June 11, 2017, 11:41 pm

In my last post, many people wanted to know more about our wonderful artists. So who is the number one of the national team now?

Personalities

Alexandra Soldatova.

Alexandra Sergeevna Soldatova(born June 1, 1998) - Russian gymnast, member of the Russian national team, two-time world champion in the team event (2014, 2015), two-time European champion in the team event (2015,2017), Russian champion in the individual all-around (2016), bronze medalist in the all-around championship of Russia in rhythmic gymnasium (2014).

Programs 2017.

Hoop:

In my opinion, this is Sasha’s most beautiful exercise. I think many people remember the beautiful Yulia Barsukova at the 2000 Olympics, and now, 17 years later, a new wonderful swan appears in the world of gymnastics.

Sasha is often called the most flexible gymnast in the country.

Crown element

Alexandra went to the Olympics in Rio as a reserve

Sasha is trained by Anna Vyacheslavovna Dyachenko (Shumilova)

Excerpts from the interview

Without perseverance, hard work and patience, one does not become a champion. Your coach Anna Dyachenko said that there was a time when you and she drove from Dmitrov by car to Novogorsk every morning and you slept in the back seat. This is true?

Yes. I didn’t start living and training in Novogorsk right away; I had to leave Dmitrov early in the morning to get to Novogorsk on time. Anna Vyacheslavovna put me in the back seat, I had a pillow there, I fell asleep on the way and woke up already at the entrance to the gate of the base. But it's okay, these are minor things. If you want to achieve something, you will have to deny yourself a lot and be patient.

Sasha, why rhythmic gymnastics? This is love at first sight?

No. It turned out really funny. In Sterlitamak, where I’m from, my mother brought... my brother to the rhythmic gymnastics section to sign up. We simply didn’t know then that gymnastics can be different - sports and artistic. We were told that where they wanted to send my brother, everything was only for girls, then my mother was not at a loss and said: “I have a girl too, take it!” I don’t remember my first training sessions; I was little; the awareness of gymnastics came to me only when I was already in third grade.

You have excellent physical data for gymnastics, I can assume that everything worked out the first time?

Far from it. I agree that I have flexibility, stretch, and good feet, but for example, I lack dexterity. Dina and Arina Averina, in terms of working with the subject, are stronger than me, they are like that by nature.

Which subject is more difficult for you?

I can’t say that some are more difficult and some are easier. I'm still at the stage of perfecting my skills and comprehending something new.

To get into the Russian national team, you have come a long way. Sterlitamak - Dmitrov - Novogorsk.

They forgot Pushkino! From Sterlitamak my family moved to Pushkino, from there I ended up in Dmitrov, where I waited with bated breath... for me to be sent back to Pushkino. First training, second, week, second, third, and then they told me: “You stay here!” My emotion was lightning fast, but meager: “Yes. Good!” I’ll say right away that I didn’t experience any longing for my mother and family, as many girls do at the age of 12. I calmly accepted the fact that I would live separately from my parents and without their care. She was independent!

First meeting with your coach Anna Dyachenko. Did you expect to fall under her care?

I didn’t expect it, but from the first day we had a wonderful duet. From the first day, I caught her every remark. The girls and I even competed to see who would stand closest to her during training, who would be the first to ask about something, who would write or call her. She is wonderful in every way!

Sasha, how did you get to the training camp with Irina Viner?

It didn’t happen to me that I somehow unexpectedly saw Irina Alexandrovna at a training session or she unexpectedly came to the gym, and there I was. She knows who trains with her. We came to the training camp, I saw how Irina Aleksandrovna worked with other gymnasts, how she communicated. Then, when she became part of the Russian national team, she began to pay more attention to me and, naturally, there was more communication. Irina Aleksandrovna is a strict and very attentive mentor.

Photoshoot:

Arina and Dina Averina

Arina.

Arina Alekseevna Averina August 13, 1998 - Trans-Volga region) - Russian rhythmic gymnast, member of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team, International Master of Sports. Multiple winner and prize-winner of all-Russian and international tournaments, three-time European champion.

Programs

Dina

Dina Alekseevna Averina(August 13, 1998 - Trans-Volga region) - Russian rhythmic gymnast, member of the Russian gymnastics team, Three-time European Champion 2017, Absolute Champion of Russia 2017, Master of Sports of international class. Multiple winner and prize-winner of all-Russian and international tournaments.

Programs

Joint demonstration

Dina in pink, Arina in blue

The sisters are trained by Vera Nikolaevna Shatalina. She also trained Alina Kabaeva.

Excerpt from interview with Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova:

Can we say that in some places Dina and Arina even exceeded their capabilities, in others they surprised us with their results?

The fact is that Dina and Arina were, as we say, “stunt performers” from an early age, and now the program is such that all this counts. Previously, we also had very strong girls, and Alina Kabaeva did amazing things, but not everything counted. Therefore, their time has come. But they lacked a little feeling, lacked expressiveness, they did it all like a thread. And now they do it expressively, they try to make all the exercises very “characteristic” and these movements, tricks, these risks, these interesting masterful elements merge with the music. So that they organically emphasize it, and in Budapest they succeeded.

