Hero and superman. In memory of Klaus Siebert. Person of the Year. Klaus Siebert: you need to learn to understand the mentality of the country in which you work “In Belarus, people are reserved and secretive. But in professional sports this is not possible.”

Vadim Knyrko - about the coach who made Domracheva a three-time champion of Sochi 2014.

– I have won many awards as a coach. But every time after a victory I felt a special feeling. And I don’t care what country the athlete is from. Today I work in Belarus, which means I am Belarusian. And when he worked in China, he was Chinese. This is my philosophy.

Klaus Siebert “was a Belarusian” for six years. He joined our team in 2008. Like almost any visiting foreigner, the German was received with coolness. Not everyone, but some greeted him with distrust - despite the fact that Klaus had almost never lost to anyone before as a coach.

But he had a name long before Belarus and Domracheva. With his own hands, Siebert sculpted four-time Olympic champion Ricco Gross, whom he trained for 14 years. From 1998 to 2002 he was part of the coaching staff of a very successful German team. Afterwards he worked successfully in Austria and finally went to China for a couple of years to raise the girls there. Which, by the way, fell after Siebert left for Belarus.

At first, Klaus led our entire team, and only after some time the BSE decided to focus the German on working with women. The move was two hundred percent justified. Two years after arriving in Belarus, the talented Daria Domracheva became the bronze medalist in Vancouver - the first female medalist after Svetlana Paramygina. Siebert received a new four-year contract, meaning the German had exactly one Olympic cycle to perfect his life's blueprint.

Actually, yes. Domracheva was Siebert's project. Klaus got his hands on a young hot girl who smeared 4-5 times in a sprint. But gradually the coach turned Domracheva into a machine that learned to skillfully use its advantages and minimize its disadvantages. Together with Siebert, Daria found a balance between her moves and shooting. Under the Germans, Domracheva’s shooting accuracy increased from 76-78 percent to 84-85.

And after all, Siebert helped not only Daria, but also the rest of the girls’ team. Helped Scardino become one of the best snipers of the winter season. Helped the women's relay race to beat the men's relay for the first time in many years and get closer to the prizes. Yes, he loved to help, loved people, and people reciprocated his feelings.

“He gave the athletes great shooting skills, and could disappear for days at the shooting range,” Olympic champion Bjorn Ferry shares his observations. “He was popular with everyone: everyone wanted to talk to him. He was so open that even at the first communication it could seem to you that you had known him for a very long time.

The Belarusians did not mince their words either. Daria Domracheva several times called the German “my hero.” Nadezhda Scardino in her latest wrote a lot of warm words about Klaus - “Superman”, “Zibushka”, “biathlon dad”...

Perhaps Klaus would have remained a “Belarusian” until now, but at the end of 2010 his life changed once and for all. Siebert now has one more opponent. Only, unlike the opponent on the ski track, it was impossible to skate up the hill. Klaus was given a terrible diagnosis - advanced stage of colon cancer. Before the New Year 2011, Siebert was operated on and soon completed the first course of chemotherapy. But even after the “chemistry” Klaus did not break down and did not give up on Belarus - Zibych came and continued his work.

- “Chemistry”? “I can’t call her severe or sick,” Klaus later said. – Yes, it’s not easy. But I see it as just another battle.

Despite health problems, Siebert came to the Games in Sochi in 2014. Klaus just wanted to experience these emotions next to Domracheva and the rest of the team, probably realizing that this was his last time. After the final relay, Zibych wishes to all that he is leaving Belarus and will continue treatment in his homeland.

However, Klaus did not completely abandon biathlon. The German coach continued to help the athletes individually. Last summer, ex-German Mihi Resch and Latvian Andrei Rastorguev came to him for shooting classes. True, the training lasted no more than a month or two.

Klaus passed away on Sunday, five days shy of his 61st birthday. Left undefeated. After all, no one will defeat his Domracheva.

Over the years, Siebert shone both as a direct participant in biathlon battles and as a leader of the strongest athletes to triumph. But first things first.

Klaus was born on April 29, 1955 in the German city of Schlettau, which is located in the eastern part of Germany, which was then called the GDR.

