life difficult for biathletes

— Recently, our champions have been complaining about the unceremoniousness of WADA officers...

— The work of this organization creates certain everyday difficulties for Ole. You have to constantly keep them informed about what day and what time where you are. Inconsistencies and related troubles can arise during a multi-stop flight, when Olya herself does not always know which flight she will take. But recently, WADA has been recommending that its employees negotiate more carefully with athletes. And the person being checked can choose a more convenient time of day for the check. Olya usually appoints a morning time, as it is more predictable at the place of stay.

— And the long-suffering law on weapons, on which famous shooting athletes also worked, was finally changed?

- As they say, things are still there. Because of this, athletes have to endure great inconvenience. For example, Olya does not have the opportunity to take a rifle to her home to practice with it, but is obliged to take it to the departmental shooting range. During her stay in Moscow, she has to travel extra times to deposit the rifle and then pick it up back in the morning. And for Ole, as a major in the Russian Army, many procedures regarding weapons have been simplified. Moreover, when traveling abroad, there are fewer difficulties with weapons. Imagine how many headaches arise when children's teams go to the All-Russian biathlon competitions. For each sports school or club, one employee has to be fully involved in all these paperwork and bureaucratic procedures. An uninitiated person simply cannot quickly arrange for the export of weapons to competitions. So changes to gun laws are necessary.

— Do you practice arm-in-arm shouts and other interference during training to teach Olya to shoot calmly during competitions?

- There is no such need. After all, many of our team’s training sessions are close to competitive conditions. Often, aiming takes place to the sounds of teammates shooting. But there are tournaments where the conditions cannot be simulated in training, and therefore you can only get used to them through competitive experience. For example, the Christmas race in Germany. The small area there is teeming with events: a nearby crowd of 40,000 is raging in the stands. The circles are small, there are many athletes. The first time all this really puts pressure on the psyche. But starting from the second or third time, the athlete already receives such a portion of adrenaline that he wants similar emotions again and again.

Olga Zaitseva was born in Moscow on May 16, 1978. Olga's father is civil aviation pilot Alexei Nikolaevich Zaitsev, and her mother is kindergarten teacher Alexandra Dmitrievna Zaitseva. At first Olga took up skiing. I followed my older sisters into the ski section. Since 1991, she studied at the Moscow Sports School No. 43 under the guidance of S. V. Nesterova, and subsequently with E. V. Chukedova.

Olga got into biathlon largely by accident. The school team did not have enough biathletes to compete, and the coach of the school biathlon team invited Olga to try her hand at it. In a couple of weeks, the young athlete learned the basics of shooting and competed in competitions - first in Krasnogorsk, and then at the All-Russian Winter Spartakiad in Perm. In 1994, Olga completely switched to biathlon. In 1999, Zaitseva was successfully selected for the national team, although initially for the second team. In 2000, Zaitseva was awarded the title of international master of sports, and she made her debut in the European Cup. In 2001, Olga won silver at the European Championships and received a well-deserved place in the main team. And Zaitseva’s successful debut in the World Cup allowed her to get to the 2002 Olympics, where she took part in the individual race. In the 2003-2004 season, Olga became fourth at the end of the season in the overall World Cup standings and showed the best result among Russian athletes.

For a long time, Olga was considered a “Decembrist” - her peak form was in December, and then began to decline. However, by the 2004-2005 season she was able to overcome this, reaching her peak form in time for the World Championships. Zaitseva collected a full set of medals - gold, silver and bronze. In the 2005-2006 season, Olga could not become the best of the Russian team at the end of the season, but won the first Olympic gold medal in her career. Zaitseva took part in the third stage of the relay and was able to break away from her pursuers.

After the Olympic season, Olga decided to take a break. She got married and gave birth to a child. In 2008, Zaitseva decided to return to biathlon. At first, she could not qualify for the national team for a long time, and then, when she got to the World Cup, she performed rather poorly, only stopping at the flower ceremony several times.