Arina Dina

private photos

With parents and older sister Polina

Dina on the left, Arina on the right

Together with the team doctor - Dmitry Ubogov

Arina on the right, Dina on the left

Dina, Arina, sister Polina, mother Ksenia
Arina on the right, Dina on the left

Arina Dina

The girls dreamed of standing in group exercises, but due to their short stature they were not accepted.

Arina on the left, Dina on the right

Photoshoot

Group exercises

(Anastasia Bliznyuk, Anastasia Tatareva, Anastasia Maksimova, Maria Tolkacheva, Vera Biryukova - Rio 2016)

Programs

3 balls + 2 jump ropes

5 hoops

Now it’s difficult to talk about the main composition, since it is constantly changing. But most often the following gymnasts are included.

Anastasia Bliznyuk

Anastasia Ilyinichna Bliznyuk(born June 28, 1994, Zaporozhe, Ukraine) - Russian gymnast. Two-time Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics in group all-around (2012, 2016); world and European champion.

Nastya returned to sports after a serious illness - leptospirosis.

The whole country was worried when you got sick, you found yourself in a difficult situation. How did you manage to continue your career?
“I didn’t even know I was so seriously ill.” My kidneys failed...Irina Aleksandrovna Wiener treated me in Germany. At first they said that perhaps the kidneys would not start. There is very little chance that I will always live on dialysis.

But thank God I recovered. And she started working in Novogorsk as a second-team coach. Somehow it turned out that I decided to lose weight and get in shape. And this grew into the training process.

I got into the second team. I proved to everyone that I can and want to. I will stand on this team! And made it to the main team.

In general, there is a lot of competition in Russia. Only when it was the last week before the Olympics did I realize that I would compete in Rio. Every start is a very big struggle. If you make any mistake even during training, you will be removed at any moment. It doesn’t matter that I was an Olympic champion and that the girls won the World Championships. The road started from scratch

More excerpts from the interview:

Nastya! You are the second two-time Olympic champion in the group in our history. There was also London gold.
- Third – there are also Elena Posevina and Natalya Lavrova... Of course, I am incredibly happy and grateful to Irina Aleksandrovna Viner for this victory. I was able to overcome myself, recover from illness, and return with faith in my strengths and capabilities. Thanks to the whole team who helped a lot. This road was extremely difficult. But when you realize that you did everything, the taste of victory becomes the sweetest.

- And for five Olympics in a row we take two golds in rhythmic gymnastics.
- I think that only Irina Alexandrovna. Everything rests on Wiener.

For me she is like a mother. Because she saved my life when I got sick. I was born again! And they gave me the chance to perform in Rio.

- How to prepare yourself mentally for the new Olympic cycle?
- You know why you are doing this. But our training is insanely hard. And this medal was more difficult for me than the first one. Apparently I was younger then. And now I thought: “Maybe I can still do this? Maybe that's not all?

I left gymnastics in 2013 after the World Championships. Now she's back. And I think: “But I can do more!”

Photoshoot

Anastasia Tatareva

Anastasia Alekseevna Tatareva(born July 19, 1997) - Russian gymnast. Olympic champion (2016). Honored Master of Sports of Russia. World and European champion.

Excerpts from the interview

– The life of gymnasts is very short. Many people have only one Olympics, then they have to end their career... Doesn’t this scare you?
– Life is beautiful, and there are so many interesting things in it! I'm not afraid that I'll have to say goodbye to sports. This is fine. I study at the university - at the correspondence department of the Institute of International Relations. So this is probably what I will do later. Life will show.

- Interesting choice. Perhaps you speak a foreign language well?
- English. Not bad, but I need to learn more - that’s what I’ll do. There is a lot of language practice at competitions!

– Do you still have time to study?
- All my energy goes into training. Especially when preparing for competitions. We have to study on Skype... And they send us assignments, we complete them and send them back.

– Teachers don’t give discounts, don’t they simplify the task?
- No. And who am I to make my task easier? (laughs).

– You compete in the team all-around. Don't want to go into private view?
– By the way, I started in the personal. Then they invited me to join the team... No, I don’t want to - I like it better on a team - here, of course, there is greater responsibility. But you feel that we are together. There is something called “team spirit”. We have a very friendly team. If we quarrel, it’s rare. And we quickly make up.

– Do you know that you are compared on forums with Alina Kabaeva?
- I have not heard about that! It seems to me that we are completely different. I’m not like her... I think you need to remain yourself, not strive to be like others.

Photoshoot:

private photos

Vera Biryukova

Vera Leonidovna Biryukova(born April 11, 1998 - Omsk) - Russian gymnast. Member of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. Master of Sports of Russia of international class. Champion of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Honored Master of Sports. European champion.

Interview

Vera Biryukova “burst” into the Rio Olympics with the speed of a meteor and almost at the last moment. Even a month and a half before the Games, neither numerous fans of rhythmic gymnastics, nor the Omsk “artist” herself even thought about such a development of events.

