22/04/2026
š±š»š±š»š±š»
Mazo brīnumu turpinot gaidīt
Optimiste arÄ« grÅ«tÄkajos karjeras nogriežÅos, jo nerunÄs par plintes meÅ”anu krÅ«mos un slÄpju kÄrÅ”anu uz nagliÅas, ja arÄ« skats uz rezultÄtu tablo nebÅ«s patÄ«kams. Latvijas sievieÅ”u biatlona izlases ilggadÄjÄ lÄ«dere Baiba Bendika aizvadÄ«tÄs sezonas galvenajos startos priecÄja ar Ätrumu distancÄ, bet kļūdas Å”autuvÄ liedza iesaistÄ«ties cÄ«ÅÄ par vietu uz goda pjedestÄla.
Ā«Skaidrs, ka sezona nebija vienkÄrÅ”a, bet tajÄ paÅ”Ä laikÄ galvenajÄ startÄ izdevÄs visu paveikt salÄ«dzinoÅ”i labi. OlimpiÄdÄ biju super labÄ kondÄ«cijÄ, izdevÄs Å”auÅ”anu uzlabot, salÄ«dzinot ar vidÄjiem sezonas rÄdÄ«tÄjiem, lai gan gribÄjÄs jau, protams, vÄl labÄku. Sezonas griezumÄ vÄrtÄjot, Å”auÅ”ana bija slikta. Par spÄ«ti tam, ja nemaldos, divpadsmit reižu izcÄ«nÄ«ju Pasaules kausa ieskaites punktus, tÄ kÄ vienu daļu sezonas mazo uzdevumu izpildÄ«ju.Ā»
Bendika olimpiskajÄs spÄlÄs Antholcas trasÄ 15 kilometru klasikÄ ar Å”autuvÄ nopelnÄ«tajÄm ÄetrÄm soda minÅ«tÄm ieÅÄma 22. vietu. No uzvarÄtÄjas francÅ«zietes Žilijas Simonas, kurai Å”autuvÄ bija viena kļūda, Baiba atpalika trÄ«s minÅ«tes un 5,2 sekundes. PÄc sasniegtÄ rezultÄta distancÄ par Latvijas biatlonisti ÄtrÄka bija tikai sudraba medaļas ieguvÄja LÅ« Žanmono. 7,5 kilometru sprintÄ Bendika sasniedza 15. rezultÄtu ar noslÄpotiem diviem soda apļiem. DistancÄ Baibai bija sestais ÄtrÄkais solis. BÅ«tu augstÄka precizitÄte ugunslÄ«nijÄ, varbÅ«t atspÄ«dÄtu pat medaļu spožums. LÄ«dzÄ«gi gan var aizdomÄties daudzas elites lÄ«meÅa biatlonistes. Ā«Kad ir Ätrums distancÄ, tad jau zini, ka vari cÄ«nÄ«ties par medaļÄm un vairÄk paanalizÄ rezultÄtus, bet sportisti apzinÄs, ka katram ir savas stiprÄs un vÄjÄs puses. Vieni var labi saÅ”aut, bet otri nav tik Ätri distancÄ. Es pieÅemu to, ka Å”auÅ”ana ir mana vÄjÄ puse. Protams, ka mÄrÄ·is bija Å”auÅ”anu uzlabot. MÄs zinÄjÄm, ka es varu par top 10 un medaļÄm cÄ«nÄ«ties, bet, ko lai saka ā nesanÄca. No otras puses, apziÅa, ka mÄs bijÄm tam gatavi, kalpo kÄ pozitÄ«visma deva, ja skatÄmies nÄkotnÄ. Bija nÄcijas, kuras savukÄrt bija nokļūdÄ«juÅ”Äs ar sagatavoÅ”anÄs plÄna izstrÄdi. Mums Å”ajÄ ziÅÄ viss bija kÄrtÄ«bÄ. CerÄjÄm, ka vienÄs sacensÄ«bÄs mazais brÄ«nums notiks, bet tajÄ paÅ”Ä laikÄ es esmu pateicÄ«ga, ka izdevÄs sasniegt arÄ« Å”Ädus rezultÄtus. OlimpiÄde kopumÄ bija laba, nevis otrÄdi.Ā»
