The other day, on June 4, the most massive Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" published an interview with Justina Kowalczyk, one of the best skiers in the world, who immediately fell into the category of the main news of the day, not only sports. The journalist who interviewed the next day noted in the newspaper that the conversation was recorded for several weeks, but there were much more conversations without recording. Justina authorized the prepared text, and she and the journalist agreed to let it lie down for a while. Then Justina re-read it and expressed an even greater desire to publish it. Here is my translation. And Justine - good luck in the fight and happiness in life, she did well and must cope and get out. I think her interview will psychologically help many, not only herself.

Photo - from the website of the "Newspaper Wyborcze". Justina after winning her favorite distance (10 km classical style) at the Sochi Olympics.

Depression of Justina Kovalchik. “The last three years of my life turned out to be a lie”
Paweł Wilkowicz, Gazeta Wyborcza, June 4, 2014.

- Only three knew about everything from A to Z, and even then they learned with a decent delay. Two of them could not believe that all this was true - because when they looked at me on TV, they saw another Justina. And I did my own thing, I was a ruin then, I wanted to quit skiing, but I felt that I should cry it all out, - says Justina Kovalchik in a very personal conversation with Pavel Vilkovich.

Pavel Vilkovich, Sport.pl: What kind of race are you running now?

Justina Kowalczyk: The race for life, I can say so, perhaps. Very difficult.

- Depression?

Over a year ago, I was diagnosed with depression. I have been struggling with insomnia for over a year and a half. There will be, perhaps, a few dozen nights when I got enough sleep. I struggle with my body, with constant nausea, fainting, temperature under 40, fears. With problems that didn't exist before. At some point, any food was sufficient reason to vomit. Now a little better. And to combine all this with training is very difficult. There were days when the only scenery for me was the ceiling in the room. When there was neither the strength nor the desire to get out of bed, and the only question was - why?

Do you see what's under the table?

- "Your style" [ popular glossy magazine with often serious publications - Dassi]. With me on the cover.

With a spectacular photo shoot, with an interview that is full of your life plans. And full of energy and optimism. It was recently.

Yes, I had a very high temperature then. Yes, it was recently. Also recently there were the Olympic Games and Golden medal. Recently there have been dozens of other winning races. Recently accepted congratulations and smiled.

- For a show?

I've been pretending a little in the almost two years since I've been in the red. But such a photo session and interviews, as in “Your Style”, - in my condition it was a salvation. Nobody forced me, I wanted to. I wanted to see myself from the outside, in beautiful pictures, to somehow cling to it, to restore a sense of my own dignity. I wanted to do at least something, because there is nothing worse - to lock myself in the apartment and not go out anywhere. All this time I tried to maintain visibility. I was told that it was necessary. Well, I pretended that everything was going in the most normal way: training, starts, and I, as always, biting. After winter season I always do one photo shoot, and now I did it after Sochi. Recently received an invitation to a ball in New York, wonderful, flew. During these two years, there were moments and days, even weeks, when, due to circumstances, the problems disappeared, and I smiled all the time from ear to ear. But the stories ended quickly.

And, for example, shortly after the Games, instead of celebrating with your family, you got into the car, running away from your life so far that you landed in Andorra?

Yes, it seems like skiing. I wanted to climb somewhere where there would be peace of mind, mountains, where there would not be many Poles. I drove more than 2,000 km to this Andorra as if in a trance. There are times when I'm ready to jump on the rampage [ in Polish - throw yourself with a hoe in the sun - Dassi]. Throw all this sadness to hell. And then such a crisis comes that I can’t lift a finger. Starts somehow mobilized me. Just at the main competitions, at the Games in Sochi or at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme a year ago, or even at many starts of the World Cup, it was possible to eliminate the depressive factor. She slept well, ate, fought well. She was happy and normal. And at the other cup starts, most often she lay awake until four in the morning. Then I managed to fall asleep for two hours. At six o'clock I got up, charged, prepared, at eleven I won the race - and down again, into a sleepless night. When even after such physical activity if you can't sleep, it means you're not well.

- You said it was a fight for life. For the desire to live on?

This state of depression - with all that it brings with it.

- Are you taking medication?

There were such attempts, the first - more than a year ago. I had to try, because the state of depression deepened, and I could not cope with this, as well as with the very unstable situation in which I found myself. But the test failed, I reacted very poorly to the drugs. The second attempt was in September last year. Also with very little effect. And the third - now, in the spring, when it was already really bad. All attempts ended in a maximum of a month. My reaction was a loss of consciousness, even more severe nausea, shaking, fears. There has already been such a strong “no” to any chemistry, to medicines, that in the last two years I have not even taken vitamins and iron. To maintain the body, I only had energy bars and drinks left. They tortured me with beetroot juice, and in Sochi with caviar, it improves blood. The third attempt with drugs ended in complete failure and other strange stories after taking the drugs. So everything went into the wastebasket. And now I'm working with a psychotherapist. For several weeks now.

- Are you winning?

