Anastasia Kinnunen. The surname must be common. About the standard of living of Finns and Belarusians

No, the citizenship of the Gorodok native remains the same, and she is not going to change it. Because he loves the country. The athlete also loves to compete, so these days she is happy to race at the summer championship of Belarus. Taking half an hour between training and recovery procedures, in the cafe of the Raubich hotel, Nastya talks about married life and the inevitable end of her career. In the meantime, parting with biathlon is in the future, why not enjoy good races...

- How do you feel about starting the competition season?
- Every time it’s nice to return to real racing after control training. The first start, of course, is always associated with stress, but now competitive practice is an integral part of the training process.

- Can you feel the breath of big competitions?
- Oh, we are really looking forward to winter! This is how babies wait in childhood New Year, so we are - a new season. I would like to quickly plunge into competitions and fully concentrate on my performances. According to the schedule, the winter training camp will begin in about a month, and then the first stage of the World Cup will not be far away.

Bjoerndalen is competing with the Belarusians in the national championship. Is there a feeling of surrealism from what is happening?
- He is a legendary biathlete, and for young athletes his presence is a great motivation. I can’t say that we train with him directly side by side, but our off-season is short, and such overlaps are inevitable. And so, we are already accustomed to the Norwegian. Ole Einar is a wonderful person, simple, interesting. Very open and pleasant to talk to.

- The news about your wedding came as a big surprise...
“It’s normal for a woman to get married, so there’s nothing supernatural about it.” Those close to us knew about our plans. But, you see, my husband and I are not public people to demonstrate our relationship to the whole world through social media or something else. I think that in general we should share less private information with people. But I had to tell my fans that an important event had happened in my life. And the day before there were no secrets: they were preparing for the celebration, everything for real.

- Was the ceremony beautiful?
- We signed in Finland between training camps. I didn’t want big celebrations, so everything turned out the way I wanted. And in August we organized a holiday for friends and relatives. We organized a themed evening in an authentic style. We each put on our national costume and prepared traditional dishes from our cuisines. My husband cooks very well, so I'm lucky.
It was a very enjoyable evening and everyone enjoyed the good atmosphere and company. It was important to feed the Finns Belarusian food. I understand that borscht is not really our thing a traditional dish, but everyone really liked it.

- How long should you date before it comes to formalizing the relationship?
- It happens differently for everyone, but this feeling appears by itself. You want to be with this person... I would like to say that for the rest of your life. I don't know how to get ahead and calculate moves. But we feel good with each other, that’s why we are together. The stamp in the passport itself is not as important to me as the opportunity to be close to this person. But, since we are a family, taking my husband’s last name is a mandatory step. It was my initiative.

- Was this decision easy?
- When I agreed to get married, I immediately decided that the surname should be common. And from a sporting point of view, I don’t see anything wrong. Yes, they now write Kinnunen next to my name. But this is a natural process; women often switch to their husband’s surname. And there are plenty of such examples in biathlon. There were some difficulties with the documents, but everything has already been changed everywhere.

- In the protocols of the Belarusian championship they also write Duborezova...
- That’s why I shot poorly in the sprint! When they change it, I’ll start “drawing” zeros. I told my husband, an avid hunter, that I missed four times in the sprint. He replied that this is impossible. I had to jokingly explain that I was still shooting under my maiden name, so it’s forgivable, but I’ll immediately correct myself under my new name. It’s not a good idea to disgrace the hunter’s name. In general, we laughed at the situation.

- What language is spoken in your family?
- In English. I haven’t mastered Finnish yet, but I’m stubbornly struggling with it. This is a very interesting and beautiful language, I like listening to Finns. They speak while exhaling - this gives a special charm. You read the words, it seems that you have already memorized them, you perceive something by ear, but you still cannot speak the language.

- Uni helps teach?
- Why Uni? Ari!

- But everywhere your husband is called Juni Kinnunen...
- I don’t know why this happened. Initially there was someone's mistake. I didn't give my first name, only my last name. So they compared it with photographs of the Finnish biathlete Juni Kinnunen. The surname is common in the country, so they concluded that I married Yuni, but no one bothered to clarify. We laughed at this situation for a very long time, deciding who I ended up marrying. It's understandable that people wanted to know who it was. Ari loves and respects sports very much, but has never been a biathlete or any other professional athlete.

