Varia D is from a sporty family. She has told us a very interesting story about her favourite sport and some famous athletes. She has also told us about popular sports in her family.
This is her story and her presentation below:
Biathlon is a sport which is equally
accessible for men and for women. During competitions the
biathlonists ski with a rifle and shoot at targets. They must be very
hardy, concentrated, dedicated and self-disciplined. The sportsmen
should be good runners and skiers and must also have a very good
eyesight to be able to hit the targets. If a biathlonist misses a
target while shooting, he has to run an extra circle as a penalty.
Ski tracks may vary from 5 to 50 kilometers long, depending on the
competition.
Biathlon is my favorite sport. I have
been going for biathlon for four years already. I had not been aware
of this sport when I started, but I enjoy it now very much. Our coach
has been very kind and considerate to me. We live in a part of
Moscow, which is very picturesque and has a lot of parks along the
Moskva river. In winter time, these parks turn into a huge ski resort
with lots of skiing tracks.
My father, an
experiences skier, offered me to start training with him, and I
agreed. My family is very sportive. My grandma carries a title of the
“Master of Sports” (the highest rank in Soviet sports hierarchy)
in figure skating. My parents used to ski very often when they were
young. My younger sister, who is 8 years old now, practices ballet
and she loves it more than anything in her life. However, three years
ago she joined my biathlon kids&junior team. As a family of
biathlon and ski fans, we wish the victory to all Russian sportsmen
in our and their competitions.
While I was writing this blog, the 2014
Winter Olympic Games started in Sochi. I am supporting the Russia
biathlon team very much, but luck is so far not on their side.
Yesterday, our men’s team leader Anton Shipulin was very close to
the third place, but he lost .7 of a second to a Czech sportsman. I
felt so sorry for him! I cannot even imagine how desperate he was.
The fourth place is most disappointing, when you are so close to an
Olympic medal.
Ole Einer Bjorndalen won the gold medal
in the men’s sprint biathlon competition. It would not be so
amazing, if he was not forty years old and if he hit all the targets.
He was the oldest of 87 competitors and he missed one target out of
10. But even though he had to run an extra penalty circle, he managed
to catch up with the leaders and overrun them. In Sochi, Bjorndalen
won his seventh golden Olympic medal! So I think it is fair to call
him ‘’The King of Biathlon’’.
But you should not confuse his name
with Bjorn Erlend Daehlie, who is forty six now, and he is not
competing. A former 8 gold Olympic champion, he is a successful
businessman now and sells sports clothes under his brand name
‘Bjorn’, which I am wearing during my sports exercises and
competitions. I have already won several medals and prizes, as well
as my younger sister and dad.
