Rise to the prize-winners: how Filippov won the first silver medal for Russia at the 2026 Games
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- Rise to the prize-winners: how Filippov won the first silver medal for Russia at the 2026 Games
The first set of awards in the history of the Winter Olympic Games in men's ski mountaineering was shared by representatives of Spain, Russia and France. It so happened that Nikita Filippov's silver became the first medal of our athletes at the 2026 Games in Milan. The 23-year-old native of Kamchatka completed the race in two and a half minutes and lost only to Spaniard Oriol Cardona Kohl. "A man said, a man did," is how Nikita described his success in Italy.
A safe start
Filippov passed his first race, the quarterfinals, very confidently. He started slowly, standing behind the experienced sprinter Jon Kistler from Switzerland. He came up to the stairs in third place, but thanks to a quick run, he became the second, and retained this place until the finish.
For those who are not familiar with ski mountaineering, let us briefly recall the rules according to which the Olympic (at the World Cup, the system is slightly different) sprint took place. The competition consisted of three stages: three quarterfinals, two semifinals and one final race. Six people participated in each of them. Three went directly to the semifinals, and three more got to the best time.
The race consists of a 350-meter-long ski climb and a 65-meter climb. There is a staircase closer to the top on the ascent. Before it, the participants need to take off their skis and fasten them on a backpack. After passing the stairs, the skis are put back on. At the top, athletes will have another re-boot: it is necessary to remove the camus (special strips on the sliding surface of the skis that provide grip during ascent), fasten the heels of the boots and descend to the finish line. As Russian ski mountaineer Varvara Prokhorova told Izvestia, the one who goes down first almost certainly becomes the winner.
After successful qualification, our athlete got to the second semi-final. On the one hand, this was a disadvantage: there was less time to rest than the participants of the first race. On the other hand, the most powerful group gathered in the first semi—final: the winner of the first race and the strongest sprinter in the world, Spaniard Oriol Cardona Kohl, Jon Kistler, to whom Filippov lost in the quarterfinals, as well as last season's World Cup winner, Frenchman Thibaut Anselme.
The latter almost missed the semifinal when he fidgeted on the running board in front of the stairs. As a result, he won back the gap from his rivals, but became only the second in the quarterfinal race, sending himself into the company of Kohl and Kistler.
Historical pedestal
If three athletes go directly from the quarterfinal races to the next stage, then two athletes go to the semifinal races, and two more get to the final six in the best time.
In the first semi-final, the three favorites were obvious: Kistler, Kohl and Anselme. They finished in that order. The Frenchman showed the time, which was eventually enough to squeeze into lucky losers.
There were no such obvious contenders in Filippov's semifinal. Four people broke away to the stairwell, with the Russian being the last to enter the pit stop. However, Maximilian Drion du Chapois, a Belgian, failed in the run. By his sluggishness, he deprived himself of the chance to go further. Filippov's skis didn't immediately get into the loop either, but on the stairs he caught up with the leading Spaniard Ota Ferrer-Martinez and Swiss Arnaud Lieta. The Russian didn't have a smooth ride with the camus at the top either, but he came second on the descent, following Arno. He finished at this place, after which he gave a vivid announcement of the upcoming showdown for medals to the broadcast camera.: "We need to do things!"
In the final, the Spaniards and the Swiss had two representatives each, which made it more difficult for Filippov and Anselma. As a result, Nikita was pinned down at the starting meters, pushing him to the fourth or fifth position. But a super-quick run in front of the stairs helped the third to climb the stairs. On the stairs, the Russian won back another position. An opponent from Switzerland helped, who stumbled and fell.
Kohl took advantage of the setbacks, running away from everyone for the gold medal. But the fight for the rest of the medals was fierce. Everything was decided by tenths of a second at the top pit stop. Nikita was the first to go downhill after the Spaniard. To keep the "silver" was already a matter of technique, which the native of Kamchatka has in order. After passing the finish line, the Russian collapsed on the snow with a big smile.
— Well, guys, the man said, the man did. Here it is, the medal. Who didn't believe in me last season? That's how things are done. It's a legendary theme," the athlete said in a video on his Telegram channel.
A few days ago, Nikita showed a set of Olympic gifts on his social networks, which did not contain a smartphone from the sponsors. In the video, he said without offense that he had not come here for the phones. Now we know why.
"Thank you very much to my parents," Nikita Filippov said in an interview with Izvestia. — To my mother for the support and transfer of mitochondria at the genetic level, and to my father for bringing me to ski mountaineering and instilling in me a love for mountains and this sport. It's a pity that Dad's not at the Olympics right now. But he's not sleeping in Kamchatka right now, he's watching and worried more than I am. Of course, I dedicate this victory to the guys who were with us: Andrey Fedorov prepared the skis, helped in training and encouraged, Vlad Andreev did all the paperwork, Ashot Malkasyan was accredited. Naturally, I am grateful to my legs, which have endured. It was painful, but it was worth it.
Now we are waiting for the medal from Adelia Petrosyan.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