- Does your spouse help you train?
- No! The information that he is the coach of the Finnish team is also incorrect. He doesn't coach at all. Of course, he gives some human tips, but he won’t undertake to give me specialized advice. The Finns have a slightly different attitude to business, not like us, where you get a degree and that’s it, you’re already an expert. If you take on something, you start from the beginning. There was a situation. One day Ari asked if he should go to a running school. But he can run, I wonder why he needs it. He answered that he wants to install equipment and learn how to run correctly so that he can do it for a long time and conquer marathons. In our country, the situation is the opposite, especially in children’s sports. Before teaching a child the basics of the technique, they first put him on roller skates, and only then explain the specifics. And unknowingly, they can cause harm to health in the future. So the Finns have a different approach to such issues, and my husband simply will not take it upon himself to adjust my preparation or anything else.

- How did you meet?
- We saw each other for the first time after training at one of the training camps. He lives in Joensuu, not far from Kontiolahti. They didn’t even know whether there would be a second meeting. And then we found each other on the Internet, talked, and mutual interest arose. Later he began to come to me. That's how it all turned out.

- Did you show him Belarus?
- Was with us in the spring. I won’t say that anything surprised him very much, he had often been to Russia, and we have a lot in common in nature and climate. But Ari liked it. If we have a choice to go towards St. Petersburg or our forests, we go to the forest - because it’s easier to breathe. We were in the Berezinsky Nature Reserve, walked the trails - it was very good.

-Are you studying Finland?
- Every time we come home, we come up with the new kind activity. We ride bicycles, walk a lot, and develop routes. I need to keep in shape and train, so we combine walks and classes. I’ve liked Finland for a long time; I visited it for the first time when I was 16. I’ve already been to a lot of places and seen a lot - it’s nice and beautiful, full of lakes and forests.

-Have you formed an opinion about local people?
- I’m not ready to highlight a common national feature yet, but the people are interesting. Not everyone speaks English, and sometimes there are difficulties with communication. But they are very punctual, if they promise something, they will fulfill it. I was born in Soviet times and I remember something. And there is something about the Finns, from the USSR: modest, they don’t get into your soul, but they are positive. They are not ambitious, but very cheerful. People are yellowish in color, like in old Soviet black and white photographs with a yellow tint. This is how I see Finns.

- Is there room in your schedule for a honeymoon?
- We have a honey month every month. We meet between training camps. Now, in addition to my parents’, I also have houses in Belarus and Finland. And everywhere is good. I don’t always go to Joensuu during a short break, but my husband and I meet somewhere in other places. Every time we have an interesting program, there is no time to be bored. We plan to see each other and ride bikes in the near future. While it’s beautiful and there’s no rain, you need to capture moments of golden autumn.

- After getting married and changing your last name, were you invited to the Finnish flag?
- What are you saying, no! I think few people know that I am now married to a Finn. Maybe just Kaisa Mäkäräinen and a couple of other girls. I wouldn't change my citizenship. I went to school here, I love our country. And I will compete for Belarus as long as I am involved in professional sports.

- Are you thinking about ending your career?
- It is inevitable. I don’t think far ahead, maybe I’ll finish it in a year or two. But after the 2018 Olympics I will probably say goodbye to sports. After last season there were thoughts of ending it. I didn't understand what was happening. I did the work, but there was no result. However, I figured out the reasons and wanted to continue.

- Is this decision related to the change of the team’s head coach?
- Partially, yes. I understood that new people were joining the team, and I decided whether to stay on the team under the new situation. After all, updating the coaching staff is constant innovation, for which I was not quite ready. But Valery Polkhovsky allowed me to train according to established schemes with Fedor Svoboda. I wanted to work with him and got the opportunity, so the coaching factor was important when deciding to continue performing. Moreover, Svoboda learned a lot from working with Eder. I won’t lie, I wanted to train with Alfred too. I know how beneficial his lessons are to my shooting, and everything good that happened to me at the shooting range last season was the result of his work.

- Does Valery Polkhovsky’s coaching influence extend to you?
- He is the head coach. We talked and found out that he is not against our work with Fedor Svoboda.
In my opinion, dialogue with a coach is very important for older athletes. You don't just receive a task and go do it. This practice is increasingly being abandoned. Collaboration is important here. AND great importance has good knowledge of each other. Fyodor Anatolyevich saw me come to biathlon and remembers me from cross-country skiing. I trust him. But contact with new people is not established so quickly. Mutual understanding is important.