I don't know what else awaits me, and maybe I don't want to know. It was hard - and still hard all the time. And I want to finally talk about it openly, because it was getting harder and harder for me to hide it. It’s getting harder and harder to lie – why I don’t accept most invitations, why I’m afraid to go into the crowd, why I recently fainted at a marathon, why I wasn’t where I intended to be. How many different lies can you invent. I hope that now I will at least feel better in this regard. And I decided to return to the sport earlier than planned. That is, already in early June, and not in August. May these workouts, which I have recently considered an obstacle in improving my life, may they help me now.

After Sochi, you planned to enjoy life until August. The longest rest of his career, five months. And from what you tell, it follows that rest has been replaced by torment.

I intended to give myself until August a chance to find myself. Maybe heal. Maybe feel joy. I'm not talking here about the joy of skiing, but about the joy of what I am. I wanted to live, to find some kind of incentive that would pull me away from all that was black. But failed. It rained even more in the spring. Free time didn't help. The problem was not solved by moving to Warsaw, where I moved after the Games. There was too much twitching, which I simply could not stand. It's wonderful here, however, to live - it's incredible, but the paparazzi did not track me down and are still hunting for me somewhere in my homeland. I need to do something, and since everything else in my life crumbles, I will focus on sports. That I have always been good at. Maybe, thanks to training, I will somehow get out of all this in small steps. I will grasp what is safe, clear and stable for me. Recently, it has already happened that the world around me collapsed, and I beat records in training. And there was at least one reason to smile.

When you are depressed, you become Olympic champion. Your dream came true in Sochi, especially considering that you started with a broken foot. And did you manage to do all this along the way, against the backdrop of that real struggle with yourself?

Everyone asked about the foot, and it really hurt a lot. When I put on shoes without insoles for a walk one evening, I was not able to walk to the hotel. The pain was terrible, but in the head it was much worse. However, apparently, sport is very important for me, since I didn’t quit everything then. But I knew that I could do it, this is my job, a task to do. A side effect my condition was that I then became very thin, and this helped on the Olympic slopes. In addition, just here I could not disappoint myself. If I let myself down as a skier, I would lose my last point of support. Of course, I rejoiced at this medal like no other. At the award ceremony, when tears flowed, I thought: “Lord, I managed after such two years, it’s impossible.” I had a cracked bone, my nails were torn off after frostbite, but this is a physical pain, you can cope with it. The life of an endurance athlete is one of experimentation with physical pain. But when all those swoons, tortures passed before my eyes on the podium, how at times my body was far from sports and what rivals I competed with, then for me it was a moment of pure happiness that I managed. And that I am strong no matter what.

Were there moments in this great pretense of yours when you just wanted to cry in front of everyone and scream that enough is enough, that you need help?

Such a moment was a year ago, in the spring, when I was ready to give up skiing and everything else in one second. But when I calmed down a little, I thought that there is a whole team of people who work with me and that there are people who root for me. That my problems are not their fault, and at least with this in mind, I can’t quit skiing. My depression has nothing to do with sports victories or defeats. I deal with the onslaught of sports in the same way as always. And even, it seems to me, it’s better, because all the sports problems that I once worried about very much now seem like a trifle. And due to the fact that they no longer cause such stress, at a distance I am able to squeeze much more out of myself. My black world also has nothing in common - and I want to emphasize this very strongly - with anyone from my team. They have already suffered from such speculations, especially my training partner Marek Kretschmer, who appeared with me on some invented covers.

So what are you running from?

I just don't run away.

- Are you waiting for your arranged personal life to catch up with you, but it does not catch up?

You can say so. The last three years of my life have been lies. I miscalculated a lot. In early May, she experienced a classic nervous breakdown. Now it can only get better.

- Can you explain what's going on?

In feelings, in the fact that I had a miscarriage a year ago.

- Recently you wrote about it on Facebook. But not everyone understood.

I wrote in the simplest words in the world: I lost my baby. So that there is no doubt. And I don’t know how you could think that he meant a dog. I have never even had fish in an aquarium, because I grew up in a village where they don’t keep animals at home. A puppy that my brother recently gave me so that I could have someone to do, he is my first. Yes, I was pregnant, I had a miscarriage a year ago, in May, at a training camp. At the very beginning of the collection. Just when I was getting ready to straighten my life paths. It is clear that if this pregnancy had not been interrupted, and it was already quite advanced, then I would not have started in Sochi. The plans were already a different life, at least for the next year. Just at these training camps, I expected to talk with the coach, with my team, with the Polish Ski Union. After all, the ski union invested money in my preparation, and my team invested time. I wanted to explain everything and begin to unravel the situation. Unfortunately, fate decreed otherwise. Those were terrible and traumatic days. It all got so messed up that I ended up with it myself. I didn’t tell either the coach or the parents so as not to make them nervous. I didn’t want to tell my parents - I’ll tell you, and then I’ll leave for a long time, two or three thousand kilometers from them? That would be a mockery of people. They would try to call me every day, and I often cannot answer the phone. They would go crazy. The only thing she could do was try to cope on her own. Many, including those who were nearby, found out about everything shortly before the Facebook post. And only three knew everything from A to Z. And even then they learned with a decent delay. Two of them could not believe that all this was true - because when they looked at me on TV, they saw another Justina. And I did my own thing, I was a ruin then, I wanted to quit skiing, but I felt that I should cry it all out and only then make a decision. I thought that skiing would be my duty, my salvation. And I decided that despite this personal tragedy, I want to prepare for the Games. For myself, for the guys from my team.

