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Alexander Bolshunov

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Template:Eastern Slavic name

Alexander Bolshunov
Bolshunov in 2019
Country Russia
Full nameAlexander Aleksandrovich Bolshunov
Born (1996-12-31) 31 December 1996 (age 27)
Podyvotye, Sevsky District, Bryansk Oblast, Russia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
World Cup career
Seasons2017–
Starts75
Podiums38
Wins17
Overall titles1 – (2020)
Discipline titles2 – (DI in 2019/2020)
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
International nordic ski competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 3 1
World Championships 0 4 0
Total 0 7 1
Representing
 Olympic Athletes from Russia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang 4 × 10 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang 50 km classical
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang Individual sprint
Representing  Russia
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Seefeld 30 km skiathlon
Silver medal – second place 2019 Seefeld 50 km freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2019 Seefeld Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2019 Seefeld 4 × 10 km relay
U23 World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Soldier Hollow 15 km freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2017 Soldier Hollow 30 km skiathlon
Silver medal – second place 2017 Soldier Hollow Individual sprint
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Râșnov 4 × 5 km relay
Updated on 12 March 2020.

Alexander Aleksandrovich Bolshunov (Russian: Александр Александрович Большунов; born 31 December 1996) is a Russian cross-country skier and winner of the 14th Tour de Ski.[1] He is the first male post-Soviet Russian World Cup champion, winning the overall World Cup in 2020.

Career

2013–17: Twofold U23 World Champion

Bolshunov was born in Podyvotye in the Bryansk Oblast, located just several kilometres from the Russian-Ukraine border. It was there were he started his sports career with his coach and father Alexander Ivanovich Bolshunov.[2] In 2011, his father brought him to the Bryansk sports school for ski-cross skiing, where he was coached by Merited Coach of Russia N. I. Nekhitrov.[3] The first victories on nationals came a year ago, when on 6 February 2013 Bolshunov took the first place in 10 km classic in a tournament taking place in the Tver Oblast.[4]

On 17 March 2014, Bolshunov won the 20 km skiathlon event at the Russian Junior Nationals,[5] resulting Bolshunov being bestowed the honorary Master of Sports of Russia.[6] After the nationals he was invited to the junior team. A year later he participated in the sprint event of the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, but failed to qualify for the sprint final, leaving him without medals.[7] In the following Youth Championships in Rasnov, Romania, his best result was 2nd, in the relay event.[8]

In 2017, Bolshunov took part in the FIS U23 World Ski Championships in the venue Soldier Hollow, Utah, United States, where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. He won silver in sprint,[9] and a few days later he won the 15 km individual freestyle event.[10] The skiathlon event was marked by a memorable performance by Bolshunov, Alexey Chervotkin and Denis Spitsov, who entered the finish line hand in hand.[11] Bolshunov was declared the winner.[12] As a result, Bolshunov was conferred the highest honorary sports title of Russia, "International Master of Sports".[13]

2017–18: FIS World Cup debut

Bolshunov's first major senior tournament in which he competed were the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti, Finland, finishing 26th in sprint and 15th in skiatlon. In the 2016–17 season he entered his first FIS World Cup stage in Drammen, Norway, in March 2017, finishing 9th. He won his first podium in the next season in the third Stage World Cup in Ruka, Finland, on 26 November, in 15 km freestyle pursuit.[14] In the overall standings of the three Ruka stages, the "Ruka Triple", he was placed third.[15] He showed strong results by the year's end, finishing four times in the third places.

After the 2017–18 Tour de Ski – in the 15 km pursuit stage he reached the third-place – Bolshunov missed a handful of WC stages to prepare for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. At the Olympics, he rebounded by winning three silver medals and one bronze medal. He won his first Olympic medal in sprint classical, losing only to Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Federico Pellegrino. Bolshunov then won medals in team sprint freestyle, 4 × 10 km relay and 50 km classical.

2018–19: Distance Cup winner

In March, Bolshunov reached the second place in a WC stage for the first time in his career, in the 15 km classical event in Lahti. He also finished third in a WC stage in Drammen, now in sprint classical. By the season's end, Bolshunov won the World Cup Final after winning the 15 km classical mass start and 15 km freestyle pursuit stages.[16] In the overall World Cup standings he was placed 5th.[17]

In the 2018–19 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season, Bolshunov won the first two WC stages in Ruka, in sprint classical and 15 km classical, receiving the yellow bib as a result. Bolshunov led in the overall standings after fifteen stages until being replaced by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo during the Tour de Ski.