The last two seasons you finished in the top 50 overall. How does this result compare to the ambitions of the former skier?
- Believe me, now there are no ambitions. They were there before, when I thought, the more you practice, the better the results you will show. The mechanism turned out to be completely different. You need to listen to your body, know your personal abilities, see what can be developed and improved. This is why you need the help of a coach - to suggest, guide, help. And I came so enthusiastic, I needed a lot of volume training, sometimes I wondered why we didn’t shoot twice a day. Let's shoot, I'm ready! Now this is no longer the case. As it turns out, ambitions tend to get in the way in a professional career. You must do only as much as you can concentrate to do this job well. Klaus understood this well and precisely determined the scope of work for each of us.

- What advice from Siebert do you still apply in sports and life?
“We don’t want Klaus’s name to be forgotten; we always remember him with a kind word with the girls.” His advice is important not so much for sports as for life. He taught us to enjoy life and perceive everything as a game. Including biathlon. He said: this is a game, you have to play, be relaxed and at the same time collected. You are a professional, you can and know everything, and all you have to do is come to the race and enjoy it. Biathlon is such a sport that if you are tense or stressed, it is very difficult to compose yourself before shooting. Even with skis on, you can't get far. Therefore, he is our teacher not only in biathlon, but also in life. Without holding any meetings, Zibych greatly influenced us. You come to dinner, and there is a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. What wonderful times those were! We visited a lot of places with him and spent a variety of weekends. They lived and enjoyed themselves next to Klaus. And the result was shown! Naturally, they worked a lot, but they also knew how to relax. An invaluable person, and his advice is the same.

- Is there a temptation to follow the maternal path of Daria Domracheva?
- While I’m in sports, we don’t think about children. I discussed the situation with my husband, whether I want to continue my career. We came to the conclusion that we had so many years of training behind us, and as long as it’s interesting to compete and there’s motivation, why not run? And we’ll talk about motherhood after sports.

- Have you thought about where you will live after finishing your career?
- Next to my husband. If we suddenly get ready to go to Australia, I will go there with him. And so - in Finland. In general, I understand that I am happy now. Of course, right at this moment you can find some kind of negativity and get upset. But what will this give? It’s easier to be happy with what you have, enjoy it and try to increase it. Maybe yesterday I was dissatisfied with something, but today I found some good points in it. Let's stop there.

Anastasia Kinnunen (Duborezova) is a relay medalist at the Biathlon World Cup and a young mother. Last summer, the Belarusian married Finnish Ari Kinnunen, and in August this year gave birth to a daughter, Sophia-Lumi (translated from Finnish as “snow”). Now Anastasia lives in two countries and is getting used to Scandinavian life in the “hygge” style. The biathlete told the site why Belarusian biathlon will be alive even without Domracheva and Blashko and why her husband nicknamed her spiderwoman.

About Spiderwoman's status

We met my future husband Ari in Kontiolahti. He came up after one of the training sessions and spoke to me. It often happens that one of the representatives of the sports complex or fans contacts us, and if there is a minute, I am always happy to carry on the conversation. I didn’t know who Ari was: for example, he could be the worker who prepared the snow for us. Why not stop and say thank you? True, the assumption did not work - he is not from the sports field (Ari Kinnunen works at an insurance company.. We exchanged a few words, nothing more. And then Ari found me on social networks. He noticed that our biathlon suits reminded him of Spidermen. I said : “Let’s at least meet Spiderwoman.”

About dating between races

Ari came to training camps, the European Championships and some stages of the World Cup, but tried not to interfere with my concentration. He supported me along the distance and let me feel a man’s shoulder. Although during competitions it is difficult to fill the days with romance. We rarely saw each other - only after the races we went out together for the sunset. All the romance was left for vacation - there I was already free and didn’t owe anyone anything. At the World Cup stages I constantly felt a burden of responsibility and pressure. I knew how much money the country invests in biathlon, and came out with the idea that I should work it off. After the birth of my daughter, I train relaxed and for my own pleasure, understanding that no one is funding my training.

About blue-eyed Finns who love saunas and forests

The part of Scandinavia where my husband is from is not too far from Belarus to talk about a huge difference in mentality. I live in North Karelia, near St. Petersburg. The inhabitants of this part of Finland have something from the Russians, something from the Europeans. Perhaps I would be amazed by the way of life in the far north of Finland, but in North Karelia I feel almost at home. Our Finnish friends are quite sociable, although in general these people are called taciturn. They love national holidays - they celebrate Christmas and Yuhannus (analogous to our Kupala) on a large scale. It is stereotypically believed that the typical Finn is blond and blue eyes, loving the bathhouse and the forest. Well, my husband Ari fits that description perfectly.