You are into hard labor. Were you sometimes afraid when you went to training that being so weakened - in all respects - you risk your health, and maybe your life?

No, there were no such thoughts. After all, in this state you will reach self-destruction. Already if there was anything, it was pangs of conscience, huge. Because it seemed to me that the training did not give 100 percent of what I should do, that I did not get involved in them as I should. Despite the fact that I went to training, I worked, I didn’t slip.

- The coach did not orient himself?

I told him about the depression, but not about the rest. He thought that the best remedy for depression would be work. He wanted the best, but "pull yourself together" is the worst thing that can be advised in such a situation. I decided to make it to Sochi, but it got worse and worse. It's not that I didn't try hard in training. Tried. Only before, I always wanted to fulfill 150 percent of the norm, but now I simply did what they said. My head was busy with other things. And the coach should have known that. All of a sudden, I started listening to music during workouts. I have never done this before, believing that the music interferes with focusing on the exercises. And now I needed it to not listen to my thoughts. Quickly, work, drown out, then some kind of lunch - and I disappeared. She came to the second training session, and then disappeared again. I was nervous, the coach too. After sleepless nights, she would come as angry as a wasp. I closed myself in a lot.

So that's why the coach late autumn was sure it was Last year his work, for neither you nor he can stand it any longer?

I know that in the last year I was not an example of a professional. I just wanted to make it to the Games, nothing more. I had too good results practice tests to lose it all. But when the summer training ended, and it was the hardest, I was sure that I did it last time in life. I wanted to finish with the sport - and arrange everything differently. Because I was no longer able to give the sport as much as I would like. I explained this to the coach, and therefore he was then sure that this was our last joint winter, and then he retired. But during the season the situation changed. It was he who convinced me not to leave, it was he who came up with such a long break, almost five months, so that I would come to life. The decisive moment came, perhaps, after the x-ray of the foot in Sochi. For the coach believed for a long time that it was only a bruise, and the physiotherapist and I already felt that this was a fracture, because it stopped healing. The coach saw that I was suffering, but I did not tell him everything. She wore glasses so that no one could see the tears. I remember that when he saw the picture of the fracture, he cried. And maybe really changed the approach to me. Realized how hard I struggled. And during the period invented by him long break my life has come to such a collapse that now we will meet with the coach earlier. Because now I see my salvation only in sports. In the last two years I have been at an eternal crossroads, and the path of choice, unfortunately, did not depend on me. Or depended only to a very small extent. And now the doors slammed shut completely unexpectedly, the bridge burned down in very unfortunate and incomprehensible circumstances. It would be foolish and risky to break through on some new path, unknown - for example, by changing a profession. It remains to try to return to Justina three years ago. On the way to the last time I was myself.

- Are you happy now at least sometimes?

Justina three years ago was also not always there. She was caustic - and fought. Just then - with the Norwegians about asthma.

Yes. It was still the time when I demanded only victories from myself. And just then, in the World Championship season in Oslo, I stubbornly ended up second. So that asthma spoiled a lot of blood for us, in terms of sports, at times it was sad. But life is wonderful. Until the moment of my whole unstable situation, I considered myself a very happy girl. Born in a cap Once upon a time, although there were quite a few obstacles, because there were various health problems, as well as disqualification, I could take the bull by the horns. Now the cap has fallen off.

- Do you follow the examples among the athletes who confessed to being depressed? For example, recently - swimmers Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett, and earlier - at least the Italian football player Gianluigi Buffon, world champion, or the tragically deceased Robert Encke, the goalkeeper of the German football team, who hid his depression [ he committed suicide - Dassi]. All of them, like you, are people from the front pages of newspapers, with success and money. Buffon recalls conversations with the doctor: "After all, everyone dreams of a life like yours!" "But I don't want mine."

Yes, I watch and read. Lindsey Vonn also confessed. It seems to people that people like her, a great skier, or someone like me, cannot be depressed. The athlete is not given the right to such weakness.
But to force your body to obey the strict rules of sports highest achievements, you have to be a little crazy. And a very sensitive person. I am intimately acquainted with many elite athletes and I see it noticeable when I manage to break through their outer shell. And then I see very sensitive, sometimes lost people. The fact that they are strong in sports does not mean anything. Sports are most often fair. If you dedicate a lot to him, then you get about the same amount in return. And in life you can devote everything to something and get nothing. And for an athlete, this is simply incomprehensible.

From time to time, athletes will admit to having depression, but these are still exceptions. Sensational, but exceptions. The disease remains a taboo topic. Although, if you look statistically, in every football dressing room there are on average two or three players who are susceptible to such problems.

This is another reason why I decided to write my story. The public perception is that depression is like shame. Even the very combination - admitted to depression. Confessed. Like something bad.

Who confesses, he sometimes hears that these are quirks. After all, young, rich, successful - they do not have depression. When Alexander Pointer, coach of the Austrian ski jumpers, spoke about his own, he could read such comments: “Let him try to live on a hungry salary, then he will see what depression is.”