It is very symbolic to tell about Klaus first: the World Cup, the struggle for which we watch with bated breath, year after year, dates back to 1978, in that season Siebert took second position in the overall standings, behind only Frank Ullrich. In the 1978/1979 season, Klaus won the coveted trophy. The following year he again became the vice-holder of the Crystal Globe.

During these years, Klaus repeatedly became the World Champion. His collection of awards also includes a silver medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.

During his sports career, Klaus Siebert was one of the strongest biathletes, was among the world elite and, of course, contributed to the development of biathlon.

The biographies of many great athletes end on a similar note, but for our hero this was only the end of the first chapter of his activity in biathlon, because next comes the beginning of Klaus’s coaching work, which dragged him along for many decades.

During his work, Klaus Siebert was the coach of the national teams of Germany, Austria, China and Belarus. And with his arrival in the coaching chair, all teams are simply doomed. Yes, yes, they are doomed to inevitable success.

Klaus worked fruitfully with the German men's national team as a second coach from 1998 to 2002. However, Klaus associates his main successes in working with the German national team directly with one of the most titled biathletes, Ricco Gross. Siebert was his personal mentor from 1988 to 2002. During their cooperation, this tandem won 3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze at the Olympics, as well as 5 medals of the highest standard at the World Championships.

There are many rumors about why Klaus stopped working with the German national team, but be that as it may, in 2002 Siebert became the coach of the Austrian shooting team and worked in this position until 2005. During his time with this team, Klaus managed to significantly improve the shooting training of his players. However, due to disagreements with the athletes, Klaus leaves the national team.

...and Kolobok rolled...

Since 2006, Klaus began working with Chinese athletes as a head coach. According to him, they had to overcome many obstacles in order to work together and find the key to success. Undoubtedly, you all remember the successes of the Chinese team in those years. Klaus worked with the Chinese national team until 2008, and at the end of the season he left the team due to extremely difficult working conditions away from home.

In 2008, Siebert signed a contract with Belarus. As soon as he started working with the Belarusian national team, Klaus began polishing all the smallest, but such significant aspects of the biathletes’ work.

"Belarus? Okay, this team can be in the top 6, top 7 in the world. And working with her will be a pleasure.”

Siebert set to work with optimism.

“The Russian and German schools have always competed and it will be interesting to find something new in the discussion that will give results.”

Initially, Klaus was assigned to the entire Belarusian team, but subsequently the Belarusian Biathlon Federation decided to concentrate Siebert’s work only on the women’s team, as it was more competitive.

Soon after starting work as a shooting coach, Siebert also began functional training for the Belarusian national team.

"In professional sports you need to be contactable, open, joyful, strong. Like me."

No matter what team Siebert works with, no matter what he does, he always gives 100%. And, naturally, this approach provides corresponding returns.

“As a coach, I won a lot of medals. But every time after a victory I felt a special feeling. And I don’t care which country’s athlete won the medal. Today I work for Belarus, which means I am a Belarusian. And when I worked in China, I was Chinese. This my philosophy."

Thanks to Siebert, who arrived on time to the coaching staff of the Belarusian national team, the athletes began to progress, increasingly getting into prize points.

His contribution to the development of world biathlon star Daria Domracheva is invaluable. After all, it was largely thanks to Siebert’s vast wealth of experience, his flexible approach to biathletes, and constant support that Dasha was able to realize herself at the highest level.

Despite all the difficulties of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation in terms of funding, Klaus, year after year, selects the optimal training program for biathletes so that the girls continue to progress and achieve more and more success.

"Money means nothing if there is no connection between the athlete and the coach, if the chemistry is not the same. If there is no trust, you can go home."

Belarus and Siebert coincided so much that Zibych, as Belarusian biathletes call Klaus in a friendly manner, became both dad and mom and just a friend for the girls.

Therefore, when Klaus was diagnosed with a severe stage of colon cancer at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season, it was a blow to the entire biathlon family.

Siebert underwent surgery and underwent chemotherapy. All this time, both female biathletes and fans were very worried about Siebert, because he was faced with an extremely serious test of endurance, which, by the way, he coped with, demonstrating amazing fortitude.