Pirms olimpiskÄs sezonas tika uzsÄkta sadarbÄ«ba ar Ukrainas speciÄlistu Vasilu MukÅ”inu, cerÄ«bÄ uz uzlabojumiem tieÅ”i ugunslÄ«nijÄ. Baiba uzskata, ka treniÅprocesÄ vairÄk vajadzÄja tuvinÄties sacensÄ«bu gaisotnei. Ā«ManuprÄt, pietrÅ«ka sacensÄ«bu risinÄjuma, tÄ vietÄ daudz strÄdÄjÄm pie tehniskajÄm niansÄm. JaunÄs meitenes Elza (Bleidele) un Estere (Volfa) ir salÄ«dzinoÅ”i labas Å”ÄvÄjas, jo Ä«paÅ”i Estere, tomÄr salÄ«dzinoÅ”i maz mÄs viena otru treniÅprocesÄ izmantojÄm. PÄrlieku daudz fokusÄjÄmies uz individuÄlo gatavÄ«bu. SacensÄ«bÄs viss notiek automÄtiski un bez domÄÅ”anas.Ā»
JaunÄs biatlonistes Volfa un Bleidele, kurÄm abÄm ir 21 gads, Å”osezon priecÄja ar augtsvÄrtÄ«giem rezultÄtiem. Volfa olimpiÄdÄ izcÄ«nÄ«ja 11. vietu 10 kilometru iedzÄ«Å”anas sacÄ«kstÄ un distancÄ bija nopietna konkurente Bendikai.
Ā«VasarÄ jau sajutu, ka ir interesantÄk strÄdÄt, jo nebiju vairs viÅÄm stipri priekÅ”Ä,Ā» atceras Bendika. Ā«TreniÅos daudz varÄjÄm darÄ«t kopÄ un lÄ«dzvÄrtÄ«gi. Bija reizes, kad vajadzÄja sakost zobus, lai izkonkurÄtu jaunÄs treniÅu partneres. DomÄju, ka Ŕī vasarÄ bÅ«s vÄl produktÄ«vÄka.Ā»
PÄc paÅ”reizÄjÄm aplÄsÄm IlmÄra BriÄa treniÅu grupa turpinÄs darbu ierastajÄ sastÄvÄ ar Baibu Bendiku, Esteri Volfu, Elzu Bleideli un MatÄ«su MeirÄnu. Ā«Mums paÅ”iem ir tÄds nodoms, bet attÄ«stÄ«bas scenÄriju Latvijas Biatlona federÄcijÄ un vÄl citas lietas ir grÅ«ti prognozÄt. KatrÄ ziÅÄ mums bija labs sparings un laba atmosfÄra, tÄpat arÄ« optimÄls sportistu skaits, lai treneriem bÅ«tu viegli strÄdÄt, pievÄrÅ”ot katram pietiekami lielu uzmanÄ«bu.Ā»
Skaidrs arÄ«, ka labÄs lietas nÄkotnÄ ir jÄsaglabÄ, savukÄrt vÄjÄko pozÄ«ciju uzlaboÅ”anai bÅ«tu jÄmeklÄ risinÄjums. Ā«JÄ, tÄ noteikti bÅ«tu Å”auÅ”ana, kura jÄuzlabo, bet ne tikai. VajadzÄs piestrÄdÄt arÄ« vairÄk pie mentÄlÄs gatavÄ«bas un pÄrliecÄ«bas nostiprinÄÅ”anas.Ā»
Bendika jau iepriekÅ” ir teikusi, ka nemet skatu tÄlu nÄkotnÄ. Uz priekÅ”u viÅa virzÄs no sezonas uz sezonu. JÅ«nijÄ Baiba pÄrkÄps 35 gadu slieksni, kas mÅ«sdienu profesionÄlajÄ sportÄ nebÅ«t nav galÄjÄ robeža, tomÄr lielÄku mÄrÄ·u sasniegÅ”anu vairs nevar nospraust garÄkÄ laika nogrieznÄ«. Ā«Viens ir mana paÅ”sajÅ«ta, bet vÄl ir gada daudz citu faktoru. Jau sacÄ«ju par federÄciju, tad vÄl svarÄ«gas bÅ«s finanses un Ä£imene, kas arÄ« ietekmÄs manu lÄmumu, lai varÄtu mierÄ«gi raudzÄ«ties nÄkotnÄ.Ā»