I just know what a poor life is, I remember what it means to support oneself with difficulty. A significant part of my life was on bread and a little more. Sometimes there was not even something to return home. But all this is incomparable with when the psyche begins to crumble. I know that there will be different reactions to what I am talking about in this interview. But this has been accumulating in me for a long time, and I'm tired of pretending. Even despite the fact that many advised me not to make such a confession: you will feel better for a second, but you will see what perception will be later. What will be? Depression is a disease, just a different one from the normal ones. And my inner stubbornness makes me talk about it right now, when I feel like I'm being scammed from all sides. Many see me as a strong girl, Sometimes they say that the strongest in Poland. If this very strong one uses the help of specialists, then maybe someone else will overcome shame and use it - or throw off the mask and be cleansed. Maybe people will understand. We need to start talking about it.

- And get back to racing?

After Sochi, there was a moment when I was sure that this was the end of the adventure, and I would not return. It may sound silly, but I feel like an accomplished athlete. And I don't have to prove anything to anyone. My body has had enough of this hard work. If I had a normal attractive alternative, then I would probably leave professional sports. At the same time, I would probably cry, of course. Because there is nostalgia, a lot of extraordinary memories, 16 years of my life. Superlife. But I could just leave like that one day. If it would be where. And now there is no alternative. There are other plans. At first, I thought about continuing my career in such a way that the next season would be intermediate, already in the direction of leaving in a year. And I thought - I will resume training in August, I will prepare for three months. I am sure that during this time I would have had time to prepare for the classic races at the upcoming World Championships in Falun next year, so as to fight for a medal. Meanwhile, I would calmly say goodbye to my usual life, and give the guys from the team time to plan their future. That was the plan, to prepare only for Falun.

- But it will be different.

I'm back to training now. I will have more time to enter preparation mode. In the team next to me will be Silvia Yaskovets, who joined us and approaches everything with great enthusiasm, although she knows my problems very well. I decided that she, Maczek Kretschmer and the coach should now know about everything. Sylvia is a volcano of energy and she says she will do anything to help me, to pull me out. And I am able to tell Sylvia really a lot about the sport of high achievements, show her the path to success. It can turn out interesting and wonderful. I have not been with a woman in one training group for almost 10 years. And the previous one was the same Sylvia. Let's see what we can do together now. Maybe her enthusiasm and my experience will help me rediscover myself, and Sylvia will be able to improve the results. I don't go back to racing out of great love for the sport. Theories that I got addicted to adrenaline or this life is always on the go are nonsense. I hate suitcases and hotel rooms for a long time. And I return to fight for myself.

- That is, without obsession with the results?

It shouldn't be in my head. It is clear that there will be an onslaught from the outside on what I have accustomed people to. But I can't afford to force it on myself. However, we will check the results only in winter, and until winter I just have to fulfill my training duties. Step by step. If everything works out, I can be calm about the results. If not, it means that I am still in the red and that skiing did not help me in anything. And if so, what difference will it make to me, what are the results? I want to start over. Perhaps, otherwise I will choose friends. I will avoid noisy meetings. And I will not publicly return to the topic of depression. I ask for nothing but understanding. I will try to rekindle the fire in myself in relation to sports. Maybe it's not all cold yet. I remember how absurd the answers to questions about sportswear, about the shell shock, about whether I'm worried about the difference of two centimeters at the finish line. What did it matter when my life was in ruins. But I tried to answer, because I remember that Justina did this three years ago. And I dream that someday I can sincerely think that these two centimeters at the finish line really matter to me.

Original:

"At the twenty-fifth kilometer" is gradually moving away from summer hibernation and will soon begin its work in the previous mode: we are waiting for an analyst of the Russian summer championship, brief presentations of the main rivals, an analysis of the summer training of the main groups and something else interesting.

In the meantime, I continue to translate the writings of Justina Kowalczyk on her blog. Having introduced her rivals, she took up another interesting idea. Many have heard about the so-called "team" of Yustina, but hardly anyone knows the details about the representatives of the team. This misunderstanding was corrected by the Olympic champion herself, briefly talking about each of "her men", in addition to interviewing them.

I will give explanations in parentheses if needed.

My men

I have said this many times, repeating like a mantra: in my life I have been very lucky with men. Seriously. What else can a woman working with nine such fantastic guys say? Let's agree right away: no one is perfect, and that's great, because "holiness" is never a plus.

Now we are working together again - it's several months of hard work, a lot of excitement, a lot of pressure. We can have both successes and failures. Mine and theirs are ours, common! Yes, it is: they are very devoted to me - I mean sports. Although, it helps me in my personal life: watching such a kaleidoscope of men's behavior, I cannot but understand them. It's not that difficult!

Rafał Węgrzyn and Mateusz Nuciak(servicemen). Rafi and Matti. They are very similar, but at the same time very different. Well brought up, smart and nice guys. In winter, they are inseparable. Unfortunately, they are already busy - they will soon become dads :) If someone in our team decides to write memoirs, then they will certainly have the most interesting ones. Well ... I know about thirty percent of their adventures, I can guess about thirty more, but the remaining forty - I can’t even guess, for which they are honored and praised :) We have been working with these guys for the sixth season. From time to time we scold, of course - where without it? Yes, I am sure of one fact: they do not like to be hungry :) In addition, they help me a lot during training: they suggest something on technique, tactics. In practice, this helps me a lot.

