Senior coach of the Ukrainian biathlon team Juraj Sanitra spoke about the future men's relay at the 2023/24 World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden.
“As for the composition of the relay, there were several questions. At the first stage they thought Tishchenko or Prima, they decided that Tishchenko. Then there was a question about the third stage, it was decided between Lesyuk, Nasik and Tsymbal. We decided that we would give an opportunity to Lesyuk, who showed good progress this year, he only had the opportunity to run the relay once in his career – in Hochfilzen, so I want to see how he copes with emotions and pressure, while there are no other options. I expect that the guys will repeat the accuracy of shooting in the individual race, but I also expect a different movement on the track than it was in the previous race.
Weather? It's cold and the wind is stronger. On the day of the relay there should be a weaker wind, so we will wait for the weather to prepare for us. But everyone will be on equal terms, we need to fight. Last year we showed a very good result here in the relay, if we can repeat this, I will be very happy. What result will I consider good? The competition in men's relay races is very strong – 10-12 strong teams. It would be important for us that the teams of the Czech Republic, Finland, and Switzerland were not in front of us, because these are the main rivals in the Nations Cup standings,” Sanitra said.
Let us remind you that the men's relay in Östersund will take place on Thursday, November 30 at 16:20.