Today, having already returned to work, Klaus stubbornly fights the disease, continuing to enjoy life, looking for new joys in it, such as driving a boat. Thus, he serves as an inspiration for his students.

Having gone through all the hardships that fate presented to Klaus, he survived and steps forward, promising to increasingly give us a reason to rejoice.

This is our Invincible Zibych!

The bitterness of this loss permeates through and through. For those who even casually follow the Belarusian biathlon, German coach Klaus Siebert has become closer and dearer than many dozens of local specialists and officials combined. Even after the official end of work with the national team in 2014, Klaus’s presence in the team was invisibly felt. Because the words with which the athletes regularly spoke about their mentor exuded warmth, sincerity and gratitude.

Klaus Siebert. Photo from Sports.ru

If it were not for the serious illness with which Klaus Siebert fought with varying success for several years, he would probably still be happy to work for the benefit of the Belarusian biathlon, because he did not interrupt contacts with it. Sometimes he himself visited the team’s location during tournaments in Europe, sometimes the team visited him, setting up a training camp nearby.

Few manage to earn recognition and adoration in a foreign land. Zibych, as the coaches in the Belarusian national team called him, managed to become one of his own quite quickly. What's the secret here?

“In Belarus, people are reserved and secretive. But in professional sports this is not possible.”

In every country you encounter something unusual. Therefore, first you need to become like a member of the family. You try, strive, adapt, look for compromises, but, as a rule, rapprochement occurs very slowly.<…>But in Belarus people are reserved and secretive. By the way, it was the same in the GDR. And in China it is even worse. But in professional sports this is not possible. You need to be contactable, open, joyful, strong. “Like me,” the coach explained in 2010, after two years of work in our country, in an interview with former biathlete Svetlana Paramygina.

<…>And my decision to stay in Belarus is a decision for the athletes. When athletes are grateful for your work, the coach wants to continue working with them. If people are open with you and, most importantly, honest, it means a lot - more than all the money in the world. Money means nothing if there is no connection between the athlete and the coach, if the chemistry does not match. You know: training is, first of all, trust. If there is no trust, you can go home. And one more thing - there should always be pleasure.

“Today I work for Belarus, which means I am Belarusian”

Does the phrase in the subtitle remind you of anything? Remember the former commander-in-chief of the hockey team Glen Hanlon, with whom the Belarusians made it to the top eight at the world championships three times? He also directly stated: “I am a Belarusian!” The Canadian also paid great attention to creating an atmosphere in the team and emphasized that the team should be one family.

In general, these psychological techniques do not seem to be new, but they work in Belarus.

Daria Domracheva, Lyudmila Kalinchik, Klaus Siebert, Nadezhda Skardino. Belarusian Biathlon Federation

As a coach I won a lot of medals. With Ricco Gross - four Olympic golds. In Salt Lake City, where I was the coach of the German men's team, we had medalists in all disciplines. But every time after a victory I felt a special feeling. And I don’t care which country’s athlete won the medal. Today I work for Belarus, which means I am Belarusian. And when he worked in China, he was Chinese. This is my philosophy,” Siebert said.

"I'm dad, mom, and friend"

In general, Klaus Siebert’s self-control was sometimes admired. In 2012, he had enough restraint not to get involved in a controversy with his odious compatriot Wolfgang Pichler, who was then coaching the Russian national team. A colleague unceremoniously called Siebert a doper, but in the end he was forced to apologize for his scandalous statements.

This is how four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov described the situation: “I’ll tell you about Pichler’s next clown prank. Already here during the World Cup ( in Ruhpolding 2012 - Red.) he shouted at Klaus Siebert, called him a doper and threatened to expose him. And this is addressed to a person who recently suffered a serious illness. Who is Pichler to insult the honored man and real coach Klaus Siebert?”.

The Federation is my boss, its decisions are not discussed

What else distinguished Klaus Siebert was his amazing modesty, tact and ability to get along with his employer and colleagues. For him, not everything was clear about the structure of the sports structure in Belarus; he was unpleasantly surprised by the level of training and basic skills of the athletes, and was upset by the insufficient material equipment of biathlon. But he expressed his opinion on these issues, albeit intelligibly, but very restrained, understanding the peculiarities of the country to which he came. He adequately perceived its financial capabilities and based his work on them.