Maciek Kreczmer (sparring partner, representative of the Polish national team). MacMan. The most reliable person I know. He will always give advice, always help - at least he will try. Never complains. He is very kind, cheerful, calm, conflict-free, and handsome, of course :) We have known each other for many years. We learned a lot about the world together, experienced many difficulties together. No one, like Matzey, understands how it is - when everything hurts. We can laugh for many hours, or we can remain silent. He charges me to work like no other. And he always has chocolate in his drawer!

Are Mets. Our Estonian serviceman. Severe like no other! Very ambitious. Wise. A little short-tempered, but open at the same time. He loves all kinds of news, and in this regard, we are a bit out of our way :) I have never been an athlete, although sport is his life, passion. Every day he rides a bike and goes to the sauna:) He is also a bit of a magician.

Peep Koidu (serviceman). An island of calm and balance. Never imposes his opinion. Former athlete. He speaks little, but always correctly. Perfectionist. We have a surprisingly similar feeling. classic skis. Best of all gives recommendations before the start.

Raphael Jaworek. Skillful fingers. Calmness, tranquility and cordiality. He has worked with me throughout my cross-country skiing journey; and during the postoperative rehabilitation, I let me sleep peacefully on the massage table :) Without it, not only my knee, but also my shoulders and spine would not be able to endure such heavy loads.

Wojtek Suszczynski. Was with us in Otepää. He's from the Carolina Clinic. He has very soft hands - he brought me instant relief after the splint exercises. Sports enthusiast. Very cheerful and talkative. Real professional.

Dr. Smigielski. Mega-intelligent and mega-professional. We have known each other for many years, we know both ups and downs. The doctor will always help you - not only when the bones creak. Probably, we are united by the similarity of characters. Time is a very relative concept for him.

Alexander Veretelny. Trainer. What can I say other than the obvious? Even dozens of words cannot describe all my gratitude. Has the most interesting analytical mind in the world. The most stubborn :) Hardworking, dedicated, and so on and so forth. Monitors my health and even controls the level of water in my body :) Reminds me that there are more important things in life than skiing. Because he is my Coach: my Coach, that's all. It cannot be described in these few sentences.

This is briefly about my men. What unites them is that they are all gentlemen. This is what I value most in men.

In order for justice to prevail, I asked everyone to describe Justina in two or three sentences. Here's what they said:

Maciek: Yustyska is a chocolate glutton! Unusual, special. She has a hundred thoughts a minute, and therefore she does not always have time to voice what she wants. But if there is time - you can count on it, and then it's hard even for me. Especially in the morning :) You can feel safe in her company. I don’t write about being ambitious, and so on: everyone already knows this.

Mateusz: Justina is the kind of person who has completely devoted himself to what he loves. For me this is an example. professional athlete. However, she is hungry for victory. I admire how hard she trains, her willpower, the fact that she does not give up. A very ambitious woman.

Rafal Wegrzyn: three sentences is impossible. Justina has a wonderful personality. Undoubtedly, she owes her success to talent and perseverance. She is not subject to star disease, and achieves her goals consistently. She has an answer for everything, it is almost impossible to embarrass her. Very kind and communicative person. He never boasts, but loves to be the center of attention. Compassionate and always ready to help. In defense will become a wall.

Wojtek: who is Justina? A successful woman, and that's how we see her. For me, this is the Snow Queen, who sometimes, like in a fairy tale, is cold and cruel to her enemies. With a closer acquaintance, Justina opens up as a friendly and smiling person, open to people. Of course, like any woman, sometimes it is capricious, but no one is perfect. Her reign at the top is connected only with the serious, daily and systematic work that she does. I respect her for this, because most people watch her work from a sitting position.

Rafal Jaworek: Justina is a very cheerful, smiling person with an amazing sense of humor. He performs his work consistently, striving for the goal. This leads to her cooperation with high results. She accurately determines the needs and knows the capabilities of her body. Interested in self-development, studying various fields of science. Open to new ideas, and the future always presents in the most colorful colors.

Justyna Kowalczyk has lashed out at the Norwegian stars' use of asthma medication. She did this in an interview with a Polish newspaper, which was then translated by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

"It's crazy that there are so many young people with asthma in a country with such clean air," she told Gazeta Wyborcza.

Context

Where the Russians are, there is doping

TV 2 Norge 21.07.2016

WADA must check Norwegian skiers

Yle 25.07.2016

Doping: isn't it time to "turn on yourself"?

Dagbladet 26.07.2016

The article comes weeks after Martin Johnsrud Sundby was disqualified for misusing the asthma medication Ventoline. Among high-ranking Norwegian athletes, the use of anti-asthma drugs is common.

Kowalczyk again lashed out at her main rival, Marit Bjørgen:

“And to top it all off, Marit Bjørgen is now saying quite openly that she wouldn’t be the best in the world without her asthma medication. I repeatedly said that I think about it, but then everyone cursed me, ”she says.

"It would be just hell"

Polish skier believes that Norway has put its riders in special conditions.

