Anastasia Olympics. US Open

Early in the morning, another bronze medal was won today in curling by the Russian couple - Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitsky. Their confrontation with the Norwegians was followed with interest all over the world - during the short Olympic tournament, our athletes managed to win the hearts of millions of fans around the world. And the Western press managed to dub this couple (and they, by the way, are husband and wife) “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

The first Olympic medal of Russians in curling at the first Olympics in the careers of Alexander Krushelnitsky and Anastasia Bryzgalova. In addition, in the discipline debuting at the Games - double mixed doubles - this is when a man and a woman perform in pairs.

“We realized that a lot of people helped us along the way. We worked for two years to come here. Our coaches also did a lot for this medal. We couldn't let you down. It may not have worked out yesterday, but it worked out today,” said 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in curling Anastasia Bryzgalova.

After yesterday's unsuccessful game with the Swiss to reach the final, there was very little time left to sleep. Alexander Krushelnitsky admitted today that he only went to bed at three in the morning, and the alarm clock rang four hours later.

The Russians already played with a pair from Norway on February 8 - this was the first victory of our curlers. Today, as then, the score is often on the brink. The first two ends are for the Russians. The Norwegians win the third. In the fifth round the score was almost equal. Anastasia Bryzgalova stumbles and falls. In the stands, all on pins and needles, is the head of the Curling Federation, Dmitry Svishchev.

“The fact that the guys made it to the top four today is already good. For the first time in the history of Russian curling, this has never happened before. And the fact that we are in the playoffs of the Olympic Games is a fantastic result,” he says.

Our women's team is in full force in the arena today.

“Knowing their impenetrable character, they go through all the tests precisely on their strong-willed character, we knew that they would be able to do everything. When everything goes against you, you only gain more strength,” said Yulia Guzieva, a member of the Russian Olympic curling team.

Alexander and Anastasia are husband and wife. Both once came to curling by accident, without a shadow of a thought about the Olympic Games. When they became a couple and decided to perform together, and the coaches said that the relationship would ruin everything, they didn’t listen to anyone. And they soon proved that family is not an obstacle to medals.

In the world of curling, our couple was often the center of attention even before the Olympics - sports commentators and spectators were captivated by the emotions of these Russians. Their Olympic debut brought them massive worldwide popularity. And it's not just about awards. Sports journalists have been writing about his and, above all, her beauty for a week now.

Pictures and videos of Anastasia from social networks are on the pages of men's magazines and tabloids on all continents. There are already several articles in the British Daily Mail and The Sun. There are hundreds of thousands of similar posts on social networks. But the pair of curlers seemed indifferent to the sudden surge of fame.

“In general, I don’t really like all this extra attention. Wow, I'm a James Bond girl, goal accomplished - there's no such thing. Many write that thanks to us they even began to watch and understand the rules, this is nice,” say Alexander Krushelnitsky and Anastasia Bryzgalova.

In Pyeongchang, another Russian woman is in the spotlight today - the legendary Tatyana Tarasova is celebrating her birthday on the sidelines of the Olympic Games. On her holiday, she is at the edge of the ice arena: the couples Natalya Zabiyako - Alexander Enbert and Evgenia Tarasova - Vladimir Morozov are training.

The day before, at the recording of congratulations to Tatyana Tarasova, immediately after the presentation of medals, our skaters came completely dumbfounded. In the mountain cluster, on average, temperatures down to minus ten are tolerable, if not for the icy gusty wind, which even causes competitions to be postponed. Athletes often shake during interviews after the finish and make mistakes during races. Fans warm their frozen hands at the potbelly stoves urgently deployed at the stadiums.

It might seem that our skier Pavel Trikhichev crashed on the slope this morning due to the weather. But he says: he made a mistake on the turn. The athlete was taken to the hospital. There is no concussion, but the injuries are serious.

“My legs are broken and my arm hurts. In a couple of days, together with the doctors and trainers, we’ll see what to do next. Maybe we will talk about surgery on the arm,” he said.

Now the question is where to carry out the operation for the Russian. The remaining 167 of our athletes are so far without injuries.

Broadcasts from the Olympic Pyeongchang on our air every day. Channel One shows all the most interesting things.