Before the 2009 World Cup, a doping scandal broke out: Dmitry Yaroshenko, Albina Akhatova and team leader Ekaterina Yuryeva were caught using prohibited drugs. In such circumstances, it was decided to put Olga in all races and include her in the relay. Few people believed in success, since the leaders of the team were suspended from the competition. However, a sensation occurred. In the first race, Zaitseva won a bronze medal, and in the next race she repeated her achievement. Olga was entrusted with the last stage of the relay. The race itself was not going well. Russia received the 22nd starting number and had to start from the third line. However, Svetlana Sleptsova, who competed in the first stage, coped with her task brilliantly, passing the baton to the second. But Anna Bulygina, who ran in the second stage, was unable to maintain her advantage and fell several positions lower. Olga Medvedtseva also failed to significantly reduce the gap. Only Olga Zaitseva was able to cope with this. Having shot quickly and accurately in the prone position, she brought the team to first position. Olga Zaitseva, Katie Wilhelm and Sandrine Bailly arrived at the stadium at the same time for the final shooting. Having quickly started shooting, Zaitseva made a mistake and used spare cartridges. However, the opponents also had a hitch, which Olga successfully took advantage of. Both of her pursuers went to penalty loops, while Zaitseva went to the finish line. It was a victory by 1 minute 15.1 seconds. And the next day Olga won a gold medal in the mass start. Thus, in four out of six races she won medals, two of them were gold. After the World Cup, Zaitseva won several more victories at the World Cup stages. As a result, she took sixth place in the general classification, showing the best result among Russian athletes.

In the 2009-2010 season, Olga performed less successfully, but won a silver medal in the mass start and gold in the relay at the Vancouver Olympics. At the end of the season, she took eighth place in the overall World Cup standings.

Season 2011/12

On March 13, 2011, after the unsuccessful performance of the women's team in the relay race (9th place) at the home World Championships, Olga Zaitseva announced the end of her sports career following the results of the 2010-11 season. However, she soon published a message on her website that she would still consider this decision. On May 25, 2011, at a press conference, she announced her intention to continue her career. Then Olga Zaitseva announced her intention to continue her career in biathlon until the Olympic Games in Sochi.

Best of the day

On June 22, 2011, Olga Zaitseva, who was healing a shoulder injury, joined the women's biathlon team and began training at a training camp in Ruhpolding, Germany. On November 8, 2011, Olga Zaitseva became the winner of the qualifying competitions of the Russian national team in Muonio, Finland, for the World Cup and IBU Cup. Zaitseva did not make a single mistake and ran the 7.5-kilometer distance in 24.08.

On December 9, 2011, at the second stage of the World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, Olga Zaitseva took third place. And in the pursuit race, Olga Zaitseva took second place, losing 0.3 seconds to Daria Domracheva.

On December 16, 2011, Olga Zaitseva became the winner of the sprint race at the third stage of the World Cup in Hochfilzen, having made one mistake at the second shooting range. The victory in the sprint race allowed Olga Zaitseva to rise to 4th place in the overall World Cup standings. On December 17, 2011, Olga Zaitseva became the winner of the 10-kilometer pursuit race at the third stage of the World Cup, without making a single mistake on four shooting ranges. For Zaitseva, this gold was the second in a row this season.

Olga Zaitseva won the 11th individual victory during her performance in the World Cup and became the most titled Russian woman in the history of these competitions.

On January 6, 2012, Olga Zaitseva took 3rd place in the sprint race at the fourth stage of the World Cup in Oberhof.

On January 13, 2012, Olga Zaitseva won the 7.5-kilometer sprint race at the fifth stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. After winning the sprint race at the fifth stage of the World Cup in Nove Mesto, Olga Zaitseva returned to third place in the overall World Cup standings, reducing the gap from the Belarusian athlete Daria Domracheva to 7 points. She performed unsuccessfully at the Anterselva stage (missing out on points in the sprint), as a result of which she dropped to fifth place in the overall standings. On February 4, Olga Zaitseva took second place in the pursuit race at the 7th stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Holmenkollen.

Personal life

On September 30, 2006, Olga Zaitseva married former member of the Slovak summer biathlon team Milan Augustin (born 1972). The wedding took place in the Slovak town of Domaniza, in a narrow family circle. In March 2007, their son Alexander was born.

Sisters: Elena and Oksana, who is her personal trainer.

Sports achivments

Two-time Olympic champion in relay (2006, 2010).

Silver in the mass start at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Three-time world champion: in the relay (2005, 2009) and mass start (2009).

She also has 2 silver and three bronze medals at the world championships.

The best result in the overall World Cup standings was 4th place in 2005.

Won 13 World Cup stages in individual races.

Olenka, happiness and health to you! You did everything you could for biathlon! Now make yourself happy)

Olga left and our women's biathlon ended.

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