Aleksander Wierietielny: all three Crystal Globes were something very special for us

Aleksander Wierietielny knows that success can only come through hard work. Therefore, Justyna Kowalczyk that he trains works very hard, but an award awaits her at the end of the huge effort she puts into training and competing. This season, she won the trophy for the best skier of the World Cup for the third time in a row. The coach of the Polish champion tells us how hard that was.

- Was it difficult to win the Crystal Globe for the second time?

- Very hard. It was a difficult season; we had to take part in virtually all competitions and we only skipped two sprints in Dusseldorf and Liberec. Therefore, at the very end of the season we already felt the hardships of all those competitions.

- Does the triumph after a hard struggle taste unique?

- All three Crystal Globes were something very special for us. I would also like to emphasize that each of them was won after a hard struggle and no success came without hard work. There were many sacrifices and sufferings.

- What was the difference between this year’s cup and the previous one?

- First of all, Justyna was second in the majority of competitions. And I have to admit that I do not know what to do about it. If it was only about changing the training strategy, it would be no problem, but there are completely other aspects, let’s call them medical, at stake. I know that Justyna trains very hard, more than others. Thus her successes, but there are things we cannot do anything about. I know that if Justyna had a document certifying that she is asthmatic, she would be invincible this season. Nevertheless, I want to assure you that we are not going to induce asthma in any way.

- Are you going, as last year, to a sanatorium in Kamchatka to regenerate when all the competitions are over?

- We are, since we have great conditions there to regenerate after a difficult season. There are hot springs, peloids, therapeutic mud baths. All this helped us a lot last year, though we realised that as late as in October, when Justyna told me that she felt no pain after the hard training period. It is extremely important.

- It seems that in the next season Justyna Kowalczyk will still be the only skier to compete with the Scandinavian coalition?

- Indeed, after Petra Majdić and Italian Follis left, it will probably be so, although we hope that Russians will improve their performance and maybe someone else will appear. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for Justysia to compete, particularly in mass start races, where team tactics is involved. It is difficult to do it alone, but Justyna will definitely not give in.

Interview by Małgorzata Ziemba.