“If I had any hopes of getting into the main team, then a couple of months before the Olympics they almost disappeared,” says Vera. “I worked calmly in the second team, trained and didn’t really count on anything. Judge for yourself: there is nothing left before the Games, who will make changes to the existing group? But it turned out that one of the girls was injured, and the coaches decided to try me. And you know, it turned out well. Even Irina Aleksandrovna Viner praised me. She said, almost imperceptibly, that a new person had joined the group. “You’ll go to Kazan, and we’ll see there,” were her words. There were only two starts left before the Olympic Games: the World Cup stages in Kazan and Baku. To be honest, I thought that after Kazan I would be removed from the team. But this did not happen either after Kazan or after Baku! But I was able to believe that I was going to Rio only on the plane flying to Brazil.

- Did you manage to have a good rest after the Games?
- Yes, the whole team sent us to the sea, we vacationed in Sardinia, it was great. Then each went to their hometown. I also enjoyed spending a week at home.
- Did you remember with your mother how it all began?
- From the sea and Turkey! We rested there, and my mother only had time to make sure that I didn’t climb where I shouldn’t. The energy was overflowing! Well, I always loved to dance, I “bent” in all directions. Then my mother suggested that I try gymnastics. I immediately agreed, although I actually had no idea what it was! Maybe I saw it on TV a couple of times. When we returned home, my mother brought me into the hall. And that’s how I started training at the age of five. My mother said that parents were not allowed to attend training so that the children would not be distracted. But she managed to peek out the window. He says I always tried, I didn’t slack. I trained conscientiously, even if the coach left the gym. Although I myself don’t remember that time well.

- And the first medal?
-I remember. At school competitions I shared first place with another girl.

- You once mentioned that as a child, your idol in gymnastics was Laysan Utyasheva. But Omsk residents traditionally call Irina Chashchina, Evgenia Kanaeva...
- Irina and Evgenia are great gymnasts. But it’s true: I admired Laysan. I always liked the way she moves, works with the subject, her emotionality. Yes, for me she was the best gymnast. And over time, this has not gone away; she is still my idol. And not only as an athlete, but also as a person.
- Before the Olympics, didn’t you turn to her for advice?
- Unfortunately, before the Olympics I was not yet familiar with her. My childhood dream came true after the Games. Nastya Bliznyuk introduced us. This happened when the girls and I performed at Alexei Nemov’s show in Moscow. Laysan also took part in it, we even changed clothes in the same locker room.

- Laysan, after completing her gymnastics career, found herself as a TV presenter. Have you already thought about the future?
- To be honest, this is a difficult topic for me so far. I have not yet decided on new goals in life, in gymnastics. Now sport takes up 100% of my time and with such a schedule it is very difficult to fit anything else into my life. Therefore, I cannot answer this question yet!

Photoshoot

private photos

Sofia Skomorokh

Sofya Pavlovna Skomorokh(born August 18, 1999 Omsk) - Russian gymnast, world and European champion.

Shortly before the Olympics, Sonya was injured and was unable to go there, although she was in the first team all year.

private photos

Maria Tolkacheva

Maria Yurievna Tolkacheva(born August 18, 1997 - Zhukov) - Russian gymnast, three-time world champion, three-time European champion, two-time European Games champion, Olympic champion (2016) in group exercises. Honored Master of Sports

In my opinion, Masha is the most beautiful gymnast on the team. Although, of course, they are all beautiful.

Masha and Nastya Tatareva are best friends

That's all! Thank you all for your attention, and new victories for the girls)

In Sochi, out of competition, showing all four programs in two days. The athlete started the season later than others: in September, she competed at the World Championships in Stuttgart with a leg injury, and soon after underwent surgery. Recovery took several weeks, which is why Kudryavtseva began preparing for the season later than other gymnasts. Her first start was the World Cup stage in Pesaro, Italy, where she won the all-around, then she competed in Sochi.

In an interview with R-Sport agency correspondent Elena Sobol, the athlete’s coach spoke about how she and Kudryavtseva went through a difficult period, what tasks they have for the Olympic season, and also about why Yana would have achieved success in sports in any case.

- Elena Lvovna, why did you decide to compete with Yana at the Russian Championships?

We talked with Irina Aleksandrovna (, head coach) and decided not to compete in four events on one day for now. We planned, but had doubts and decided to consult. Irina Aleksandrovna was very pleased with the pre-start training, we asked her: “Which is better?” She asked about our vision, and together we agreed that it would be better to do two on Saturday and two on Sunday - we chose this option.

- Why did the losses happen?

Unfinished, of course. At one point the loss was accidental, the hoop touched his back - but that’s not the point, it just means that it was unfinished. Our clubs and ball work better, but the hoop and ribbon still don’t work.

"Yana rarely doubts herself"

How is Yana feeling? Is your leg bothering you?