Before the World Championships, Bolshunov clinched another stage win in Italian Cogne in 15 km classical. Bolshunov debuted at the World and won four silver medals in 30 km skiathlon, 50 km freestyle mass start, as well as in team sprint and 4 × 10 km relay. On 9 March he won another stage in 50 km classical mass start in Holmenkollen, returning the yellow bib after Klæbo's poor performance there. As a result, Bolshunov at age 22 became not only the youngest winner of the marathon stage, but also the youngest winner of the Distance Cup, claiming the Small Crystal Globe.[18]

2019–20: Tour de Ski champion, World Cup overall winner

Bolshunov started the 2019–20 FIS Cross-Country World Cup by participating in the mini-event 2019 Nordic Opening, where he was positioned fifth in the overall ranking. He won the next stage in Lillehammer, for the first time in the 30 km skiathlon classic and freestyle event. Bolshunov entered the 2019–20 Tour de Ski by reaching the third place in 15 km mass start freestyle. He went on reaching five out of six podium places in the next stages, only failing in the first sprint stage in Lenzerheide, stopping in the semifinals. Although he won only one stage, and five times finished third, he took the first position in the overall ranking, becoming the third Russian to do so. After this victory he was awarded the yellow bib which was previously possessed by Klæbo and which he wore throughout the rest of the season. He went on winning three back-to-back long distance stages, doing so in Nové Město and Oberstdorf.

Prior to the FIS Ski Tour 2020, Bolshunov finished third in the sprint and first in 15 km mass start stage, both in Falun. In the inaugural Ski Tour, Bolshunov led in the overall standings after the 5th stage, but in the 6th stage following an ill-conceived preparation of the skies by the team staff, who hoped the snowfall would stop soon and so decided not to use the no wax anti-ice method, Bolshunov finished 7th.[19][20] In the same month, in February, Bolshunov took the second position in 15 km classic in Lahti. He finished the season by winning the 50 km classic mass start event in Oslo and went on winning the overall World Cup ahead of schedule after the remaining stages did not take place due to the coronavirus outbreak. He became the first Russian male ski-cross skier to win the World Cup since Soviet Vladimir Smirnov, who won the 1991 edition. He also won his second consecutive Distance Cup title.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[21]

Olympic Games

  • 4 medals – (3 silver, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   15 km 
individual 		 30 km 
 skiathlon  		 50 km 
mass start 		 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay  		 Team 
 sprint 
2018 21 — — Silver Bronze Silver Silver

World Championships

  • 4 medals – (4 silver)
 Year   Age   15 km 
individual 		 30 km 
 skiathlon  		 50 km 
mass start 		 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay  		 Team 
 sprint 
2017 20 — 15 — 26 — —
2019 22 8 Silver Silver 11 Silver Silver

World Cup

Season titles

  • 3 titles – (1 Overall, 2 Distance)
Season
Discipline
2019 Distance
2020 Overall
Distance

Season standings

 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint U23 Nordic
Opening 		Tour de
Ski 		Ski Tour
2020 		World Cup
Final
2017 20 100 — 49 8 — — — —
2018 21 5 9 6 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 — 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2019 22 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 5 — 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2020 23 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 — 5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 —

