THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

PERSONALITIES PersönlichkeitenPopov on the test runof the new tracks inOsloPopov testet die neuenStrecken in Osloformance was good enough to keep going. Another fouryears would pass until he switched to Biathlon at age 16.During a trip to the Ural Mountains he visited a Biathloncentre, taking his first shots at the five round black targets.He liked it immediately.Things got better from then on. Popov took part in hisfirst competitions that winter and managed to gain highplacings. A short time later he won his first competitionsand qualified for the USSR youth championships. Havingplaced among the top 10, he qualified for the national youthteam, from where he progressed to the national juniorteam.Despite the initial successes, the road ahead was notwithout its difficulties. “My first international competitionswere in Switzerland in 1985. I came second in the Sprintand fourth in the Relay, although I had actually passed thefinish line first. But that was the season when they switchedfrom classic technique to skating. We weren’t allowed toskate during the hand-over, and one of our athletes made abit of a mistake. We finished the competition in first place,but got a two-minute penalty and ended up fourth.”Following an eight in the Individual and a gold in theSprint at the senior national championships, Popov madeit onto the national team, where he stayed until 1998. “Thefirst and final competitions I took part in were in Khanty-Mansiysk, since the World Cup Finale was held there in1998. So I had come full circle.“Alongside his sporting career, Popov pursued a collegedegree, initially training to become a physical educationteacher, and then completing his coach training. “However,“he explains cautiously,“ Studying is knowledge out ofbooks. Working is practical. It’s something quite different.Theoretical knowledge is good, but practical skills are alsoimportant.“Soon Popov had become a coach. Although he initiallyworked with young Biathlon talent immediately after endinghis active career, he was hired by the Belarus Ministryof Sports as coach of their national team just two yearslater. At first he had his doubts, yet the Minister of Sportsmanaged to persuade him. “And I’ve always worked hardup until now,” Popov grins. His experience as an athletecame in handy, though he was very aware of the difficultiesthat coaches can be faced with. “Coaches have to continuelearning. Time stops for no one. You can’t do everything thesame way we did when I was an athlete.“Alexander Popov’s life never came to a standstill either.Once he had become established as a coach, he was electedonto the Technical Committee of the IBU at its most recentelection congress nearly four years ago. The electionrepresented a further increase in Popov’s influence withinthe sport he loves, as he is now able to actively shape its future.For instance, the Technical Committee proposes rulechanges to the IBU Executive Board, then the CommitteeThe official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010 biathlonworld 71