I feel very good. I trained just like this before the Russian Championship!.. I really liked it. She hasn’t seen Irina Alexandrovna for a long time, because she and the team were in Israel, and we stayed in Moscow. And Yana once trained in such a way that even I didn’t recognize her, it was absolutely beautiful! True, on Saturday after this, her muscles ached a little, well, these are such trifles.

After these losses, she had a desire to hoop again on Sunday, but by Sunday it had passed. We had this happen at a demonstration run in Riga, on the first day she shouted that she would do the hoop again, and on the second she said: “No, perhaps next time.” But now she doesn’t have to be forced or asked, she now does it when she wants.

After Italy, it seems to me, she was inspired, because, of course, she had some internal doubts. Although she is a girl with a very strong character, she didn’t show it, but I think somewhere inside her this feeling was a little breaking - yes or no. And of course, after Italy her wings grew.

- Didn’t she even show you her feelings in this regard?

No, I didn't show it. She hid this from everyone. Although maybe I'm exaggerating. In general, she rarely doubts herself, she rarely really worries. Even when she is worried, she pretends more, because she is sometimes ashamed that everyone around is worried and worried, but she is not. Sometimes he directly plays “I’m so nervous, I’m so nervous,” but you can see in his eyes that he’s not worried at all, but just to suit the general mood...

- Is this her innate strength of character?

She's been like this since childhood. She is always brave, in all matters, not only in sports. To say “enterprising” would not be entirely correct; rather, she’s so dexterous. She, you know, as they say, has no barriers, she will always be found in some situation... She has always had this.

- It seems that this helps her tremendously in sports.

She really does. I think this is her main quality; everything else has already been developed. This is some kind of character trait, which is probably only innate, maybe, to some extent, taken from home. But she already came to gymnastics with this, we didn’t raise this, I can say that for sure. Because everyone in the hall is told the same thing, but one of them shakes all over and comes out onto the carpet in a semi-fainting state, and he doesn’t do what he’s done a hundred times here. And the other one goes to the stage and enjoys performing.

Yana sees everything when she goes out to perform. She sees the object, she hears what is happening, she can see the judge looking at her, she can hear someone saying something. And if she drops an object, this is some kind of general flaw in the whole body or specifically in one difficult element that really needs to be learned. Of course, you can’t do everything based on character; you still need technique.

- Does the subject feel very subtly?

Very subtle. She feels the relationship between the body and the object, the object itself. It's innate. In life, this may be some kind of dexterity in everyday life, but in gymnastics it is innate coordination.

- Can we say that she could not have had any other destiny than to become an athlete with such data?

I think so. Even in another sport, she would probably be very promising, well, maybe not in strength sports. I think she would be a very good ballerina because her coordination is good. It’s good that she came to us at the gym.

- She is also very thin by constitution.

Well, everyone is thin until a certain age, and then for some reason they become not thin. I think she is no exception.

- It seems that Yana has no problems with weight.

There are, of course, certain ones. She needs to be very strict about her weight, especially now, because the injury is a consequence of her growing up. This is how the doctors explained: she has such a joint, up to a certain point it could cope, but then this joint will become deformed and fail.

"I have no doubt that we did everything right"

- How do you feel this year: calmer or, on the contrary, more tense?

Well, no, there is no peace, of course. It’s very difficult, what is there to hide. But, if we remember the World Championships in September, I am sure that we had no other choice.

I have no doubt that we did the right thing, and Yana has no doubt about it either. If we had known that there was a turning point, we would not have performed 100%. But the diagnosis was initially made incorrectly - not at all because of the incompetence of the doctors, they worked very professionally, but because of the specifics of the injury. It was impossible to make a diagnosis immediately. From birth she had an irregularly shaped bone, it was difficult to see this fracture.

The doctor who performed the operation said that if we had not performed, the bone could have healed on its own, which would have taken 6-8 weeks. But there was a risk that as soon as the loads began, the same fracture could occur. A very important ligament is attached to this place, which we use every day when performing various elements. Without surgery, we had no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again.

This year it could have happened at the most inopportune moment. Then we had a chance to have surgery and come back at the beginning of the season. Without surgery, there was a risk that the bone could break at any moment. After the operation, the doctor gave guarantees that there would be no more problems in this area. Therefore, from other options, we chose a complex operation. Still, we didn’t want to go to the gym every day with the thought that this could happen again.

- How did Yana even survive this?

Probably because she didn't know. Of course, you can’t convey someone else’s pain, but there was no very severe pain, there was nothing crazy that required injections. Some movements were painful to do, some were not. But she survived it very courageously, she simply, it seems to me, collected everything she had. There were very few training sessions before the World Championships, and without them she tried to perform, using what she had developed before. This all had to be accumulated, collected within oneself. She needs to be given credit.

You can debate for a long time whether it was the right decision to perform or not. Stuttgart simply sped up the moment, giving doctors the opportunity to see the fracture and make the right treatment decision.

“There will be enough time to get in shape for the European Championships”

What is the current plan to get out of the situation? How are you planning to start now to bring it to its optimal state?

