Nurzhan Usipbekov: We plan to finish the race for the Olympic license this Saturday

This weekend, the national team will kick off the long-awaited season on the international stage. The Asian Triathlon Championship will take place on April 23-25. On the eve of the continental championship, the head coach of the national triathlon team Nurzhan Usipbekov spoke about the upcoming start and answered other questions from Olympic.kz.

Olympic.kz: How did the Kazakhstan triathlon team start training after the pandemic?

N. Usipbekov: The team began training in their usual training mode. Of course, we took into account some of the restrictions caused by the spread of COVID-19, but they did not significantly affect the preparation. The Ministry of Culture and Sports and the National Olympic Committee took steps in time to issue relevant regulations. Even in a pandemic, the accredited bases had all the conditions for preparation. The Nazarbayev University Athletic Center provided great assistance in preparation, providing an opportunity to conduct a training camp at its base. And of course, I cannot fail to note the support of our partner - the ERG.

Olympic.kz: How did the global pandemic affect the preparation of the national team? How difficult was it to train and compete after such a long break?

N. Usipbekov: It was only a pleasure to compete after a long break. All athletes note that they started competitive activities with great zeal because they were hungry for starts. The prelaunch excitement has been lacking for a long time. In principle, they did not stop training. During the period of strict quarantine, athletes trained at home carried out a kind of a general physical orientation work. As soon as the lockdown was lifted, they continued their full-fledged training. In any case, the pandemic has not become a significant problem in the training.

Olympic.kz: How would you rate the Championship of Kazakhstan, which took place in Shymkent? Which of the athletes can you highlight?

N. Usipbekov: The National Championship in Shymkent passed without any surprises. The leaders of the national team took the first places, respectively, the athletes of the reserve team took places behind them. I can mention the new athlete of the federation, the representative of Nur-Sultan - Ekaterina Shabalina, who immediately showed herself well from the first race, taking second place. In the future, we will closely monitor her results.

Olympic.kz: What are your plans for the upcoming Asian Championship? Do our athletes have a chance for medals?

N. Usipbekov: Of the remaining 12 qualifying starts, which will take place before June 15, this continental championship is the most important and most indicative for us. We plan to finish the race for the Olympic license this Saturday at this championship. In case of particularly successful performance by Arina Shulgina, our plan will come true. We are looking forward to performances no worse than in 2019, that is, a place on the podium. The coaching staff did the work on the analysis of the starting list. Subsequently, they concluded that a medal in the women's race is a completely objective and predictable result.

Olympic.kz: Who are our main competitors among men and women in Asia?

N. Usipbekov: Among women, our main competitors will be two representatives of China - Yi Zhang and Mengyong Zhong, as well as the host of the championship - Ai Ueda. I think this is a very important start for the Japanese and they will show their maximum results. For men, the situation is identical: the main competitors are four athletes from Japan and Oscar Coggins from Hong Kong.

Olympic.kz: Do our athletes still have a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games? If so, what conditions are needed for our triathletes to get to the Olympic Games in Tokyo?

N. Usipbekov: As I said, at the upcoming Asian Championship we plan to resolve the issue of winning a license for Arina Shulgina for the Tokyo Olympics ahead of schedule. It is important for her to finish in front of the Chinese athletes while getting into the top 10. So Arina practically guarantees herself a place at the Olympics. Further qualifying events are no longer suitable for Chinese women than for our athletes, so the probability of scoring for them is much lower compared to Arina.
Among men, the situation is much more complicated. Only in case of victory in Hatsukaichi, Ayan Beisenbayev has a chance to continue the selection. According to the current world rankings, the likelihood of catching up with Oscar Coggins, the closest pursuer with whom Ayan is fighting for a license, is almost unrealistic. But we believe in a miracle, we believe that a personal coach and an athlete took this event seriously and will show the best result.

Photo source: @ 2021_ hatsukaichi