“Imagine what I would have done like Sundby when I competed with Marit Bjørgen to win the Tour de Ski. What hell would begin if the same thing as Sundby's were found in my body? she asks.

Kowalczyk is also shocked that the news about Sundby was hidden for so long.

“The most incredible thing is not that he took too high doses and got caught, but that we are only finding out about this now,” she says.

The Polish skier did not miss the opportunity to pin Norway:

“I have been to Norway many times, it is a very beautiful and clean country, most of the inhabitants of which take care of their health and proper nutrition. And they love physical activity. But the question arises: what is there in the Norwegian air that strong young people are affected by such a serious disease, ”Kowalchik quotes Aftonbladet.

Comparison with Russia

Norway was also heavily criticized by many Finns after the Sundby news broke. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen compared the suspension of Martin Johnsrud Sundby to the recently exposed state doping program in Russia.

“The activities of the Norwegian Ski Federation almost remind me of what they do in one of our neighboring countries. It looks like the federation is taking responsibility for doping by athletes,” Saarinen told Ilta-Sanomat newspaper.

After the revelations, Sundby lost his Tour de Ski victory in 2015, the World Cup victory in the same year and the Davos World Cup victory in 2014.

Bronze Liberec 2009 10 km classic Gold Liberec 2009 duathlon 7.5+7.5 km Gold Liberec 2009 30 km Silver Holmenkollen 2011 duathlon 7.5+7.5 km Silver Holmenkollen 2011 10 km classic Bronze Holmenkollen 2011 30 km Silver Val di Fiemme 2013 30 km Bronze Falun 2015 team sprint Universiade Silver Innsbruck 2005 5 km Gold Innsbruck 2005 15 km classic Gold Turin 2007 5 km classic Gold Turin 2007 personal sprint Bronze Turin 2007 3×5 km relay Gold Turin 2007 duathlon 5+5 km State awards results world Cup

World Cup debut	December 9, 2001
World Cup wins	30
Best position in the World Cup	1
Distance Views	1 (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2012/13)
Sprint types	1 (2009/10)

Positions on the podium	1	2	3
Distance Views	23	19	4
Sprint types	7	3	7
Team sprint	0	0	1

Last updated: March 25, 2015

Career

Start of performances

The first success came to Justina in 2003, when she won the silver medal of the junior world championship in skating sprint. After 2 weeks, she made her debut at the World Championship, which was held in Val di Fiemme, but could not get into the top thirty in either the skating sprint or the ten-kilometer classic race.

doping scandal

Return to sports

Less than a month after returning to the track, on January 7, 2006, Kowalczyk was able to reach the podium of the World Cup in Otepää for the first time, finishing third in the 10 km classic. At her first Olympic Games in Turin, Kowalczyk first finished eighth in the duathlon, and then failed to finish the ten-kilometer classic race. After that, she was able to continue her performances at the Games, becoming 44th in the skating sprint and winning bronze in the 30 km skate from the general start, losing in the final showdown to Czech Katerzhina Neumanova and Russian Yulia Chepalova.

Subsequent successes

Season 2010/11

Olympic games 2014

Justina Kovalchik and her coach Alexander Veretelny

Y. Kovalchik began to study cross-country skiing V sports school in Zakopane at the age of 15, where her first coach was Barbara Sobańska. She believes that at the age of 15 it is too late to start skiing: "... You have to get up earlier as soon as you learn to walk ...".

A few years later, Yustina got into the junior national team of the country and began to train with Alexander Veretelny, a former Russian, and now a citizen of Poland, who at one time completed his postgraduate studies at the State Center for Physical Culture under the guidance of Viktor Nikolayevich Manzhosov.

At first, several girls and guys trained with Justina at Veretelny, but then they all had to leave. According to Veretelny himself, mainly because they could not cope with the loads that Justina "digested".

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Notes

View this template 5 km + 10 km combined pursuit 5 km + 5 km combined pursuit 5 km + 5 km skiathlon 7.5 km + 7.5 km skiathlon