The Federation is my boss, its decisions are not discussed. In Germany, sponsors give money to the team. This is a federation. And it’s impossible to take five or six more people to a training camp in Austria. This would be real in Russian, American or Swiss biathlon. But Belarus is a small country, and you constantly have to decide what is possible and what is not. Therefore, we must work one hundred percent of what we have. There is no other way out.

April 4, 2012. Klaus Siebert receives the Certificate of Honor of the Council of Ministers from the hands of then Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich. Photo: BELTA

Klaus Siebert wanted as many athletes as possible to work according to his system, he was ready to vary and adapt it. He was not embarrassed by the fact that some athletes had to be taught new skiing techniques and forced to forget the outdated one that had been instilled in them for many years. The same applies to shooting technique. And so, little by little, step by step, the biathletes became better.

We must continue to train hard and not make any incredible plans, but set goals gradually and gradually move towards them. Well, as experience shows, it is very important not to get sick, so that everything is in order with your health,” said Siebert.

But if anyone suddenly thought that Siebert was a conformist who passively accepted the existing order, then he was mistaken. If the situation did not suit him, he expressed it firmly and without equivocation. For example, when in the summer of 2013, during the pre-Olympic off-season, Raubichi was closed for reconstruction, this canceled out the painstaking collection of data over the previous several years. The coaching staff lost the opportunity to objectively assess the readiness of athletes in similar periods compared to previous seasons. After all, it is for this reason that the team goes to training camps in the same places every year and trains according to the same program. And Siebert did not remain silent:

It’s hard for me, a foreigner, to judge... The reconstruction of the complex in Raubichi is, of course, overdue - it’s a necessity. But starting it in the Olympic off-season... I don’t know. This somehow doesn’t fit well with our ambitions for Sochi. But the training camp at Raubichi is summer speed training, allowing you to understand how the girls master the load. Studies of lactate and a host of other indicators. Why do you need to have a base of comparative assessments? Alas, we lost her, so I’m upset and sometimes even angry. This reconstruction is somehow untimely, if in general the country has such a serious attitude towards the Games in Sochi.<…>Usually, before the Olympics, training conditions and the level of support improve, but for us it turned out exactly the opposite, although the tasks remained the same - we need to win medals, and more than one.

“Even before Sochi, doctors said that Siebert needed urgent surgery.”

Fortunately, we managed to cope brilliantly with these, and not only, difficulties, and at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Daria Domracheva won three golds, and Nadezhda Skardino won bronze.

Klaus went to Sochi with the national team and was sincerely happy for his students, but few people know how these victories were given to him.

Klaus Siebert congratulates Nadezhda Scardino on her Olympic bronze medal in Sochi 2014. Photo: Daria Sapranetskaya, TUT.BY

In the spring of 2014, it was announced that after the expiration of his four-year contract, Siebert would leave the national team to focus on his health.

Even before the Olympics, all the doctors said that he needed urgent surgery, but he decided that he would go to Sochi, that he wanted to be there. Everyone was worried about him, but it was his decision. Klaus is a fan of his work. Being a coach is the meaning of his life. And we understood and supported him. As for the continuation of coaching activities, it is very difficult to make any guesses here. Still, cancer is a very serious disease, and fighting it requires a lot of effort.

But we maintain a relationship with Siebert and communicate. We are interested in his health. Yes, it’s hard for us without him, but what can you do. Over the years, we have come to love Klaus - as a specialist and a person. And we are very worried about his health. He underwent surgery and is now recovering from it,” Nadezhda Skardino said in the summer of 2014.

It soon became known that Klaus Siebert was replaced by the Austrian Alfred Eder. The Belarusian girls also received him very well and affectionately called him Alfredushka. Under the leadership of Eder, Daria Domracheva finally won the big Crystal Globe in the 2014/15 season.

Well, Klaus Siebert continued his unequal battle. Last winter, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, he had another set of chemotherapy...

Klaus Siebert was born on April 29, 1955 in Elterlein - a few kilometers from Schlettau, Saxony, East Germany.

