Every year, starting from 2013, the strongest skiers in the country, as well as amateurs, come to Khanty-Mansiysk for the Yugra marathon at the end of the competition season.
This year it turned out that the final of the Russian Cup in skiing fell on the dates of the marathon, so not all tops reached Khanty. Nevertheless, the headliners still went to the start of the 50-kilometer freestyle race. For example, a number of biathletes, as well as Sergey Ustyugov, Julia StupakAnastasia Kuleshova and other skiers who preferred the Yugra marathon to a trip to Kirovsk.
For men, somewhere up to 25 km, skiers walked in a decent group, and then Ustyugov and Eduard Latypov broke away from Nikita Porshnev, Daniil Serokhvostov and Petra Pashchenko. It was not surprising to see Latypov next to Ustyugov, because even before the start of the marathon, the biathlete announced his desire to compete with the legend of cross-country skiing.
“For me, the main task is to compete with Sergey, I saw his amazing work in Tyumen. I want to try to impose a fight on him, so that both of us would be interested. For me, this race is something new, which gives me inner energy. I really like to run a marathon, for me it will be the fourth. I am very glad that I will be able to run with the strongest athletes – the mastodons of sports. Of course, this is an unusual distance for me, so I go for new sensations and compete with the best, ” – Latypov is quoted by ugramegasport.ru.
Latypov did not last long after Ustyugov. The Olympic champion ran away from his opponent without any problems, starting to lead alone. If at first the biathlete lost about 6 seconds, 10 km before the finish line, his loss increased to 1.19.0. Porshnev and Serokhvostov did not approach Latypov, concentrating in the showdown for third place.
As a result, Latypov lost more than two minutes to Ustyugov at the finish line. Eduard became the second, as well as a year ago. Porshnev left Serokhvostov long before the completion of the 50-kilometer race, securing bronze for himself.
Ustyugov won the marathon in Khanty-Mansiysk six years after his success in 2017. And the skier did it on his 31st birthday. One sad thing is the total lack of competition. All the strongest skiers are now fighting in the final of the Russian Cup in Kirovsk. Whether it was interesting for Ustyugov to run, only he knows. But looking at such one-sided competition is a complete disappointment.
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The women’s race also became more intriguing after only 25 km. Kuleshova and Alina Kudisova. In third place with a decent clearance was Natalia Babchina. Ksenia Dovgaya and Ekaterina Noskova lost to Babchina 50 seconds, falling out of the fight for bronze.
10 km before the finish line, Kuleshova predictably ran away from Kudisova. The backlog of the biathlete by this moment was a minute – without a chance to approach the skier again. Kuleshova defended the champion title of the Yugra marathon, which she received a year ago. Kudisova lost almost two minutes to the leader, Babchina – two and a half.
For the first place, skiers will receive 400 thousand, for the second – 200, for the third – 100.
Ugra marathon. Khanty-Mansiysk
Mass start, 50 km. Free style
Men
1. Sergey Ustyugov – 1:49.43.7
2. Eduard Latypov — +2.18,6
3. Nikita Porshnev – +4.25.7
4. Vladislav Vechkanov – +5.04.6
5. Daniil Serokhvostov – +5.14.0
6. Alexander Povarnitsyn – +5.31.1
7. Karim Halili — +5.34,0
8. Anton Babikov – +5.34.2
9. Raul Shakirzyanov – +5.35.4
10. Alexander Legkov – +5.37.2 …
1. Anastasia Kuleshova — 2:04.16.0
2. Alina Kudisova – +1.53.0
3. Natalia Babchina — +2.29,0
4. Ekaterina Noskova – +5.01.0
5. Ksenia Dovgaya – +5.13.0
6. Ekaterina Kulakova – +6.44.0
7. Veronika Lopatina – +9.07.0
8. Victoria Slivko — +9.44,0
9. Varvara Prokhorova – +10.01.0
10. Olga Rumyantseva – +10.05.0 …
Who will win the match for the Chess Crown?
