4 Russian teams will take part in the Arctic Curling Cup, which will be held from 23 to 26 May at the ice arena "Taimyr" in Dudinka.
We have already represented the teams of Anna Sidorova, Alina Kovaleva and the Russian junior team Vlada Rumyantseva. This time we will tell you about the team of Krasnoyarsk Krai, which traditionally performs at the Arctic Cup because Taimyr is part of this region of Russia.
The skip of the team is 23-year-old Anna Venevtseva, who will perform at the Arctic Curling Cup for the third time. In 2017 she also played for the Krasnoyarsk Krai in the women's team. In 2018 Anna performed in Dudinka together with Vasily Groshev. This year Anna has achieved, perhaps, the main success in her career – bronze of the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk in the team of Ulyana Vasilyeva (who will also play in Dudinka in the team of Alina Kovaleva). Anna is also known as a golfer, she played at the Russian championship and achieved success in the Siberian tournaments.
Together with Venevtseva in Arctic Curling Cup will play:
Christina Dudko
Ekaterina Galkina
Olga Zharkova
If Christina Dudko, which plays along with Venevtseva for Krasnoyarsk Krai, have not yet achieved high-profile successes, Ekaterina Galkina and Olga Zharkova are real stars of Russian curling.
Olga Zharkova is one of the most titled sportswomen in the history of the Championships of Russia with more than 10 victories, and at the international level on she has a victory in the European championship of 2006 in Lyudmila Privivkova's team. Olga continues her active sports career (in April this year she was the skip of the Krasnodar Krai team, which took second place at the Russian championship), and also works in the Curling Federation of Russia as General Secretary. Olga was one of the main organizers of the curling tournament at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. In 2017, Olga has already played for Krasnoyarsk Krai in the Arctic Curling Cup along with Anne Venevtseva.
Ekaterina Galkina is one of the most titled Russian curlers in history. She gained two victories at the European Championships (2006 and 2012), two bronze medals at World Championships (2014 and 2015), two victories at the Universiade (2014 and 2015), three times Ekaterina played at the Olympics (2006, 2010 and 2014), the first time at the age of 17 years in the team Lyudmila Privivkova.
The main question is how young Krasnoyarsk curlers will play with their titled partners, because they have very little experience of joint performances. If all goes well, this team can count on at least a way out of the group. It’s just a week before the start of tournament!