Jauno biatlonistu skaļie pieteikumi ar izcÄ«nÄ«tajÄm medaļÄm pasaules un Eiropas junioru ÄempionÄtos, kÄ arÄ« daudzsoloÅ”ie pieteikumi pieaugoÅ”o konkurencÄ visaugstÄkajÄ lÄ«menÄ«, biatlona nÄkotni LatvijÄ vairs neieskicÄ tik drÅ«mos toÅos, kÄ pirms diviem, trijiem vai Äetriem gadiem. Ā«PirmkÄrt, jau svarÄ«gi bÅ«s saglabÄt trenerus. Jo Ä«paÅ”i, meiteÅu komandÄ Å”osezon bija redzams, cik liela ir trenera (IlmÄra BriÄa) loma. JÄsaprot, ka panÄkumu pamatÄ ir milzÄ«gs darbs ilgu gadu garumÄ. SvarÄ«gi ir to visu saglabÄt, jo bez labas treniÅu sistÄmas, visu, ko esam ieguvuÅ”i, var Ätri pazaudÄt. Liela nozÄ«me ir tam, ka apkÄrt ir cilvÄki, kas saprot, ko nozÄ«mÄ augstu sasniegumu sports un kÄdus ieguldÄ«jumus tas prasa. Es pat gribu teikt, ka Å”osezon sasniegtie rezultÄti neatbilda atbalstam, ko saÅÄmÄm no Biatlona federÄcijas. Ceram uz jaunÄm vÄsmÄm, lai bÅ«tu patÄ«kamÄk gatavoties nÄkamajiem startiem un lai atbalsts bÅ«tu lielÄks.Ā»
PaÅ”reizÄjÄ Latvijas Biatlona federÄcijas vadÄ«ba tika ievÄlÄta 2022. gada 13. maijÄ uz Äetriem gadiem. Bendika cer, ka jaunÄs federÄcijas sastÄvs bÅ«s zinÄms pÄc iespÄjas ÄtrÄk. Ā«SkaidrÄ«ba ir nepiecieÅ”ama. Ja mÄs zaudÄjam trenerus, tad vasaras vidÅ« atrast aizstÄjÄjus bÅ«s gaužÄm sarežģīti. MaijÄ jau sÄksies pirmÄ nopietnÄ treniÅnometne.Ā»
Baiba Bendika individuÄlajÄs distancÄs Pasaules kausa sacensÄ«bÄs, pasaules ÄempionÄtÄ un olimpiskajÄs spÄlÄs vÄl nav izcÄ«nÄ«jusi vietu uz goda pjedestÄla. 2023. gadÄ Pasaules kausa posmÄ Nove Mesto kopÄ ar Andreju Rastorgujevu tika izcÄ«nÄ«ta bronza 1+1 jauktajÄ stafetÄ.
š¬š§š¬š§š¬š§
Continuing to wait for small miracles
An optimist even during the toughest stretches of her career, she doesnāt talk about āthrowing in the towelā or āhanging up her skis,ā even when the scoreboard isnāt pleasing. Long-time leader of the Latvian womenās biathlon team, Baiba Bendika, impressed in the main events of the past season with her speed on the course, but mistakes at the shooting range prevented her from contending for a place on the podium.