Klaus Siebert joined the coaching staff of the Belarusian biathlon team in 2008. Initially, he was invited to the position of shooting coach-consultant, but then began to perform broader functions. Moreover, he actively helped not only the women’s team, but also the men’s team, despite the serious cancer he suffered during the 2010/11 season. At the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, with the participation of Siebert, Daria Domracheva won bronze, and Sergei Novikov won silver.

At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Daria Domracheva won three golds, Nadezhda Skardino became a bronze medalist. In the spring of 2014, after the expiration of his four-year contract, Klaus Siebert left the Belarusian national team and continued to fight cancer. He underwent further operations and underwent chemotherapy courses. He died on April 24, 2016, a few days short of his 61st birthday.

Came to biathlon in 1965 at the age of 10. Klaus Siebert's sports career was spent in the national team of the German Democratic Republic, in which he became the silver medalist of the 1980 Olympics in the relay, as well as a three-time world champion (in 1978 in the relay, in 1979 in the individual race and relay), three-time bronze medalist (1975, 1977, 1978). In the 1978/79 season, Siebert won the World Cup.

Klaus Siebert. Photo from lalanternadelpopolo.it

He began his coaching career in 1984 in the GDR junior team. He was a member of the headquarters of the national teams of Germany and Austria, and from 2006 to April 2008 he was the head coach of the Chinese national team. While working with Austrian and Chinese biathletes, the mentor was able to significantly improve the shooting training of his students. Three Chinese women were among the top 20 shooters in the World Cup. In 2007, he was named the best women's coach in the world.

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Miscellaneous

He had every right to refuse us an interview, citing lack of time and poor health. This December is difficult for Klaus Siebert - a new chemotherapy session arrived just in time for the end of the year... But Herr remains a professional even in difficult life circumstances - he has always been a man of a broad soul. The three-time world champion, Olympic medalist, winner of the 1978/79 World Cup, recognized by the editors as Person of the Year, spoke about all the painful issues.

Klaus, how did you feel about Pressball’s decision to name you Person of the Year? Did the thought slip through your mind, why not Daria Domracheva?

I approach it this way: such recognition is a great honor for me personally. But at the same time, I consider it as a reward for the entire Belarusian team, the leader of which is Dasha.

Can you guess who else fought with you for this title?

Considering the historical results of Belarusian athletes at the Olympics held in Sochi, I am sure that there were many worthy contenders - and they also deserved such an honor.

Do you continue to follow biathlon? If the answer is positive, do you evaluate what you saw from the point of view of a fan or a coach?

So far this season I have watched all the races on television. I think I am no longer able to watch competitions through the eyes of someone other than a coach. So nothing has changed in this regard.

Well, in general, have you ever had the pleasure of watching biathlon as a simple fan?

In the last three decades - definitely not. After all, I constantly worked with one of the athletes. This implies a different way of looking at racing.

Curious how you got into biathlon?

This happened in 1965. I was ten years old then. It's simple: I was attracted by the combination of cross-country skiing and shooting. That's why I chose this sport. He worked professionally until 1980, and two years later he began his coaching career.

Tell about your family.

My parents were also interested in biathlon. My father was even a judge in this sport. I have been married for forty years, I have two sons and three grandchildren.

According to your Wikipedia article, you were born in the East German town of Schletau. What kind of place is it?

More precisely, my small homeland is Elterlein, located a few kilometers from Schletau. This is a town with a population of two and a half thousand people. In those parts they loved biathlon very much and were actively involved in the education and training of young athletes.

I have heard more than once that sport in the GDR was a state cult. Is it true?

I will speak directly about biathlon. It was an Olympic sport, the development of which was truly promoted by the state. And we athletes felt proud when we achieved success.

Remember the day the Berlin Wall fell? How did you feel?

I was abroad then - as at many other moments in my life... There was a feeling that a new era had begun, and there was a need to adapt to its requirements as quickly as possible. We, former athletes and coaches, definitely had an advantage in this regard, since by that time we had an understanding of both systems.

Were you a communist?

Not really. More like a person who, together with his family, was simply trying to live his life. At the same time, we felt proud when we brought success to the country, because we felt that people were also proud of our achievements.

I wonder what the relationship was like between the athletes of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany?