Ahead is figure skating, a short program, including our athletes. The broadcast starts at 4 am. The replay will be seen at 9:50.

And in the afternoon, at 2 p.m., live biathlon - women will compete in the 15-kilometer individual race.

Immediately after, the luge team will compete for a set of medals: the two-man competition for men. Ours are participating.

Even more Olympics on the First website and in the mobile application.

The main event of the fourth playing day at the US Open was the unexpected defeat of the first racket of Russia Anastasia Myskina from 17-year-old Muscovite Anna Chakvetadze, who had not previously appeared in adult tournaments at all.
Anastasia Myskina will be recovering for a long time after her memorable defeat from Justine Henin-Hardenne in the Olympic semi-finals. Then, let us remind you, the Russian woman led in the third set with a score of 5:1 and somehow managed to lose. Probably, if this failure had happened at any other tournament, Anastasia Myskina would have been able to throw the memory of it out of her head the very next day. But this is still the Olympics, which she really wanted to win. And the next one will be only in four years. It's a shame, in general.
Anastasia Myskina mentioned the Athens fiasco after the game with Anna Chakvetadze. “It was a disgusting match,” she said. “I came out on court devastated. I had no desire to run, fight. I didn’t want to do anything at all. You know, when I arrived in New York, I was still worried about the Olympics. Time to It was still not enough to come to my senses."
Indeed, the game of the first racket of Russia, if it made an impression, was only negative. What are at least 37 unforced errors worth? Moreover, these were not the kind of mistakes that happen when a player takes risks, trying to play as sharply as possible. These were complete blunders, after which the ball, if it didn’t hit the net, then flew about two meters past the court.
However, all this does not in the least detract from the merits of Anna Chakvetadze. And it’s good that it fell to her to send her eminent rival to pack her bags; Russian fans, at least, should not be offended. By the way, Anna Chakvetadze, unlike Anastasia Myskina, had to make her way into the main draw of the US Open through a difficult qualifying stage, where she played three matches. In addition, the authority of her rival, of course, put pressure on the young Russian woman. But, apparently, she knows how to cope with anxiety. Chakvetadze won the tiebreaker of the first set - a rather difficult test for the psyche, even giants often fold here. And in the second game she completely went wild - she gave such a good finishing spurt, taking three of the last four games. In general, there is reason to be proud. Now in the third round she will play with Eleni Danilidou. The opponent is strong, but on an emotional high after such a victory, Anna Chakvetadze can surprise again. Let's hope she doesn't stop soon. At least, Anna Chakvetadze plans to enter the top five of the rating. And in the next three years.
After a rather nervous match, our second superstar, Maria Sharapova, made it to the third round. After winning the first set with a clean sheet, the Wimbledon champion suddenly stalled and allowed Jelena Jankovic, who seemed not to be on the court before, to take over the game. Moreover, before the start of the third set, no one could guarantee that Maria Sharapova would not break down completely. She was lucky - the Russian woman dealt with a mysterious failure in her game, while Elena Jankovic injured her thigh muscles and could no longer move as quickly as in the second set.
Maria Sharapova's company at the next stage of the tournament will also be Elena Bovina, who beat Maria Elena Kamerin, and Nadezhda Petrova, who knocked Samantha Stosur out of the tournament.
I had to tinker with the registration of a ticket to the third round and Justine Henin-Hardenne. Although, according to her status, she was supposed to beat the 133rd racket of the world Tsipora Obtsiler, as they say, with her eyes closed. But the first racket of the world made fans quite nervous, making 47 unforced errors and allowing her opponent to make breaks 7 times. A stronger tennis player would certainly take advantage of such gifts and would gladly deprive reigning US Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne of this title. Fortunately for the Belgian tennis player, the Israeli was not one of them.
In the men's part of the tournament, things are not going so well for the Russians. Dmitry Tursunov dropped out of the competition, losing to Fabrice Santoro.
It is worth mentioning the departure of the newly crowned Olympic champion Nicholas Massa from the competition. His match with Sargis Sargsyan lasted 5 hours 10 minutes - the second longest game in US Open history (only Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang played longer in the 1992 semi-finals - 5 hours 26 minutes). The key moment of the meeting was probably the fourth set tiebreak, when the Chilean tennis player had a match point. But Sargis Sargsyan, supported by the stands (the audience appreciated his inflexibility), managed to save the match, which infuriated his opponent. He had been cursing constantly and quite loudly, smashed a racket on the court, and in his anger threw another one so that it almost hit the spectators. At the beginning of the fifth set, the referee's patience ran out - the Chilean was fined one point. However, this did little to calm him down, and he lost the set.
AFSATI Kommersant-JUSOYTI