Start all May, like everyone else. Tashkent will be the first place for everyone. We have somehow already entered the general mainstream, not counting the loss of the item, of course. Due to the workload, emotionally, we can already come to the gym, stand on the platform with everyone and work completely on equal terms. We had a bit of a complex, sometimes we were afraid that we would overtrain... Now we can, at the Russian Championships in training with Sasha Soldatova and Rita Mamun we felt free together. We will try. Therefore, first Tashkent, then everything will definitely go to Sofia, and then Irina Aleksandrovna said that we will think about it. There is also a start in Spain, we’ll think about it.

- What do you think about the European Championship, should we go?

First of all, you have to get there. There are three of us, two will compete in Europe, while the three of us have equal chances today. To do this, you need to perform well in May. And, secondly, if she gets in, then you have to compete, this is a great happiness. Of course, you have to perform, and you have to try to perform well.

- Do you have enough time to get to Europe in 100% shape?

I think so. Yana is getting into shape quite quickly, after Italy she has already changed this week. There is no need to look at the fact that the object has fallen. This is a small problem for Yana, I'm not worried about it. When she couldn’t jump, couldn’t move freely, that’s a problem, but dropping or not dropping is not. To be honest, I’m not really worried, because Yana solves this problem quite cleverly. Another gymnast may start to panic, change elements, and come up with something. Yana, if she dropped something, she will twist it all in her head, and she will fix it.

“We don’t talk about Rio with anyone, or with each other”

- Tell me honestly, are you thinking about Rio de Janeiro? Are you worried?

Yes, sure. Are we fools or something, pretending that he doesn’t exist! Of course we think, of course we worry, of course we want to get there. I want to get there so that we feel confident, feel that everything is working out for us, that everything has already come together - the program with the music, with the performance. Of course, we think and dream. Naturally, we don’t talk about this at all, neither to each other, nor with anyone, we try not to talk about this topic with anyone at all.

- It seems that Yana really deserves this trip.

To be honest, it seems so to me too, because I have been fighting like this for three years... But no one is taken to the Olympics for merit, this is sport. We understand this very well, and Yana also understands this very well, that this is not retiring: you worked until you were 55, you were given an honorable send-off. Get to the Olympics on merit? Then why? You want to go to the Olympics to compete there, so, of course, you want to get in not on merit, but on results. We dream about this even more, this is what gnaws at us. For merit - this is not interesting.

“I would like to believe that with this attitude everything will work out.”

I also really believe it, because it seems so to me. Looking at her, I feel it. We had a very difficult last year, it’s scary to even remember it...

- Did Yana have any desire to give up everything?

She never had this desire. She will never say such a thing in any condition, you will never kick her out. “You can’t wait!” he says, “I’m here forever!” If I say something sometimes, she always answers: “You won’t wait.”

The president of the federation and head coach of the country's rhythmic gymnastics team told the SE observer how things are going in our golden team a year before the Games.

Representatives of rhythmic gymnastics consistently supply the Russian national team with medals of the highest standard from all major competitions. Surely this pleasant tradition will continue at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro - the guarantee of this is the maximalism and exactingness of the federation president and head coach of the country's rhythmic gymnastics team, Irina Viner-Usmanova. It is no coincidence that the services of the famous mentor were recognized by the International Olympic Committee: in July, IOC President Thomas Bach awarded her a silver order.

There is exactly a year left before the Olympics, and you have long ago decided on the main candidates for the national team - at least in the individual all-around. If nothing extraordinary happens, Margarita Mamun and Yana Kudryavtseva can already pack their bags for a trip to Rio?

In our life, nothing can be said with complete certainty; anything can happen. People are only conductors of God's plans, everything else is decided elsewhere... But if you take this out of the equation, yes, the girls you named have earned the right to compete at the Olympics. Your work, results and behavior.

- Is it possible that in the time remaining before the Games a new contender for a place on the Olympic team will emerge?

We have long had a circle of candidates for a place on the roster. This is Alexandra Soldatova, who won the World Cup in Portugal, surpassing both Kudryavtseva and Mamun. She is considered number three in the national team and still has a chance of making it to Rio de Janeiro. Ksenia Polyakova and Arina Averina also look very cool. One should not discount Maria Titova, who performed well at the Universiade. In general, we have a long bench and a whole year to select the best.

Mamun and Kudryavtseva performed in the national team already at the World Championships in Kyiv, a year after the London Games. When did you decide that these are the people you can count on in the new Olympic cycle?

It's not that I made a decision, but what they showed. Over the past three years, many important competitions have taken place in our sport - championships and World Cups, Grand Prix competitions. And each time the girls showed very good results and won a lot. They passed the selection with dignity and showed their strength. Everything was done according to the sporting principle; in this sense, we have no privileges.

You once explained to me what your favorite expression “dirty tail” means - laziness, pride beyond all measure, inability to listen and hear. Margarita and Yana don’t even have the smallest “tail”?

We are all human and we all have a dirty tail. Some have more, some have less. Of course, these girls also have some shortcomings. But the most important thing is that they understand this and work on themselves. They are not offended by comments and progress. In the end, it all depends on the person himself. It depends on how much he can pull himself together and persistently go towards the goal.