View this template 1926: Václav Kuchar 1927: Halina Konopatskaya 1928: Halina Konopatskaya 1929: Stanisław Piatkiewicz 1930: Stanisława Walasiewicz 1931: Janusz Kusocinski 1932: Stanisława Walasiewicz 1933: Stanisława Walasiewicz 1934: Stanisława Walas jevic · 1935: Roger Verey · 1936: Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 1937: Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 1938: Stanisław Marusaž 1948: Aleksey Antkiewicz 1949: Zdobysław Stawczyk 1950: Helena Rakoczy 1951: Zygmunt Chychla 1952: Zygmunt Chychla 1954: Janusz Sidło 1955: Janusz Sidlo 1956: Elzbieta Krzesińska 1957: Jerzy Pawlowski 1958: Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak 1959: Edmund Piontkowski 1960: Józef Schmidt 1961: Ireneusz Palinski 1962: Teresa Cieply 1963: Ryszard Parulski 1964: Józef Schmidt 1965: Irena Kirshenstein 1966: Irena Kirschenstein 1967: Sobiesław Zasada 1968: Jerzy Pawlowski 1969: Waldemar Baszanowski 1970: Teresa Sukniewicz 1971: – Well, of course my grandmother. – As if she said something for granted. - At the beginning I was very sad and lonely, and my grandmother was very sorry for me. So she showed me how it's done. And then I finally realized that this was indeed her world, created only by the power of her thought. This girl didn't even realize what a treasure she was! But my grandmother, I think, just understood this very well ... As it turned out, Stella died a few months ago in a car accident, in which her entire family also died. Only the grandmother remained, for whom at that time there was simply no room in the car ... And who almost went crazy when she learned about her terrible, irreparable misfortune. But, what was the strangest thing, Stella did not get, as everyone usually did, to the same levels in which her family was. Her body had a high essence, which after death went to the most high levels Earth. And thus the girl was left completely alone, since her mother, father and older brother were apparently the most ordinary, ordinary people who did not differ in any special talents. “Why don’t you find someone here where you live now?” I asked carefully again. - I found ... But they are all kind of old and serious ... not like you and me. The girl whispered thoughtfully. Suddenly, she suddenly smiled cheerfully and her pretty face immediately shone with a bright bright sun. “Do you want me to show you how to do it?” I just nodded in agreement, very afraid that she would change her mind. But the girl was clearly not going to “change her mind” on anything, on the contrary - she was very glad to have found someone who was almost the same age as her, and now, if I understood something, she was not going to let me go so easily ... This " perspective" suited me completely, and I prepared to listen attentively about its incredible wonders ... “Everything is much easier here than on Earth,” Stella chirped, very pleased with the attention given, “you just have to forget about the “level” at which you still live (!) And focus on what you want to see . Try to imagine very accurately, and it will come. I tried to switch off all extraneous thoughts - it did not work. For some reason this has always been difficult for me. Then, finally, everything disappeared somewhere, and I was left hanging in complete emptiness ... There was a feeling of Complete Peace, so rich in its fullness that it was impossible to experience on Earth ... Then the emptiness began to fill with a mist sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow, which and condensed more, becoming like a brilliant and very dense ball of stars ... Smoothly and slowly this "ball" began to unwind and grow until it became like a gigantic sparkling spiral, amazing in its beauty, the end of which was "sprayed" by thousands of stars and went where into the invisible distance... I stared dumbfounded at this fabulous unearthly beauty, trying to understand how and where it came from? I could not get rid of a very strange feeling that THIS is my real home ... – What is it?.. – a thin voice asked in a stunned whisper. Stella "frozen" stood in a stupor, unable to make even the slightest movement, and with rounded eyes, like large saucers, she observed this incredible beauty that unexpectedly fell from somewhere ... Suddenly, the air around us shook violently, and a luminous being appeared right in front of us. It was very similar to my old "crowned" star friend, but it was clearly someone else. After recovering from the shock and taking a closer look at him, I realized that he did not look like my old friends at all. It’s just that the first impression “fixed” the same hoop on the forehead and similar power, but otherwise there was nothing in common between them. All the "guests" that had come to see me before had been tall, but this being was very tall, probably somewhere around a full five meters. His strange glittering clothes (if they could be called that) fluttered all the time, scattering sparkling crystal tails behind him, although not the slightest breeze was felt around him. Long, silver hair shone with a strange lunar halo, creating the impression of "eternal cold" around his head ... And his eyes were such that it would never be better to look at them! .. Before I saw them, even in the wildest fantasy it was impossible imagine such eyes!.. They were an incredibly bright pink color and sparkled with a thousand diamond stars, as if lit up every time he looked at someone. It was completely unusual and breathtakingly beautiful ... It smelled of a mysterious distant Cosmos and something else that my little childish brain was not yet able to comprehend ... The creature raised its hand, turned to us with its palm, and mentally said: - I'm Eli. You are not ready to come - come back ... Naturally, I was immediately wildly interested in who it was, and I really wanted to somehow, at least for a short time hold him. - Not ready for what? I asked as calmly as I could. - Come back home. he answered. From him emanated (as it seemed to me then) incredible power and at the same time some strange deep warmth of loneliness. I wished he never left, and suddenly I felt so sad that tears welled up in my eyes... “You will return,” he said, as if answering my sad thoughts. - Only it won't be soon... And now go away. The glow around him grew brighter... and much to my chagrin, he disappeared... The sparkling huge “spiral” continued to shine for some time, and then it began to crumble and completely melted, leaving behind only deep night. Stella finally “woke up” from the shock, and everything around her immediately shone with a cheerful light, surrounding us with bizarre flowers and colorful birds, which her amazing imagination hurried to create as soon as possible, apparently wanting to get rid of the oppressive impression of eternity that had fallen on us as soon as possible. “Do you think it’s me…?” Still unable to believe what had happened, I whispered dumbfounded. - Certainly! - the little girl chirped again in a cheerful voice. “That's what you wanted, right? It is so huge