In Sochi, the countdown ticks off its numbers with relentless regularity. On this first day of April, it marks 312 days until the start of the 2014 Winter Games. A good time, it seems, to stockpile snow (450 m000!) in anticipation of a mild Olympic winter. The moment, too, to scale back the country's sporting ambitions.
Vitaly Mutko, the Russian Minister of Sports, announced at the beginning of March that first place in the medal table at the next Winter Games, at home, would be “the only result” possible for Russia. Today, the same man announces with a contrite air that the national team could at best aim for a third place in the nation rankings. With this comment: “The level of our team places it in fourth or fifth place. Third would be an exceptional result for us. »
In the meantime, the last pre-Olympic winter unceremoniously swept away the illusions of Russian athletes. The indicators are almost all in the red. And it would take a miracle to succeed in satisfying the ambitions of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, quick to repeat almost everywhere that succeeding in these Games was a “national priority. »
In biathlon, a sport that traditionally brings medals, the Russian team did not win a single title at the last world championships. In figure skating, where the Russians have long dominated the debates, the 2013 World Cup ended in a grimace, with only one victory in their pocket, won among the pairs.
In alpine skiing, the chances of seeing a Russian shine next year in Sochi seem slim. When jumping, they appear non-existent.
Elsewhere, there is still hope. Cross-country skier Alexandre Legkov took second place in the overall World Cup rankings. Speed skaters won two world gold medals with Denis Yuskov and Olga Fatkulina in the 1500m, Russia's first in this discipline since 1996. In skeleton, Alexander Tretyakov won the first world gold in the history of the country in this discipline. In snowboarding, Yekaterina Tudegesheva climbed to the top of the podium at the last World Championships, where Vic Vild, an American with Russian citizenship, won bronze.
Another hope for medals, the short-track team, which had its best season thanks to the performances of another naturalized Russian, Viktor Ahn, triple Olympic champion for South Korea.
In Vancouver in 2010, Russia fared poorly by bringing back only three gold medals from the Games. It will do significantly better four years later, its leaders promised. One of them, the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, president of the Russian Biathlon Federation, has already warned that he will resign if his athletes do not bring home “at least” two Olympic gold medals.