- Can we say that this same “dirty tail” ruined Daria Kondakova’s talent?

Dasha had a very complex character. She was constantly offended by everyone around her, but not by herself. Ultimately this played a decisive role. Kondakova left the sport without achieving her main goal - without becoming the absolute world champion.

Yana Kudryavtseva not only grew up in a sports family, her father is an Olympic champion. Does this somehow affect her qualities?

Of course, Yana is a worthy daughter of her father. There is generally a direct connection in this matter. People from sports families are more persistent in their work and more focused in important competitions than ordinary children. They better perceive instructions from coaches in stressful situations and respond to them faster.

On the other hand, with all their titles and fame, Mamun and Kudryavtseva objectively do not reach Kabaeva’s popularity. What did Alina have and what do these girls lack?

Alina was the founder of a new direction in rhythmic gymnastics. She managed to implement the programs I set and made a real revolution in our sport. Previously, he was nondescript, like Cinderella, but with the arrival of Kabaeva he became bright and colorful. Changes in the regulations, which we managed to implement through the technical committee of the International Gymnastics Federation, also contributed to its popularization. Embroidered swimsuits and skirts appeared...

But, of course, the main thing was Kabaeva’s amazing charm, here she remains unsurpassed - she is the child-Sun. As soon as she stepped onto the carpet, a happy smile appeared on her face. It was not an artificial mask; its light came from within. People felt it - both spectators and judges. And they responded to Alina with the same sincere love.

A few years ago you said that Evgenia Kanaeva could very well perform in Rio de Janeiro and even compete for a gold medal. What did she ultimately lack for this?

You've probably heard about the proposal of one of the deputies to ban performing at the Olympic Games more than two times in a row? So Zhenya obeyed, she is a law-abiding person... This, of course, is a joke, it was difficult to come up with greater nonsense ( laughs). In no type of human activity can young people clear the way artificially; they must make their own way. As for Kanaeva, this is not a question of health or physical strength, but a lack of motivation. She found herself in a family: she got married, became a mother, and is raising a wonderful son. And at the same time she starts training, took a good girl and works with her.

If we are, in principle, calm about the individual all-around at the Olympics, then the performance of Russian gymnasts in the group raises certain questions. Can the 6th place taken by our team in one of the exercises at the European Games in Baku be considered a wake-up call?

Yes, this is a wake-up call, and a very alarming one at that. It needs to be heard and appropriate action taken. Which? Work even harder.

The Olympic Games will be held in distant Brazil. Is there anything - long hours of acclimatization, hot climate - that particularly worries you?

High temperatures won’t scare us: in the summer at our base in Croatia, the girls train even at 30 C. Although Mamun and Kudryavtseva don’t tolerate the heat very well. When the whole team travels south to the sea, they prefer to go to the Baltic states. And they can only be in the sun in early spring or late autumn.

Heavy acclimatization doesn’t worry me too much either. We have a proven methodology: usually the team travels to the competition site three weeks before the start of the competition. This allows you to undergo the adaptation painlessly. How it will happen this time depends on the state of the budget. If you suddenly run out of money, you will have to resort to the economy option. In this case, we will fly to Brazil five to six days before the Olympic tournament.

- Do you have problems with financing?

No, there are no special problems. We must thank the Russian Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports, who provide full training for the rhythmic gymnastics teams and resolve all pressing issues. In addition, sponsors help our federation. Thanks to them, we can create more comfortable training conditions for athletes and pay additional daily allowances.

Tell us more about the base in Croatia that you mentioned. Is it true that they even have their own private farm so that fresh vegetables and fruits are served directly to the athletes’ tables?

No, our products are supplied to us by neighboring farmers - those who still survived after Croatia joined the EU. As for the base... This is a former hotel with 50 beds with a terrace. We bought it, restored it and turned it into a boarding house. The sea is a stone's throw away, its own beach, which turns into a pine forest. In general, if there is heaven on earth, then this is exactly the place.

“Sasha lived with me for several years... in my car.” Coach Anna Shumilova - about the new gymnastics star Alexandra Soldatova

Even at the last World Championships in Izmir, Sasha Soldatova, the smallest and most inexperienced gymnast on the team, became the world champion in the team. And today she is already beating the entire world elite in a ball exercise at the Moscow Grand Prix at Luzhniki. Has a new star been born? Without any doubts.

Even at the last World Championships in Izmir, Sasha Soldatova, the smallest and most inexperienced gymnast on the team, became the world champion. On the team. But, as her coach Anna Shumilova says, this event clearly divided her life into “before and after.” And now, today she is already beating the entire world elite in a ball exercise at the Moscow Grand Prix in Luzhniki. Has a new star been born? No doubt about it.

Who knows, maybe she will be destined to become the main star of the Olympic Rio. In any case, Anna Shumilova, when Sasha came to her for the first training four years ago, felt at first sight: “This is a diamond.” And I also realized that I fell in love with this girl - also at first sight.

