Timofey Lapshin, whose biography is presented in the article, is a famous Russian biathlete who recently changed his citizenship to South Korean. He is a World and European medalist and winner of several relay races.
Biography
Timofey Lapshin was born in February 1988 in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk. Here the young man began attending the biathlon section, where he showed excellent results.
Having moved to Moscow, Timofey Lapshin continued to train at the capital's Youth Sports School No. 43, where two-time Olympic champion Olga Zaitseva once trained.
Youth level performances
Starting from 2009, Timofey Lapshin was a member of the Russian youth team. At the World Championships in Kenmore, he became a silver medalist as part of the relay team. In the same year, at the youth continental championship in the same discipline, the Russians became the best.
In 2010, Lapshin made his debut at the IBU Cup. A year later, he won the individual race for the first time in Martello (Italy). Also this yearat the world championship in summer biathlon, Lapshin won a silver medal in the pursuit race, losing less than one second to the winner - Slovak Matej Kazar.
In 2011, Timofey again went to the U-26 European Championship, held in Val Ridanna, Italy. Here he finished fourth in the sprint and second in the relay race.
Performances at the World Cups
Thanks to good performance at the junior and youth levels, biathlete Timofey Lapshin in 2011 was called up to the main team of the Russian team. His debut came in the sprint race in Hochfilzen, Austria, where the 23-year-old finished 23rd. However, in the next sprint, he showed himself simply brilliantly: Lapshin became the third and for the first time climbed the podium for himself. Timofey managed to surpass his achievement in that season at the stage in Kontiolahti, where he became the second.
The next two seasons, Lapshin practically did not compete at the World Cup stages, entering the track only eight times, and not showing the expected results. The reason for this was the low accuracy of the athlete's shooting. In 2013, at the European Championships in Bansko, Timofey won a bronze medal in the pursuit race.
The biathlete was given a second chance after the Olympic Games in Sochi. The 2014/2015 season went pretty well for Lapshin. First there was a victory in the relay race at the World Cup in Hochfilzen. In Oberhoff, Timofey Lapshin, together with Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Shipulin and Evgeny Garanichev, not only repeated his success, but also became third in the sprint. On the nextrelay race in Ruhpolding, the Russians also climbed the podium, taking third place.
Unfortunately, the biathlete failed the second part of the season due to problems with shooting accuracy. As a result, he lost his place in the Russian national team. In the 2015/2016 season, he participated in only four races in which he never entered the top thirty athletes.
Change of citizenship and personal life
In early 2017, Timofey Lapshin became a citizen of South Korea. He explained his act by saying that this is the only way a biathlete will be able to compete for a medal at the home Olympics in 2018 that have become for him. He had practically no chance to break into the Russian national team.
Lapshin was not the first Russian athlete to play for South Korea. Previously, such biathletes as Alexander Starodubets, Ekaterina Avvakumova and Anna Frolina moved here.
In addition to changing citizenship, 2017 brought dramatic changes in Lapshin's personal life. Everyone has long known about his relationship with Olga Abramova, a former Russian biathlete who has been part of the Ukrainian national team since 2012. Recently, a girl in social networks boasted an engagement ring. So soon the biathlon world will be replenished with another married couple.
