Source: CCTV news client
Recently, the Russian Olympic Committee announced the list of players preparing for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Sergei Volkov, a 20-year-old Russian skier, did not make the selection, but the news did not affect his training. He said that although he very much wants to go to Beijing, his current task is to try to be the best version of himself.
On October 27, a reporter from the Central Radio and Television Corporation met with Volkov at the Innovation Center of the Russian Olympic Committee in Moscow. He is training on the "ski runway" equipment. Through the cameras around him and the mirrors in front of him, he constantly adjusted his movements. The large screen shows his real-time athletic endurance data. After 40 minutes of training, Volkov got his first adjustment break.
Sergei Volkov, a reserve member of the Russian national ski team, said that usually they arrange several intervals of about 10 minutes in the middle of training, and they will adjust several times during each training.
The 20-year-old Volkov, from the Moscow region, has loved running and swimming since he was a child, and at the age of 12, he was exposed to skiing, and after several years of training, he gradually came to prominence in the Russian domestic competitions.
In recent years, he has participated in international events such as the European Winter Youth Olympic Festival, where he has won 1 silver and 1 bronze in the individual sprint event of cross-country skiing. Before that, he had also been full of hope for the Beijing Winter Olympics. However, he was ultimately not included in the Olympic preparation list.
Volkov said he is still very young, but he can't deny that he very much wants to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and he will do his best to achieve good results in the new season.
Mikhail Ivanov, a famous Russian skier and 50 km champion of cross-country skiing at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, who watched the training, told reporters that Volkov is one of the strongest young cross-country skiers in Russia. But competing in the Olympics also requires long, rigorous training.
Ivanov recalls the years before he prepared for the Olympics, 12 months a year, and less than 20 days at home.
Mikhail Ivanov said he entered the Winter Olympics in 2002 and that a long time had passed. He had forgotten a bit, probably remembering that he was looking forward to the Winter Olympics being held earlier, hoping to stand on the starting line as soon as possible and play his best.
The Russian Olympic Committee has released a list of 599 people, but only 216 athletes will be able to represent Russia at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Although not included in the squad, Volkov, a member of the reserve team of the Russian national ski team, will soon return to the team for training. He is preparing for the upcoming cross-country skiing World Cup season. If he can't go to Beijing in the end, he will also cheer for his teammates who go to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Sergey Volkov said he had heard that Beijing was quite cold, probably similar to Siberia. Due to the high altitude of the ski race site, it is expected to be particularly cold. Many russian players are training in Siberia, where snowfall is slower, just to prepare for the Beijing Winter Olympics. (Reporter Song Yiping Nabiev)