Always friendly. Although we fought for our country, and they fought for theirs. I must say that contacts with the West Germans have been preserved to this day - already in a united Germany.

If we compare biathlon in the 70-80s and now - what is the main difference?

Over the past few decades, it has become a sport for the public, for fans. At one time, we also participated in this process - after all, until 1977, shooting was carried out from large-caliber weapons, and then from small-caliber weapons. By the way, I am proud that I managed to win medals at the world championships before and after these revolutionary changes.

What is your most memorable achievement as a biathlete?

Perhaps this is the victory in the individual race at the 1979 World Championships in Ruhpolding.

Domracheva, it happened, shot at other people’s targets, confused prone and stance. Have similar incidents happened in your career?

Ha, no. Nothing like this ever happened to me.

Tell us where is your home now?

Since 1982 - the same year when I began my coaching career - I have lived in Altenberg. This is a small city in Saxony.

Did the Belarusian state adequately appreciate your work with our team?

When you are honored, it is always a special reward. But we are especially glad that we were able to make so many people in the country happy.

At such a high level, sport is a very difficult activity. Great success can only be achieved together by joining forces. The athletes made my task easier because we were all working on how to make the dream come true. Everyone respected each other as individuals. Joy and friendship always reigned in the team.

What is your most memorable moment working with the Belarusian national team?

Of course, personal races in Sochi, marked with gold and bronze!

What most often evokes a feeling of nostalgia in you right now?

Oh, there are many reasons for this feeling. There are too many to choose just one.

What achievement are you most proud of in the six years you have worked on our team?

Again, the Olympics in Sochi - and the whole thing. And also cooperation with the entire team - athletes, coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, servicemen...

What role do you actually assign to yourself in Domracheva’s Olympic success?

Being a responsible mentor, I planned training daily - determined the volume, content, tasks. And then he accompanied them along with his assistants.

Did the current coach of the women's national team, Alfred Eder, contact you for consultations? Did he ask for advice?

No. We had no contact with him.

Has interest in you increased in Germany after the Belarusian success in Sochi?

Also no. This was not a topic for discussion.

During your time working in Belarus, what shocked or surprised you the most?

The warmth and sincerity of your fans. And also increased attention from the media.

What interests and hobbies does Klaus Siebert have?

I enjoy playing golf. In addition, I love driving a motorcycle - I have a Triumph Street Triple R.

Are Daria Domracheva’s shooting problems solvable?

I wish this for her!

Who will win the overall World Cup this season?

Ha! I think that the strongest athlete will take first place.

Are you interested in news from our country, or is this a past stage?

We are constantly in contact with Belarusians. Of course, we discuss the latest events. I'm interested in everything!

Does anyone in Germany call you Zibych?

Oh no, this nickname is specifically for Belarus. This is what they call me only in your country. At home in Germany, I'm just Sieb.

You worked with the national teams of the GDR, China, and Belarus. Are there any countries you would like to coach in more?

I can only say that all the places where I worked played an important role in my development as a coach. I gained new and useful experience everywhere. In 1984-90 - in the junior team of the GDR, in 1998-2002 - in the men's team of a united Germany, in 2002-05 - in Austria, in 2006-08 - in China and, finally, in 2008- 14th - in Belarus.

Your best student is...

Dasha. She is an exceptional athlete. But in general, I was lucky enough to work with many great biathletes. Suffice it to say that my students won a total of 39 medals at the World Championships and Olympics. We can recall, for example, Ricco Gross, who became a four-time Olympic champion.

Wolfgang Pichler said that he never got used to the quality of Russian roads. What have you not been able to get used to in Belarus in six years? What remains a mystery in the behavior of Belarusians?

Penetrates right through. For those who even casually follow the Belarusian biathlon, German coach Klaus Siebert has become closer and dearer than many dozens of local specialists and officials combined. Even after the official end of work with the national team in 2014, Klaus’s presence in the team was invisibly felt. Because the words with which the athletes regularly spoke about their mentor exuded warmth, sincerity and gratitude.

“In Belarus, people are reserved and secretive. But in professional sports this is not possible.”