Name: Anastasia Bryzgalova. Date of birth: December 13, 1992. Place of birth: Sosnovy Bor (Leningrad region, Russia).

Childhood and youth

Anastasia Konstantinovna Bryzgalova was born on December 13, 1992 in the small town of Sosnovy Bor, in the Leningrad region.

Since childhood, the girl has been distinguished by a strong-willed character, and this is ideal for playing sports.

Little Nastya actually got into curling by accident (her mother saw an advertisement for enrollment in the section), and then she could not even imagine that it would become her life’s work, nor that she would achieve such success.

Bryzgalova took her first steps in curling in 2005, and gradually she began to enjoy the activity. She had to wait quite a long time for recognition, but the girl had the patience not to give up curling.

Now Anastasia plays for the St. Petersburg club Adamant and is a member of the Russian national team.

Anastasia Bryzgalova at the skating rink

Early life and achievements

In 2014, the girl won silver at the Russian Championship among mixed teams and a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship, and in 2015 she again won silver in the Czech Republic. In the same year, Bryzgalova began performing in double mixed doubles paired with Alexander Krushelnitsky.

Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitsky

2016 was more successful for Anastasia than the previous one; the curler won four gold medals - two each at the World Championships and at Russian competitions (in both cases, among mixed teams and mixed pairs).

In addition, this year the athlete entered the National State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Health. P.F. Lesgaft in St. Petersburg.

Curling player Bryzgalova is the holder of the title “Honored Master of Sports of Russia.”

Anastasia Bryzgalova currently

In 2017, Bryzgalova won the CR among mixed teams, and in 2018, bronze at the Pyeongchang Olympics (mixed pairs, together with Krushelnitsky).

Anastasia and Alexander became the first Russian couple to win an Olympic medal in this sport.

However, soon after the competition, information appeared in the media that the Russians could be deprived of medals.

Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitsky with an Olympic medal

According to press reports, the banned drug meldonium was allegedly found in B. Krushelnitsky’s doping test.

Let us remind you that due to the previously erupted doping scandal, the Russians will compete at the 2018 Olympic Games as the “Olympic Team from Russia.”

Personal life and interesting facts Since 2012, Bryzgalova has been dating her teammate Krushelnitsky, whom she met in 2009.

According to data from open sources, when they started performing as a couple, at first there were conflicts, but the quarrels concerned mainly sporting issues.

Then Anastasia and Alexander were still able to get together, and their personal life not only did not negatively affect the sport, but even helped them become one of the best curlers in the world.

In 2017, Bryzgalova and Krushelnitsky formalized their relationship, so they went to the Olympics in a new status - husband and wife. For now, the athlete performs under her maiden name.

Wedding of Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitsky

The couple wears wedding rings and medallions with portraits of each other, and also loves the number “13,” which they consider lucky.

By the way, Alexander studies at the same university as Anastasia, and in general they practically never separate even outside the skating rink. Bryzgalova periodically publishes joint photos with her husband on Instagram, including personal ones, for example, from vacation.

The media call the girl “Russian Angelina Jolie” (due to her external resemblance to the Hollywood actress).

Anastasia Bryzgalova in 2018

It is interesting that Bryzgalova is the same age as Krushelnitsky, but her husband is 14 cm taller than her. Despite her small height (166 cm), journalists recognized Anastasia as one of the most beautiful athletes at the 2018 Olympics.

Russian curler Anastasia Konstantinovna Bryzgalova became famous for competing in international curling for the first time in Russian history, but she later had to return due to a doping scandal.

The girl of one of the most beautiful athletes at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The future champion was born in winter, December 13, 1992, in St. Petersburg. Now she is receiving higher education at the St. Petersburg University of Physical Culture and Sports named after P. F. Lesgaft. Anastasia plays for the St. Petersburg club Adamant.