āItās clear the season wasnāt easy, but at the same time, in the main event I managed to do everything relatively well. At the Olympics I was in excellent shape; I managed to improve my shooting compared to my average season results, although of course I wanted it to be even better. Looking at the season overall, the shooting was poor. Despite that, if Iām not mistaken, I scored World Cup points twelve times, so I did accomplish part of my smaller goals.ā
At the Olympic Games on the Antholz track, Bendika finished 22nd in the 15 km individual, with four penalty minutes from shooting. She was 3 minutes and 5.2 seconds behind the winner, French athlete Julia Simon, who had one shooting error. Based on course time, only silver medalist Lou Jeanmonnot was faster than the Latvian biathlete. In the 7.5 km sprint, Bendika placed 15th with two penalty loops. She had the sixth-fastest course time - greater accuracy at the shooting range might even have brought a medal. Many elite biathletes could say the same.
āWhen you have speed on the course, you know you can fight for medals and you analyze the results more, but athletes understand everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Some shoot well, others arenāt as fast on the track. I accept that shooting is my weak point. Of course, the goal was to improve it. We knew I could fight for a top 10 and medals, but it didnāt work out. On the other hand, knowing we were ready for it gives a dose of positivity looking ahead. There were nations that miscalculated their preparation plans - on that front we did everything right. We hoped for a small miracle in one race, but at the same time Iām grateful for the results achieved. Overall, the Olympics were good, not the opposite.ā
Before the Olympic season, cooperation began with Ukrainian specialist Vasyl Mukshyn, hoping to improve shooting. Bendika believes training should have more closely simulated competition conditions.
āIn my opinion, we lacked a competition-like approach; instead we worked a lot on technical details. The younger girls, Elza Bleidele and Estere Volfa, are relatively good shooters - especially Estere - but we didnāt use each other enough in training. We focused too much on individual preparation. In competitions everything happens automatically, without thinking.ā
The young biathletes Volfa and Bleidele, both 21, delivered strong results this season. Volfa placed 11th in the 10 km pursuit at the Olympics and was a serious rival to Bendika on the track.
āIn the summer I already felt it was more interesting to train, because I was no longer far ahead of them,ā Bendika recalls. āWe could train together and on equal terms. There were times I had to grit my teeth to outperform my younger training partners. I think this summer will be even more productive.ā
According to current plans, the training group led by IlmÄrs Bricis will continue in its usual lineup: Bendika, Volfa, Bleidele, and MatÄ«ss MeirÄns.
āThatās our intention, but itās hard to predict development scenarios within the Latvian Biathlon Federation and other factors. In any case, we had good sparring, a good atmosphere, and an optimal number of athletes so the coaches could give enough attention to everyone.ā
Itās clear that strengths must be preserved, while solutions must be found to improve weaker areas. āYes, that would definitely be shootingābut not only that. Weāll also need to work more on mental readiness and confidence.ā
Bendika has previously said she doesnāt look far into the future, instead moving season by season. In June she will turn 35 - no longer a strict limit in modern professional sports, but long-term goals are harder to set.
āOne thing is how I feel, but there are many other factors: the federation, finances, and family, all of which will influence my decision so I can look calmly toward the future.ā
The strong performances of young biathletes, including medals at World and European junior championships and promising results at the elite level, mean Latviaās biathlon future no longer looks as bleak as it did a few years ago.
āFirst of all, itās important to keep the coaches. Especially in the womenās team this season, we saw how big the coachās role is. Success is based on huge work over many years. Itās important to preserve that, because without a good training system, everything weāve gained can be lost quickly. It matters to have people around who understand high-performance sport and the investment it requires. Iād even say this seasonās results didnāt match the level of support we received from the Biathlon Federation. We hope for fresh changes, so preparation for future starts is more enjoyable and support is greater.ā
The current leadership of the Latvian Biathlon Federation was elected on May 13, 2022, for a four-year term. Bendika hopes the new composition will be known as soon as possible.
āClarity is necessary. If we lose coaches, finding replacements in mid-summer will be very difficult. The first serious training camp starts already in May.ā
Baiba Bendika has not yet reached a podium in individual events at the World Cup, World Championships, or Olympic Games. In 2023, at the World Cup stage in Nove Mesto, she won bronze in the single mixed relay together with Andrejs Rastorgujevs.
Autors/Author.
Biathlon Team Latvia
