The 36-year-old, who won relay gold at the 2006 and 2010 winter Olympics and also won a silver medal in the mass start in Vancouver in 2010, had announced her retirement earlier this month.
"I received a lot of offers – from the Russian Biathlon Union (SBR), from the Sports ministry and the Moscow Department of Sport," Zaitseva told a news conference.
"I talked everything through with the president of the SBR, Alexander Kravtsov. He offered me the chance to become the caretaker head coach of the Russian team."
"I am an ambitious person and I accepted an offer. My aim is to get better results and make sure our sport is clean."
Russia has not had a biathlon head coach since the 2012-13 season and several athletes have tested positive for banned substances in the past 12 months alone as the country is dogged by doping problems across several sports.
(Editing by Karolos Grohmann)
Share