Curling

Bryzgalova got into it by accident. Mom saw an advertisement for enrollment in the section and brought her daughter to sign up. This happened in 2005. Anastasia was then ashamed to run around with a mop, but her character did not allow her to retreat. This is how the sports biography of the future star began.

Success came in 2013. Then the girl and the women's team took the third step of the podium at the junior tournament. A year later, the women's team came third in the same competition. In 2014, Anastasia and her mixed team finished in the top three at the Russian Championship.

Since 2015, she began performing in double mixed doubles with. Coaches did not want to put young people on the team because they believed that personal relationships would prevent the curlers from achieving success. Anastasia and Alexander had to prove their worth in pair work.

They even wanted to pair the guy with another girl, but he refused. At first it was difficult for the guys to play together, they often quarreled. After losing at one of the Russian championships, they even wanted to break up (in team terms), but then they pulled themselves together, played well and returned from the next tournament as winners.

In 2016 and 2017, the young couple achieved the championship at the main Russian tournament. October 2016 brought an unconditional victory for the mixed doubles at the world championship. From the same year they became members of the Russian curling team.

In 2018, Anastasia went to international games with her partner. The doping scandal did not affect curling. He is the vice-skip of the team.

Personal life

Sports brought Anastasia together with her future husband Alexander Krushelnitsky. The couple met back in 2009, but began dating only three years later. The girl said that at first she didn’t like the guy. She thought that the athlete was arrogant and persistent, but when they got to know each other better, everything changed.

Anastasia’s husband was born in the spring, on May 20, 1992, in Northern Palmyra. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a professional football player. Before he teamed up with Anastasia, he performed with. Former partner Alexandra also went to the 2018 Olympics with the team. In 2017, Alexander received the highest sports title of Master of Sports of Russia of international class.

Alexander planned to propose marriage to his beloved at the World Cup final if they won. I even bought a ring. But then he changed his mind and decided not to tempt fate. In the end, the couple won, and the young man regretted that he had missed the chance and asked to marry him after the competition, but also at the skating rink.

Returning from the World Cup as winners, the guys got married in the summer of June 13, 2017. In addition to rings, they wear medallions with portraits of each other. So the couple’s personal life couldn’t have worked out better.

The young people share a love for curling and the Zenit football team. They believe that 13 is the lucky number for their couple.

Alexander and his wife study at the University of Physical Education and Sports.

Anastasia Bryzgalova now

On February 13, 2018 at 03:05 Moscow time, Anastasia and her husband became bronze medalists at the Olympic Games. The young couple beat the Norwegian team in the decisive battle with a score of 8:4. For the first time, athletes from Russia stood on the championship podium in this sport.

Competitions between mixed teams in curling are the debut of the games. The champions shared their joy through social networks, posting photos with medals on

During the second Olympic week in Pyeongchang, the Russian national team once again featured skiers, hockey players and figure skaters. However, there are only two gold medals. Alina Zagitova rose to the highest step of the podium in the figure skating competition, and Oleg Znarok’s team gave the fans another victory, beating the German national team in the final of the hockey tournament.

The Olympic Games in Pyeongchang have ended. The Russian team won 17 medals: two gold, six silver and nine bronze. Eight years ago in Vancouver there were three awards of the highest standard, but in total there were two fewer medals (3+5+7).

15 year old champion

The head-to-head battle between two Russians - Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, who also train with the same coach - Eteri Tutberidze, became the highlight of the Olympic figure skating tournament. The first head-to-head fight between these two, undoubtedly the most talented figure skaters on the planet, took place in mid-January in Moscow as part of the European Championships. A month ago, two-time world champion Medvedeva, who had barely recovered from injury, lost for the first time to a younger opponent by just over five points.

Medvedeva assessed second place with restraint, noting a much more important circumstance - the return to the ice itself. “Silver is silver. It is difficult to change the meaning of a medal. The competition itself - after a two-month break, this is quite good,” the athlete who resigned her championship title succinctly summed up the results of the European Championship.