Individual podiums

  • 17 victories – (14 WC, 3 SWC)
  • 38 podiums – (24 WC, 14 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1  2017–18  24–26 November 2017 Finland Nordic Opening Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
2 2 December 2017 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 1.5 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd
3 9 December 2017 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 1.5 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
4 10 December 2017 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
5 1 January 2018 Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland 15 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 3rd
6 4 March 2018 Finland Lahti, Finland 15 km Individual C World Cup 1st
7 7 March 2018 Norway Drammen, Norway 1.2 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd
8 17 March 2018 Sweden Falun, Sweden 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 1st
9 16–18 March 2018 Sweden World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 1st
10  2018–19  24 November 2018 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 1.5 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
11 25 November 2018 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 15 km Individual C World Cup 1st
12 30 December 2018 Italy Toblach, Italy 15 km Individual F Stage World Cup 3rd
13 3 January 2019 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 15 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 3rd
14 5 January 2019 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd
15 19 January 2019 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 1.6 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
16 20 January 2019 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
17 17 February 2019 Italy Cogne, Italy 15 km Individual C World Cup 1st
18 9 March 2019 Norway Oslo, Norway 50 km Mass Start C World Cup 1st
19 17 March 2019 Sweden Falun, Sweden 15 km Individual F World Cup 1st
20 24 March 2019 Canada Quebec City, Canada 15 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 2nd
21 24 March 2019 Canada World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
22  2019–20  7 December 2019 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st
23 28 December 2019 Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland 15 km Mass Start F Stage World Cup 3rd
24 31 December 2019 Italy Toblach, Italy 15 km Individual F Stage World Cup 3rd
25 1 January 2020 Italy Toblach, Italy 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 1st
26 3 January 2020 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd
27 4 January 2020 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 1.5 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 3rd
28 5 January 2020 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 10 km Mass Start F Stage World Cup 3rd
29 28 December 2019
– 5 January 2020		  Switzerland Italy Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 1st
30 18 January 2020 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 15 km Individual F World Cup 1st
31 19 January 2020 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 15 km Pursuit C World Cup 1st
32 25 January 2020 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st
33 8 February 2020 Sweden Falun, Sweden 1.4 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd
34 9 February 2020 Sweden Falun, Sweden 15 km Mass Start F World Cup 1st
35 16 February 2020 Sweden Östersund, Sweden 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 2nd
36 20 February 2020 Norway Meråker, Norway 34 km Mass Start F Stage World Cup 1st
37 29 February 2020 Finland Lahti, Finland 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
38 8 March 2020 Norway Oslo, Norway 50 km Mass Start C World Cup 1st

Team podiums

  • 2 podiums – (2 RL)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1  2018–19  9 December 2018 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Belov / Spitsov / Melnichenko
2 27 January 2019 Sweden Ulricehamn, Sweden 4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Larkov / Melnichenko / Ustiugov

References

  1. ^ Bolshunov, Alexander at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
  2. ^ "Биография российского лыжника Александра Большунова" [Biography of Russian skier Alexander Bolshunov] (in Russian). TASS. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  3. ^ "Тренер: на лыжи бронзового призера Олимпийских игр Большунова поставил его отец" [Coach: Olympic Bronze Medalist Bolshunov Was Put on Skis by His Father] (in Russian). TASS. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  4. ^ "Результаты - д. Гришкино (Тверская область) - ЭСПУ - 10 км КЛ" [Results - village Grishkino (Tver Oblast) - 10 km C] (in Russian). Cross Country Ski Federation of Russia. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  5. ^ "Первенство России по лыжным гонкам среди юниоров и юниорок 1994/1995 г.р. - Официальный итоговый протокол - Скиатлон, юниоры, 10 км КЛ + 10 км СВ" [Russian Junior Championships for Sportspeople Born in 1994–95] (PDF) (in Russian). Cross Country Ski Federation of Russia. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  6. ^ "Приказ "О присвоении спортивного звания "Мастер спорта России"" [Order "On Awarding the Sports Honorary Title "Master of Sports of Russia"] (in Russian). Ministry of Sport of Russia. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  7. ^ "2015 FIS Junior World Ski Championships - Men's SP C Final Official results". FIS. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  8. ^ "2016 FIS Junior World Ski Championships - Men's Rel 4x5 km F Official results". FIS. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  9. ^ "2017 FIS U23 World Ski Championships - Men's SP C Final Official results". FIS. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  10. ^ "2017 FIS U23 World Ski Championships - Men's 15 km F Official results". FIS. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  11. ^ А. Романов (5 February 2017). "«Такого никогда не видел»: российские лыжники устроили шоу на финише чемпионата мира в США" ["Never Seen Something Like That": Russian Skiers Performed a Show at the Finish of the Worlds in the USA] (in Russian). russian.rt.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  12. ^ "2017 FIS U23 World Ski Championships - Men's Skiathlon 15km/15km C/F Official results". FIS. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  13. ^ "Приказ "О присвоении спортивного звания "Мастер спорта России международного класса"" [Order "On Awarding the Honorary Sports Title "International Master of Sports"] (in Russian). Ministry of Sport of Russia. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  14. ^ Ruka (FIN) – Stage World Cup – Men's 15 km F Pursuit – Official Results
  15. ^ Ruka Triple – Stage 3 of 3
  16. ^ WORLD CUP FINAL MEN
  17. ^ 2018 Cup Standings
  18. ^ Большунов — самый молодой победитель дистанционного зачёта Кубка мира в истории
  19. ^ «Ски Тур»: Норвегия выбрала лыжи для сильного снегопада, Россия — для более хорошей погоды
  20. ^ Paal Golberg stunned about Ski Tour 2020 victory
  21. ^ "Alexander Bolshunov". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
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