and scary, though very beautiful. I would never live there! – with full confidence declared she. And I could not forget that incredibly huge and so attractively majestic beauty, which, now I knew for sure, would forever become my dream, and the desire to return there someday would haunt me for many, many years, until, one fine day, I will not finally find my real, lost HOME ... - Why are you sad? You've done so well! Stella exclaimed in surprise. Do you want me to show you something else? She conspiratorially wrinkled her nose, which made her look like a cute, funny little monkey. And again everything turned upside down, "landing" us in some crazy-bright "parrot" world ... in which thousands of birds screamed wildly and this abnormal cacophony made our heads spin. - Oh! - Stella laughed loudly, - not so! And immediately there was a pleasant silence ... We were "naughty" together for a long time, now alternately creating funny, funny, fairy-tale worlds, which really turned out to be quite easy. I could not tear myself away from all this unearthly beauty and from the crystal-clear, amazing girl Stella, who carried a warm and joyful light in herself, and with whom I sincerely wanted to stay close forever ... But real life, unfortunately, called back to “fall to the Earth” and I had to say goodbye, not knowing if I would ever be able to see it again at least for a moment. Stella looked with her large, round eyes, as if wanting and not daring to ask something ... Then I decided to help her: - Do you want me to come again? – I asked with hidden hope. Her funny face again shone with all shades of joy: "Are you really coming?" she squeaked happily. “Really, really, I’ll come ...” I firmly promised ... Overwhelmed with everyday worries, days turned into weeks, and I still couldn't find free time to visit my cute little friend. I thought about her almost every day and swore to myself that tomorrow I would definitely find time to “take my soul away” with this wonderful bright little man for at least a couple of hours ... And also one more, very strange thought did not give me peace - very I wanted to introduce Stella's grandmother to her no less interesting and unusual grandmother... For some inexplicable reason, I was sure that both these wonderful women would certainly find something to talk about... So, finally, one fine day, I suddenly decided that it was enough to put off everything “for tomorrow” and, although I was not at all sure that Stella’s grandmother would be there today, I decided that it would be wonderful if today I finally visit my new girlfriend, well, and if you're lucky, then I'll introduce our dear grandmothers to each other. Some strange force was literally pushing me out of the house, as if someone from afar was very gently and, at the same time, very persistently calling me mentally. I quietly approached my grandmother and, as usual, began to spin around her, trying to think of a better way to present all this to her. - Well, let's go or something? .. - Grandma asked calmly. I stared at her dumbfounded, not understanding how she could know that I was going somewhere at all ?!. Grandmother smiled slyly and, as if nothing had happened, asked: “What, don’t you want to walk with me?” In my soul, indignant at such an unceremonious intrusion into my “private mental world,” I decided to “test” my grandmother. - Well, of course I want to! I exclaimed happily, and without saying where we were going, I headed for the door. - Take a sweater, we'll be back late - it will be cool! Grandmother shouted after her. I couldn't stand it any longer... "And how do you know where we're going?" – ruffled like a frozen sparrow, I grumbled offendedly. So everything is written on your face, - grandmother smiled. Of course, this was not written on my face, but I would give a lot to find out how she always knew everything so confidently when it came to me? A few minutes later we were already stomping together towards the forest, enthusiastically chatting about the most diverse and incredible stories, which she, of course, knew much more than I did, and this was one of the reasons why I loved walking with her so much. We were just the two of us, and there was no need to be afraid that someone would overhear and someone might not like what we were talking about. Grandmother very easily accepted all my oddities, and was never afraid of anything; and sometimes, if she saw that I was completely “lost” in something, she gave me advice that helped me get out of this or that undesirable situation, but most often she simply watched how I react to life difficulties that have already become permanent, without the end that came across on my "spiky" path. Recently, it began to seem to me that my grandmother was just waiting for something new to come across to see if I had matured at least a heel, or if I was still “boiling” in my “happy childhood”, not wanting to get out of the short nursery shirts. But even for her “cruel” behavior, I loved her very much and tried to use every convenient moment to spend time together with her as often as possible. The forest greeted us with the friendly rustle of golden autumn foliage. The weather was excellent, and one could hope that my new acquaintance, by "lucky chance", would also be there. I picked a small bouquet of some modest autumn flowers that still remained, and in a few minutes we were already near the cemetery, at the gates of which ... the same miniature sweet old woman was sitting in the same place ... “And I thought I couldn’t wait for you!” she happily greeted. I literally “jaw dropped” from such a surprise, and at that moment I apparently looked rather stupid, as the old woman, laughing merrily, came up to us and gently patted me on the cheek. - Well, you go, dear, Stella has already been waiting for you. And we'll sit here for a while... I didn’t even have time to ask how I would get to the same Stella, how everything disappeared somewhere again, and I found myself in the already familiar, sparkling and iridescent world of exuberant Stella’s fantasy, and, not having had time to look around better, right there heard an enthusiastic voice: “Oh, it’s good that you came! And I was waiting, waiting! The girl flew up to me like a whirlwind and slapped me right on my hands... a little red "dragon"... I recoiled in surprise, but immediately laughed merrily, because it was the most amusing and funny creature in the world!... The "dragon", if you can call it that, bulged its tender pink belly and hissed at me menacingly, apparently hoping to scare me in this way. But, when I saw that no one was going to be scared here, he calmly sat down on my lap and began to snore peacefully, showing how good he is and how much you need to love him ... I asked Stela what his name is and how long ago she created it. Oh, I haven't even thought of a name yet! And he showed up right now! Do you really like him? the girl chirped cheerfully, and I felt that she was pleased to see me again. - This is for you! she suddenly said. He will live with you.