Zueva comments her Mass Start performance at 2026 Olympic Games

Marina Zueva failed to advance past the semifinal stage in the Women’s Mass Start at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan.

In the first semifinal, the Belarusian finished in 11th place. The top eight advanced to the next stage. The final will take place at 19:15 Minsk time.

In 2018, she finished sixth in the mass start, and in 2022 she was seventh.

After the semifinal mass start race, Marina Zueva summed up her performance in Milan

“I had a tactic for the mass start, first, to give it my all. It was necessary to go for the intermediate sprints, and more than just one. I understood that one intermediate sprint would clearly not be enough for me to score points. I knew I also had to change positions at a slow speed and do something unexpected. I tried to make a surge at a slow speed, but my rivals reacted to me as if to a red flag. This happened at all stages of the World Cup: I make an acceleration, and instantly everyone starts to chase. It works if those behind hesitate for 2-3 seconds; then I already have an advantage of five to ten meters. It’s always easier to break away than to chase. But in Milan, everyone reacted immediately, and I spent all my energy on that acceleration. Perhaps I gave too much to that lap. Plus, mass starts in Russia or Belarus are different. I’ve lost a bit of that skill. It’s completely different here: a real mass start, with many accelerations and position changes.”

Zueva prepared for the mass start after her performance in the 5000m, where she finished sixth, alongside Russian athlete Anastasia Semenova.

“I’m glad I got the opportunity to race the mass start. I’m certainly not happy with the result or how it all turned out. At previous Games, I was in the final. But that’s just the nature of this race. I need to watch the video replay, break it all down, figure out what the best acceleration opportunities were, and study all my mistakes. I need to avoid them next time.”

Press service of the NOC of Belarus

Photos by the NOC of Belarus