About Belarusian designers and Scandinavian style

I don’t at all want to seem like I belong in Finland, I’m an adult and I understand: I’m Belarusian, period. My Finnish friends ask with interest about Belarusian culture and religion, and I invite them to visit. It turns out that I didn’t even know many of our traditions. After all, sport takes up a large part of life, so there is not enough time to delve into any traditions other than family ones.

The Scandinavian lifestyle has not changed much in me, except perhaps the style of clothing. Now I choose the sports option not only for training, but also on weekdays. I also enjoy warming myself with knitted socks - the weather here is very conducive to this. Although I also love Belarusian designers. She even looked for a wedding dress made by us - she didn’t want to get married in a dress made in China. There are many talented people in Belarus, and I am always pleased that my clothes are made by Belarusian hands.

About the standard of living of Finns and Belarusians

Is Belarus 93 positions behind Finland in terms of prosperity? Well, maybe the wealth of the residents Northern Europe and higher. But the Finns pay huge taxes (up to 36% on private income. - Note.. The number of jobs there has been optimized: three people work on the Finnish border, and not 50 border guards, like we or the Russians. They know how to save money. In Finland, as in Belarus, there are very different segments of the population. Although the Finnish middle class may live better. On the Internet they write that young mothers in Finland are given “golden” boxes. In fact, the social benefit per child is 150 euros, and There are about 1,000 of us. In Finland, this benefit can be taken in cash or in a box filled with essentials for the baby.

Posted by Biathlet (@anastasiakinnunen) Oct 1, 2017 at 9:34 am PDT

Finland has a tangible advantage in terms of comfort - it has a well-built barrier-free environment. As a young mother, I can move freely around the city, go everywhere with a stroller and perform the rituals necessary for the child. In the same way, everything is thought out for people with disabilities - at music festivals they even have separate stands for them.

About the Finnish language and motherhood

If I didn’t know English, I would have mastered Finnish a long time ago. And so I understand that there is no great need to quickly learn this language. I know a woman from Thailand who moved to Finland without knowing the English or even the Latin alphabet. She quickly mastered everything - “absorbed” new knowledge like a child.

For some time I went to a language school, and now I’m learning Finnish on my own - after all, my daughter’s second language. My husband doesn’t quite understand why he needs to learn Russian and not Belarusian. We agreed that at first Ari would communicate with her daughter in Finnish, and I would communicate in Russian. They named their daughter Sophia-Lumi. Her Finnish name translates to "snow". Of course, this is symbolic for me. By the way, in Finland there are many names that are also common nouns.

About the biathlon family and Klaus Siebert

After marriage, Kaisa Makarainen wrote to me: "Welcome to the Finnish family!". I am pleased with the pleasant communication with athletes from various national teams. The Belarusian team and I enjoyed going to media dinners and light parties after the end of the season. Biathlon definitely has an international family club.

Posted by Darya Domracheva (@dadofun) Dec 13, 2014 at 5:21 PST

Klaus Siebert helped Belarusians become part of the international biathlon family. He taught us not to strain ourselves mentally and to go to the races with a cool head. Klaus liked to say: “Relax and concentrate - relax and collect yourself!”. Before Klaus, our biathlon was a little like the army: “I got up and went!”. Coaches from the post-Soviet space sometimes do not fully understand that results are needed not only by them, but primarily by us. Athletes are adults who must listen to their own feelings. Siebert knew how to find balance and supported the biathletes in their thoughts and feelings. He did not put pressure on us, but repeated: “Biathlon is a big game. When you relax, that’s when everything works out.”.

About the Belarusian biathlon without Domracheva and Blashko

I believe that our biathlon has a good future even after the leaders retire. In Belarus there is a separate group that works with the reserve and tracks talents. Of course, after the departure of Dasha Domracheva, it will take time for a change of generations, but there are young people who want and can show results. I would not say that without Domracheva there will be no Belarusian biathlon. Of course, Dasha has done a lot for our sport. But before her there were great athletes - Elena Zubrilova, Svetlana Paramygina.

Posted by Darya Domracheva (@dadofun) Feb 10, 2015 at 2:52 PST

I can’t say that I was very surprised to join the Ukrainian team. Rather, I am annoyed by this decision. I am an adult and I know how much money our state allocates for the training of biathletes. Therefore, it is sad that such transitions happen. Although I don’t fully know what happened between the athlete and the federation, and I don’t presume to judge.