Medvedeva had less than a month to prepare for the most important start in her life, but the Muscovite did not lose heart. “I will prepare in the same way, there is not much time left. But thank you that it exists. I will invest in work, live in the present, here and now,” Medvedeva reasoned wisely beyond her years, having just recovered from a serious injury. The two-time world and European champion, the main contender for Olympic gold, was diagnosed with a fracture of the metatarsal bone of her right foot three months before the Games. At that time it was a tragedy, but not for Medvedeva. Zhenya returned to the ice as soon as possible.

In Pyeongchang, Alina and Evgenia met for the second time: 15 years against 18, Don Quixote against Anna Karenina. It was a battle to the death. In the short program, Zhenya skated first. The 81.61 points assigned by the judges seemed to guarantee first place, after all, the Muscovite increased the world record by six tenths, which she herself had set in Pyeongchang in the team tournament, but... Zagitova, who took to the ice later than Medvedeva, once again updated the record, having received from the judges one point more. All thanks to the unique 3-3 cascade (Lutz-rittberger), which is currently performed only by Alina in the world. In Medvedeva’s arsenal, all other things being equal, there is a cascade of flip and sheepskin coat.

One point before the free program could be gained back only by changing it, but such a step could lead to a breakdown. Zhenya did not take risks. As a result, the Russians received absolutely identical marks for their free program, a unique case in figure skating. Zagitova became the first winner of a gold medal as part of the Russian team in Pyeongchang. Alina was also one of the youngest winners of the Games. Younger than her is only American Tara Lipinski, who won in distant Nagano in 1998.

After finishing her speech, Medvedeva began to cry; she had been going to this Olympics for three years. In four years, Zhenya will be 22. On the one hand, her career is blossoming, but not in the case of women’s figure skating. Already, 13-year-old Alexandra Trusova is skating in Eteri Tutberidze’s group; recently, in the final of the Russian Cup, she performed two quadruple jumps, Salchow and sheepskin coat, albeit with an error. By the beginning of the Beijing Olympics, she will be 17. Only God knows how many quadruples she will be able to perform by that time.

“I felt all the emotions I ever had. I worked so hard to be here, I left all of myself on the ice. I don’t regret anything, I did everything I could,” Evgenia Medvedeva said after the competition.

Marathon in spite of

The skiers repeated their phenomenal performance in the first week of competition in the next week. In addition to the five awards of the first half of the Games, in the second half of the distance Elena Vyalbe’s team won three more: two silver and one bronze.

The first set of awards was won by Denis Spitsov and Alexander Bolshunov in the team sprint, losing only 1.7 seconds to the Norwegians Sundby and Klebo. But with them, perhaps, now no one is able to compete for victory. By the way, Klebo in Pyeongchang became the youngest three-time Olympic champion in history. Sundby took two gold and one silver in Korea.

But the truly dramatic event for Russian fans was the ski marathon - the most prestigious competition for skiers. For most of the distance, our skiers stayed in the shadow of the group of leaders. Only Bolshunov did not give rest to the Finn Niskanen and the Kazakh Poltoranin. The rest of our guys were very far from medals, it was all the more surprising how Andrey Larkov, who even in the middle of the race was close to the second ten, rolled to the finish line. We could well count on gold. Bolshunov carried the cunning Finn ten kilometers on his shoulders to the finish line, but... a kilometer later Niskanen rushed into the gap. Bolshunov grabbed his side and was forced to resign himself to silver.

“Of course I’m disappointed. Today we had to win,” Bolshunov told Sport-Express after the race. - A small problem with the skis got in the way. When they changed for the first time, I ended up on the right and could not change lanes. I couldn't get into position to enter the box, so I drove past. Overall, my performance in Pyeongchang was good, four medals. After the illness, I’m very glad that everything turned out this way.”

What Bolshunov failed to do, Andrei Larkov more than succeeded, who in the final showdown at the finish line wiped the noses of both two-time Olympic champion Sundby and Canadian Harvey. “The third lap was a grind, I thought the race was over for me. But when I changed my skis, they went very well, and I managed to return to third place,” noted the Pyeongchang bronze medalist.