— In every country you encounter something unusual. Therefore, first you need to become like a member of the family. You try, strive, adapt, look for compromises, but, as a rule, rapprochement occurs very slowly.<…>But in Belarus people are reserved and secretive. By the way, it was the same in the GDR. And in China it’s even worse. But in professional sports this is not possible. You need to be contactable, open, joyful, strong. Like me,” the coach explained in 2010, after two years of work in our country, in an interview with former biathlete Svetlana Paramygina.

<…>And my decision to stay in Belarus is a decision for the athletes. When athletes are grateful for your work, the coach wants to continue working with them. If people are open with you and, most importantly, honest, it matters a lot - more than all the money in the world. Money means nothing if there is no connection between the athlete and the coach, if the chemistry does not match. You know: training is primarily about trust. If there is no trust, you can go home. And one more thing - there should always be pleasure.

“Today I work for Belarus, which means I am Belarusian”

In general, these psychological techniques do not seem to be new, but they work in Belarus.

Daria Domracheva, Lyudmila Kalinchik, Klaus Siebert, Nadezhda Skardino. Belarusian Biathlon Federation

— As a coach, I won a lot of medals. With Ricco Gross - four Olympic golds. In Salt Lake City, where I was the coach of the German men's team, we had medalists in all disciplines. But every time after a victory I felt a special feeling. And I don’t care which country’s athlete won the medal. Today I work for Belarus, which means I am Belarusian. And when he worked in China, he was Chinese. This is my philosophy,” Siebert said.

"I'm dad, mom, and friend"

— It’s hard for me, a foreigner, to judge... Reconstruction of the complex in Raubichi is, of course, overdue - it’s a necessity. But starting it in the Olympic off-season... I don’t know. This somehow doesn’t fit well with our ambitions for Sochi. But the training camp at Raubichi is summer speed training, allowing you to understand how the girls master the load. Studies of lactate and a host of other indicators. Why do you need to have a base of comparative assessments? Alas, we lost her, so I’m upset and sometimes even angry. This reconstruction is somehow untimely, if in general the country has such a serious attitude towards the Games in Sochi.<…>Usually, before the Olympics, training conditions and the level of support improve, but for us it turned out exactly the opposite, although the tasks remained the same - we need to win medals, and more than one.

“Even before Sochi, doctors said that Siebert needed urgent surgery.”

Fortunately, we managed to cope brilliantly with these, and not only, difficulties, and at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Daria Domracheva won three golds, and Nadezhda Skardino won bronze.

Klaus went to Sochi with the national team and was sincerely happy for his students, but few people know how these victories were given to him.

Klaus Siebert congratulates Nadezhda Scardino on her Olympic bronze medal in Sochi 2014. Photo: Daria Sapranetskaya, TUT.BY

In the spring of 2014, it was announced that Siebert would be leaving the national team at the end of his four-year contract to focus on his health.

— All the doctors said before the Olympics that he needed urgent surgery, but he decided that he would go to Sochi, that he wanted to be there. Everyone was worried about him, but it was his decision. Klaus is a fan of his work. Being a coach is the meaning of his life. And we understood and supported him. As for the continuation of coaching activities, it is very difficult to make any guesses here. Still, cancer is a very serious disease, and fighting it requires a lot of effort.

And when Russian journalists asked Siebert how he felt about working with their country’s team, Klaus replied: “Training the Russian national team, and even defending my program?! I can’t even think about it. I like working in Belarus! That’s it”.

For the past two years, Klaus Siebert has continued his unequal battle. Last winter, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, he had another set of chemotherapy...

Klaus Siebert was born on April 29, 1955 in Elterlein - a few kilometers from Schlettau, Saxony, East Germany.

The most famous student of Klaus Siebert is the German biathlete Ricco Gross. Over 14 years (1988−2002) of joint cooperation, this tandem won four golds, three silvers and one bronze at the Olympics, as well as five top medals at the world championships.

In 2014, he was recognized by the Pressball newspaper as Person of the Year in Belarusian sports.

He was married, had two sons and three grandchildren. Since 1982, after finishing his career as an athlete, he lived in Altenberg, a small town in Saxony (Germany).

He considered Daria Domracheva his best student. His students won a total of 39 medals at the World Championships and Olympics.