Some are attracted by the sea; others are pulled by irresistible forces into the mountains... However, some dream of the sky and the vast air spaces; they like the aircraft steering wheel, the sensation of flight and overcoming the force of gravity. 21-year-old Igor Malinovskii, the most titled junior biathlete, is exactly this kind of person who cannot imagine his life without the sky… and biathlon.

Two Passions

Igor’s love of the sky was genetic. Malinovskii's father is a pilot, and as long as the athlete remembers himself, he was always "obsessed" with the sky. He dreamed of faraway flights, incredibly beautiful views from the cabin of an airplane or a helicopter, imagining how the heavy machine obeys his will, soaring up. Malinovskii dreamed of the sky, but, after falling in love with biathlon, he tries to balance the two greatest life passions in his heart.

Began to Conquer the Sky

The passion for flying became clear when the future biathlete turned 3-years-old. It was at this age when the father began to take his son on flights. “Of course, I do not remember this; know only from my parents’ sayings.” And with laughter, he adds, “Dad said that if he did not want to take me with him, then I went into loud hysterics... So slowly with my father, I began to conquer the sky.” His love for biathlon came a little later when he was 11-years -old. At that time, in Kamchatka, the place where Malinovskii was born and raised, the first Fatyanov memorial was held; the brightest biathlon stars came to participate. Since then, two great passions live in the young man’s heart.

Entirely Devote Yourself

In Kamchatka there were no conditions for doing sports professionally, so the young athlete moved to Omsk. In this city, there is a Civil Aviation Technical College where Malinovskii wanted to study. Everything went well, biathlon and aviation stayed close by in his life. Although sometimes Igor still had doubts about how to balance his life between the sky and the track... It is quite difficult to devote yourself entirely to these two occupations at the same time. Yet for now, Malinovskii successfully conquers both peaks. At the moment, he does not know how long his career in sports will last. Unlike some other athletes who might be looking with some apprehension and sorrow in the future without biathlon, he is convinced that life will not lose bright colors for him. After all, he has another career ahead of him, flying.

This is Destiny

Igor’s childhood was always bright; illuminated by the sky, sunrises, and sunsets, flights with his father. “When at an early age I flew with my father on gyroplanes, I was always amazed by his skill and ability to fly the aircraft; he liked to do all these sorts of tricks... Everyone who flew with him said that he is an ace.” Malinovskii admits that he also had a desire to fly a plane, but eventually he chose helicopters because his father was the pilot of this aircraft. At the college, his studies were connected with the Mi-8 helicopter. And this evokes a broad smile on the face of the always positive athlete: "If you sort by letters my name, first name and patronymic, you get the MIV (МИВ – Ми-8, in Russian). Well, this is destiny!”

Cannot Afford Mistakes

Malinovskii believes that biathlon came to his life not by chance, because it is this kind of sport which educates a person in composure, develops diligence, demands great devotion. These qualities are also necessary for the pilots. “Biathlon definitely helps; the pilots should be able to coolly weigh the non-standard situations and always stay calm. Another common thing in aviation and biathlon is that there is that you cannot afford mistakes. Doing sports often helps me to find balance. During the study, you start to get tired from the lessons, and it is impossible to stay without training. There I get a charge of vivacity and good mood…” Adding with a smile, “Without this, I cannot live anymore.”

Photos: personal archive