26 years later

Olympic hockey final: for some - the last chance, for others - the first serious test. The opponent was difficult. The German national team reached the final match for the first time in hockey history, beating Canada, Sweden and Switzerland on the way to the coveted awards. Yes, of course, these teams did not bring the strongest squads, but this does not detract from the merits of Marco Sturm’s team.

The hockey final turned out to be in the best Hollywood traditions. The Germans, led by a young coach who had just retired from playing 15 full seasons in the NHL, brought a capable team to Pyeongchang, which, with 56 seconds left in the match, seemed close to the main sensation of the Olympic Games. With the score 2:3, Sergei Kalinin, who seriously injured his right hand in a collision with the goal in the middle of the period, left the Russian team in a numerical minority. A minute before the end of the match, Znarok chose the only right step: replacing the goalkeeper with a fifth field player. It was an incredible risk, but... Nikita Gusev turned everything upside down. At the right moment, the 25-year-old striker, in a difficult situation, threw with an awkward grip and hit the near corner - 3:3, overtime.

In extra time, the fate of the final was decided by the sending off of Patrick Reimer. In a 4 on 3 game, our team effortlessly crushed the opponent, and 20-year-old Kirill Kaprizov, for whom this was the first Olympics in his career, set the final score with a brilliant click - 4:3. After 26 years, the Russian team again became the Olympic champion. By an amazing coincidence, in Albertville we also competed under the Olympic flag.

“The whole team will remember that we won gold medals. There is no personal feeling that I did something impossible. I’m just glad that we became Olympic champions,” said the scorer of the winning puck after the meeting.

Well, the victory of our hockey players marked a bright end to this long and strange Olympics. And the main conclusion is that our sport has a future. This includes the young generation of Elena Vyalbe, our figure skater girls, and very young hockey players. Such as, for example, Kirill Kaprizov. Former heroes left, others were not allowed into Pyeongchang at all. It would seem, what kind of medals?! But today's youth stood up against everything and everyone, for which we only need to say thank you.

One line

Among those who also pleasantly surprised last week was Sergei Ridzik, who took bronze in a rather rare discipline for our country - ski cross, freestyle. Of course, few people counted on his medal. The more valuable it turned out to be.

But where we seriously counted on success, failure occurred. And we are, of course, talking about snowboarding, where Russian fans were worried about the Sochi triumphants: Alena Zavarzina and Vic Wild. In the parallel giant slalom, Alena reached the semi-finals, where she lost to the German Selina Jörg, and in the race for third place - to another German representative, Ramona Hofmeister. Wild’s tournament journey completely ended at the 1/8 final stage. The Russian explained the loss at this stage by the difference in the two routes.

“The blue track is slower on the flatter sections,” Wild said. - In Sochi everything was different. It was fair there, but according to the new rules everything is decided by qualifications. I drove it unsuccessfully - and immediately everything became clear. Everyone who drives along the blue highway today ends up doomed.”

The Russians were left without medals in short track speed skating, where they really counted on Semyon Elistratov, but bronze at a distance of 1.5 km remained the only medal for one of the heroes of Sochi. Without Viktor An, the Russian team in Pyeongchang looked very lonely.

And a fly in the ointment. The problem of doping did not escape the Russian team in Pyeongchang either. Positive tests were found in curling player Alexander Krushelnitsky and bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva. And if the first does not admit guilt, then the second refused to open sample B in the hope of mitigating the punishment.

More than we bargained for

To sum it up briefly, one cannot help but note the feeling of satisfaction from this Olympics. Yes, yes, exactly satisfaction. The Russian team performed better in Korea than in Vancouver in 2010. Of course, worse than in Sochi, but everyone knows the reasons. On the other hand, the Games in Korea once again confirmed one very interesting pattern: as a rule, the hosts of the Olympics, having brilliantly won at home in the unofficial team competition, do not perform well at the next Games. The same Canadians, for example, were third in Sochi. Although the Italians did not win in 2006, they were still able to win 11 awards, and four years later they took half as many medals.

In Pyeongchang, the Russian team was missing a lot of leaders who would undoubtedly have added awards to the overall collection, but even without them the Olympics cannot but be considered a success. Of course, thanks primarily to skiers and skaters. Yes, it could have been better, but in sports, as in life, there is no place for the subjunctive mood.