OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2010. The 4th International Biathlon Competition for the Vitaly Fatyanov Prize has ended in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Taking part in the Competition were over 80 biathletes, including the Olympic champions and winners of the World and European Championships, from more than eighteen countries. Over thirty thousand spectators visited the event.

Gazprom acted as the sponsor and organizer of the Competition.

“The Company is traditionally active in arranging amateur and professional competitions in Russia. They considerably promote sports activities and a healthy lifestyle. It should be noted that the Vitaly Fatyanov Competition is a crucial stage in the struggle for the right to host the 2016 World Biathlon Championship. I am sure that, if decently arranged and successfully held, the Competition will get us closer to this cherished goal,” said Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee in his welcoming address to the Competition participants and guests.

The arrangement work was highly appreciated by the participants and the guests represented by, among others, Anders Besseberg, President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU); Alexander Karelin, the Hero of Russia and three-time Olympic champion; Halvard Hanevold, Norwegian biathlete; and others. According to Halvard Hanevold, the Competition has already reached the level of the World Championship.

The first-place awards of the 4th International Biathlon Competition for the Vitaly Fatyanov Prize was given to Kati Wilhelm from Germany (women) and to Ivan Cherezov from Russia (men). So far, Kati Wilhelm is the only two-times winner of this Competition.

Background

The International Biathlon Competition for the Vitaly Fatyanov Prize was first held in 2007 in Novosibirsk – the home city of the outstanding trainer. Dmitry Yaroshenko (Russia) and Kati Wilhelm (Germany) became the winners of the Competition. In 2008 Andrey Makoveyev and Natalia Sokolova from Russia won the Competition in Uvat (Tyumen Oblast). Since 2009 the Vitaly Fatyanov Competition has been held in  Kamchatka.

The 2009 winners were Simon Fourcade and Eva Tofalvi.

Vitaly Fatyanov (1950–2006) was a prominent Russian trainer, cavalier of the Order of  Friendship. He headed the Russian women’s biathlon team at the Olympic Games in  Nagano. He fostered the winners of the World Championships and Olympic Games: S. Ishmuratova, G. Kukleva, A. Zhdanovich, A. Tropnikov, A. Akhatova, O. Medvedtseva and others.