About returning to big sport

I can't watch competitions while sitting in front of the TV. I want to go to the track and participate in races. At the same time, I no longer dream of a nomadic life with packing for 20 days, because now I have family everyday life - warm and very interesting. I feel cozy from the Scandinavian hygge lifestyle - buns, fireplace and beauty all around.

Of course, it’s nice to remember your career and sports childhood. I recently came to visit my mother in Belarus and went roller skiing there, and once upon a time the grass along these paths was taller than me. I didn’t perform for the second half of last season and maintained relations with the team only by phone and the Internet. Before the stage in Kontiolahti, girls from the Belarusian team came to visit us. now we have common topic for conversations - children. My husband smoked fish national recipe, and I cared about a good atmosphere.

Will I return to big sport? Time will tell. I became a mother less than two months ago, so I haven’t started full-time training yet. I plan to get on the snow in October, and then it will be clear whether I can return to the World Cup level. Dasha Domracheva managed to win a medal at the World Championships four months after the birth of her child. Why not? Although I wouldn't compare us. Biathlon is a very interesting sport, and Dasha knows how to play it beautifully.

Sportbox.ru collected all the personal news from famous biathletes that happened during the off-season.

Malyshko got married

And his bride Ekaterina became parents in 2015, but they decided to postpone the wedding ceremony for a year. The event took place last summer in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, for which the Olympic champion competes. Guests at the wedding were biathlete Anton Shipulin, skier Ivan Alypov, skeleton athlete Olga Potylitsyna and other famous Russian athletes.

Soukalova got married

One of the most charming biathletes in the world, who won the Big Crystal Globe, got married at the end of the season. Her chosen one was the Czech badminton player Petr Koukal, with whom Gabriela dated for several years. The couple did not pay attention to the signs and got married in May on Friday the 13th, trying to make the ceremony as private as possible. The Koukalov couple asked their guests - and there were about 120 of them - not to give gifts for the wedding, but to send money for the treatment of a little Czech boy and his mother who had been in a car accident. In honor of supporting the charity, the guests, led by the newlyweds, took photos with red clown noses.

Duborezova laughed at rumors about her husband

In the Belarusian national team, two athletes tied the knot at once. married a Finnish citizen named Kinnunen. At first, everyone decided that we were talking about the coach of the Finnish national team, but Duborezova laughed at this assumption. The duo celebrated the occasion with a joint morning training session the next day. And now Duborezova will perform under a new name.

Domracheva and Bjoerndalen became parents

The main headliners of the off-season are another Belarusian and. Journalists spent the whole season torturing the Norwegian whether he would end his career in 2016 or not. However, Bjoerndalen revealed the main surprise without pressure from the press - in early April he announced that he would become a father. His relationship with Domracheva had lasted for several years, but only the news of pregnancy became the reason to officially announce the love of the two strongest biathletes in the world. In July, the international duo posted the only photo from their wedding. Apparently, it took place in Minsk, where Domracheva chose to stay throughout her pregnancy.

And on October 1, the Belarusian woman gave birth to a daughter, Ksenia. Bjoerndalen was present at the birth and supported his wife.

The Norwegian will start the season alone, but in 2017 Domracheva plans to join him at international competitions.

Semerenko and Nowakowska-Ziemniak became mothers, Fak became father

Who entered her name into Olympic history in 2014, has not pleased fans with her performances for a long time. First she treated her injuries, and then she was expecting a child. At the end of September, 30-year-old Vita and her husband, former football player Andrei Patsyuk, became the parents of little Mark. He was born in Canada. The press, in the best traditions, first attributed motherhood to Valentina Semerenko. However, the sister denied this information and wished her closest relative and nephew good health. Valentina, by the way, like Vita, will miss the upcoming season due to health problems. Both promise to return to action for the Olympic season.

She will definitely not forget the birth of her first child - a daughter. He was training on a significant day and during the race the athlete was bitten on the lip by a wasp. Fak's mouth was swollen and he had to finish the workout with a huge ice pack on his face. Suddenly the bell rang: the baby was about to be born! The Slovenian rushed to his wife and helped her endure contractions while his face grew and grew in size. “This is a very special event,” Fak shared about the birth of his daughter. - I forget about biathlon while holding Mila in my arms. No problems are important at these moments.”