Athlete Mom Speaks Out: Son’s Selection Snub & Injustice Claims

Veľké sklamanie

Ide v stopách svojej mamy a nepochybne po nej zdedil obrovský talent. Naša biatlonová šampiónka Anastasia Kuzminová (41) je právom hrdá. Jej syn Jelisej (18) je totiž veľkou slovenskou nádejou v behu na lyžiach.

Ešte dávnejšie sa vyjadrila, že dúfa v jeho úspech, no nie pre jeho meno ale pre jeho výsledky. Avšak, po posledných udalostiach naša vrcholová športovkyňa netají smútok a sklamanie.

V článku sa dočítate:

• čo sa udialo na pretekoch v Oberhofe,
• čo na neúspech svojho syna povedala Nasťa,
• viac o jej športovom príbehu,
• ako sa jej darí trénovať popri rodine

Nastya won another spot for the Olympics at the World Cup in Oberhof over the weekend, but her son Jelisay was not so lucky. Kuzminová does not hide that this is a great injustice. The dream of mother and son participating together in the biggest sporting event has vanished like a fog.

And although Jelisej was better in the race at the cross-country skiing world cup in Oberhof, the place was given to the competitor who finished last. Jáchym Cenek finished the race with great self-denial, after a very ugly fall. Although Kuzmin had a better time, it was of no use to him.

Other boys, Peter Hinds and the Cenekov brothers, were nominated for the Olympics, despite Jelisje’s better results. However, it was decided by the Slovak Skiing Association.

“(Cenek) got into the nomination thanks to his excellent performance in the sprints. In the team sprint, together with Hinds, he will form a duo that is one of the strongest in Slovak cross-country skiing in recent years,” the justification for the nomination is on the page union.

And although Jelisej is very young and has his whole career ahead of him, it must have been a huge disappointment for him. On your own Instagram his successful mother also spoke up.

„I experienced the same situation in 2006, when, despite better performance and results, another athlete traveled to Italy for the 2006 Olympics. And I believed that my son would never have to experience a similar injustice,” she wrote.

As she further stated, she does not want to comment on the union’s decision regarding the Olympic nomination. “It affects me and my performance. I ask for your understanding,” she added. From her words, you can feel that she is very disappointed. How much he will be able to concentrate on his sports performance will be shown in the coming weeks. The Olympics in Milan start already on February 6.

It could be said that if it weren’t for her son, Slovakia would lose its greatest champion. Originally, Kuzminová represented Russia. She started biathlon when she was 15 years old.

But after her son was born, she was looking for a balance between sports and family life. She couldn’t find him in Russian sports, she couldn’t even take her child with her to training sessions or training sessions. She refused to give up her son and decided to change the country. In 2008, she acquired Slovak citizenship.

In her rich career, she can boast of many titles, and in particular, she is a three-time Olympic champion. And today he faces a big task.

However, Nastya is a huge professional. And although she ended her career in 2019, she surprisingly returned to running tracks in 2024.

“The stage where my children wanted me only for themselves and to be only a mother is almost behind us,” she told us in one of the older interviews, which you can read here:

And she added that it was her son Jelisay who supported her the most in this decision. He “joked” me the moment I hesitated. “Can’t you?” Can’t you handle it? But, at least try it…you’ll see, it will work,” he told her then.

“Because of my daughter Olivia, I adapted the training program so that I miss her as little as possible. This means that while she is at school, I train the main training phase, the longest and most demanding one, and again, when she has afternoon circles or sports activities for an hour and a half, I use the time and complete another, shorter or more intense training session,” she said. As she added, Olivia also keeps her company at training sessions and likes to train alongside her mother.

See how they played sports together in the past. You can find more photos of Nasta’s family in our photo gallery: