THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

PERSONALITIES PersönlichkeitenAlexander PopovSuccessful in CanadaAt the NationalChampionships 1985Bei den NationalenMeisterschaften 1985author AutorinTanja OHLSON – GERIBU Communication AssistantIBU KommunikationsassistentinOriginal language GermanOriginalfassung DeutschErfolgreich in Kanada“As far as I’m concerned, Biathlon is the best sport inthe world,“ says Alexander Popov, coach of the Belarusiannational Biathlon team. He had tried Biathlon for thefirst time at age 16 and “wasn’t bad,“ so he stuck withthe sport, taking it all the way to an Olympic gold medal.Through his work he now hopes to form Olympic gold medalistsof the future and started by forming medalists inWhistler.Affectionately called Sasha by his friends, AlexanderPopov has fond recollections of Canada, where he experiencedthe biggest triumph of his career. The 1988 WinterOlympic Games held in the North American country werePopov’s first Olympics; he competed for the former USSR,winning after an emotional rollercoaster ride a gold medalin the Relay. Now, at this year’s Olympic Winter Games inVancouver, his protégé Sergey Novikov won a Silver medalin the 20k Individual, being tied with Norway’s Ole EinarBjoerndalen.He recalls, “My favourite competition was at my firstOlympic Games in Calgary. When you’re a young athleteyou’re always tense at the Olympics. You feel so many differentemotions: everything’s interesting, yet stressful atthe same time. I gained first place in the qualification roundin the USSR, but was probably too tense and didn’t do wellin the Individual, and so didn’t start in the Sprint. But then Istarted in the Relay and managed to place first.“Popov returned to Canada in February, this time as thecoach of the Belarusian national team. He was in charge ofthe men’s team and had a definite goal for the Winter Olympicsin Vancouver. “Every coach and every athlete goesto great efforts to attain the best results, and at the OlympicGames, that means medals.”However, at the beginning it hardly looked as if Popovwas going to get involved in Biathlon at all. He recollects,“In the first three years at primary school I tried my handat gymnastics, but my body wasn’t suited to it and I had twonasty falls. So then they recommended that I try some othersport. My father was a physical education teacher andhad a cross country and Biathlon group, so I started crosscountry skiing, which I was really good at.“Popov was born and raised in Tyumen in Siberia, about700 kilometres away from the modern Russian Biathlonmecca of Khanty-Mansiysk. Even at a young age, sportsformed a natural part of his life. “When I was little, I wentcross-country skiing with my dad in the winter, and in thesummer we went hiking – sometimes for several days at atime. Then after the fifth grade I started in a cross-countrysports group.“Although Popov was not the fastest in the group, his per-70 biathlonworld The official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010