- What if they didn’t fall in love? Would you be able to work with her in pure professionalism?

I could. But... nothing worked out for us.

- Sure?

Certainly. Fortunately, everything turned out to be quite the opposite. I fell in love with her from the first second, when she came to me from her first coach, Olga Nazarova. Firstly, decency. Responsibility. Sometimes it’s hyper-responsibility. She didn't need to explain why or why. She believed and did as the coach said. Now, of course, we are going through a transitional age. Even in the most ideal children it leaves its mark. I went on maternity leave, gave birth to a daughter, and without me Sasha worked with Irina Alexandrovna (Viner-Usmanova, head coach of the national team - author's note), they were preparing for the World Cup. And Irina Aleksandrovna identified a certain problem with Sasha - that she thinks and analyzes a lot where you just need to take the coach at his word, believe and do. And at first she begins to doubt... We are working on this. And we even involve a psychologist. This needs to be removed, it slows down the process. In her head it’s like a kind of computer, or a chessboard, where endless mental combinations are played out. Perhaps this is its only drawback.

- You say you immediately saw the diamond. What exactly was this expressed in?

We are often asked how we select children. You probably need to feel it with your heart. Of course, Sasha has excellent natural abilities. And she is beautifully built, and her face is very pretty. Plus flexibility and stretching. But something completely different caught my attention. It can't even be explained in words. I felt in my heart that this was my child. And what can I do with it? She was still very young, she was twelve years old. I started taking her with me to training in Novogorsk, and she practically lived in my car. She was not yet allowed to live in Novogorsk, so we left in the morning, very early from Dmitrov, Sasha slept in the back seat, she had her own little pillow there in the shape of a squirrel. I warmed up to her so much, I trusted her... What? Part of my personal life. Because the coach in the car only has the opportunity to talk about something on the phone, not only about business, not only about something related to work, there are also deeply personal conversations. And the child was always with me. And in all these years, never once, anywhere, nothing... Not the slightest discomfort. It costs a lot. Probably, in order to raise a high-level athlete, you must breathe the same air with him, and there is no other way.

Sasha won the world team title in the fall. Did this title weigh you down a little, demanding you live up to it, or did it inspire you?

You know, there was “Sasha before”, and it became “Sasha after”. She called me from Izmir with such joy, but due to the birth of the child I could not be there... Sasha said: “Anna Vyacheslavovna, now I realized that everything is just beginning for me!” Earlier, when I explained to her that we were still preparing for what would come later. Then adult gymnastics will begin. In the meantime, we need to develop, very gruelingly, all these new elements. And in Izmir, Sasha performed in only two exercises, and I heard from her: “I want more, I want to go out!” She opened up very emotionally with Irina Alexandrovna. Before this, she was a little constrained, maybe even complex. At times she did not believe that she was a beautiful girl, that she could move beautifully. From time to time we had dialogues like this: “We need to do this here, it’s very beautiful...”. And until Sasha convinces herself with a mirror, or with the help of a video, that yes, it’s true, it looks beautiful, this movement will not “come to life” for her. And even now, in the new program, in a variation on the theme of “Swan Lake”, she still does not do as well as she can. And at certain moments during training she does things that make you want to cry...

- Is it true?

Yes, she has such things. And Irina Aleksandrovna inspired us, and the director Lucy Dimitrova is a very emotional, creative person. She helped Sasha open up.

- Can you call Alexandra an adult gymnast?

I can not yet. If at one time with Dasha Kondakova (world champion - author's note) we entered adult gymnastics for the second time after group exercises, and Dasha was then eighteen years old, going on her nineteenth, then Sasha Soldatova is still only sixteen. And she is also very different from Yana Kudryavtseva and from Rita Mamun. Somewhere in her there is still a purely childish enthusiasm, but somewhere on the contrary - she does something mechanically, and Yana and Margarita are already enjoying themselves. Including during preparation. I watch them during warm-ups - they get such a buzz from every movement! But everything will come to Sasha. She will definitely enjoy it.

They won a gold medal in ball exercises at the Moscow Grand Prix. And the clubs are most likely openly upset?

Previously, Sasha made the clubs well, but now there was that unsuccessful run that happens during training. Initially, a very high musical tempo was taken, in principle, she copes with it easily - she gets into the flow and catches the courage. But an error occurred, and that’s it. Sasha was confused, the music went ahead, and to catch up... She fell out of the flow, as Irina Aleksandnova (Viner-Usmanova, head coach of the national team - author's note) says, it was obvious. Sasha is a very emotional girl, and this either helps her, or, as now, it completely hinders her.

- But you have experience working with such emotional gymnasts. Daria Kondakova was like that.

- And you know the answer to the question “What to do?”

She and Dasha are radically different. Sasha is emotional on the mat, but in life she is a fairly reserved girl. Dasha was emotional everywhere. Now, by the way, she works as a trainer in Novogorsk. And at first she categorically did not want to become a coach. She trains foreign girls and little gymnasts. And she really likes it. She is still learning, but... she is growing before our eyes.

I remember this picture very well, how at the European Championships in Minsk Dasha cried in your arms and could not calm down. Can Vass Sasha also sometimes be seen in this image?

Very rarely. It happens, of course. But more often she expresses her feelings differently. He squeezes my hand forcefully and pulls me towards him. Sometimes he cries too. But most often in such a way that no one sees it.

- Such a character.

A strong character.

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Formally, we will, of course, talk about the 9th, penultimate stage of the World Cup, which took place the other day in the summer sports capital of Russia, the city of Kazan. We can mention the wide range of flags of the participating countries: Australia, South Africa, the USA, Brazil, and Canada in the individual championship. But still, it cannot be said that a mini-Olympiad was held among individual athletes, since not all the leaders were represented.

But the group teams were represented by all those who would distribute Olympic medals among themselves. The organizers of the stage in Kazan tried to bring the format of the competition closer to the Olympic one: the gymnasts performed on the podium (the mat was located on a raised platform) and did the entire all-around program (four types of programs - with a hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon for individual athletes and two types - with 5 ribbons and clubs + with hoops in group games) 2 days in a row. The Russians had a great first day and won gold in the all-around. The girls from Belarus took 2nd place, performing flawlessly only with ribbons, and the Israeli team took 3rd place, performing their exercises without errors. But on the second day, our team consisting of A. Maksimova, A. Tatareva, M. Tolkacheva, V. Biryukova and A. Bliznyuk performed poorly. With ribbons, we obviously lost an item and stopped in 2nd place only because other strong teams fell out. In a mixed form (with clubs and ribbons) they took gold and were highly appreciated.

I write “the team performed poorly”, “they made losses”, although you only need to write about one person in the team who makes mistakes both in body elements and in working with the apparatus at every tournament, the Kazan stage was simply no exception. It was a shame for the other gymnasts in the group, who know their job very well, but we have to evaluate the team as a whole. Why this state of affairs suits the coaching staff is a huge mystery for the fans. At the same time, the composition of the group team was constantly changing, but stability of performances could not be achieved. If we accept that the format of the competition was Olympic, does this really mean that the Russian group athletes will perform excellently in the qualifications and will make it to the second day - the FINAL? Nobody wants such a result, but the anxiety for the team in group exercises only increased after the Kazan World Cup: the Olympics are a month away, and things are still going wrong.

Russian gymnasts in the individual program in Kazan fought not so much for tournament awards, but for personal “points” in the preferences of the main person in Russian rhythmic gymnastics - Irina Aleksandrovna Viner-Usmanova. Let me remind you that 3 gymnasts are fighting for 2 places in the Olympic ticket in Russia - Yana Kudryavtseva, Margarita Mamun and Alexandra Soldatova. Each is unique in its own way and worthy of representing the country at the main tournament.

In the photo is Yana Kudryavtseva

Yana is distinguished by the crystal purity of her exercises, ballet grace, beautiful feet (high instep), a unique “sense of the subject,” and beautiful balance. She leaves no one indifferent. I remember that the President of the International Gymnastics Federation, Bruno Grandi, said about her that Yana seemed to be from another planet and should compete not with people, but with angels. Margarita Mamun is an actress on the carpet, she performs her exercises with great expression. In addition, she is characterized by a “strong push”, that is, she perfectly performs the most difficult bending jumps, and in a series (three jumps in a row). Alexandra Soldatova is unusually gifted with natural abilities, which allows her to do all the elements of gymnastics with enormous amplitude, flexibility, the most complex turns - very quickly and in 6 rounds. And the more difficult the choice for the head coach - who is more worthy, more reliable?

In the photo Margarita Mamun (left) and Yana Kudryavtseva (right)

That's it, I've exhausted all the superlatives to describe gymnasts and can return to the stage in Kazan. In the all-around, Mamun won gold with a world record for total points, Kudryavtseva ended up in second place due to an error in the exercise with clubs. Soldatova won bronze after performing less than ideally with clubs and ribbon. On the second day, the gymnasts did not do all 4 events, but we can allow ourselves to draw some conclusions, since the Olympic format of the competition was chosen. Rita did 4 exercises, failing in the first of them, with a hoop. Yana did both of her looks perfectly. Sasha performed only with clubs and made no mistakes. That is, if we draw analogies with the Olympic Games, then on the qualification day Mamun would have performed excellently, Yana with one gross error in one of the events, Sasha without any serious errors, but with minor blots in several events. On the FINAL day, Rita would make a blunder on 1 of the 4 exercises. Is not a fact? Perhaps, but there are reasons to assume so. It's not so much about the results of this stage in Kazan. Alas, in the current Olympic cycle, Rita has always lost in the all-around to Yana Kudryavtseva at all major tournaments. At the debut World Championships in Kyiv in 2013, she took 6th place.

In the photo Margarita Mamun

I remember when Evgenia Kanaeva made a gross mistake in qualifying in London in 2012 in her first appearance on the mat (with a hoop), I was not upset, but only breathed a sigh of relief and was confident that in the future she would not make mistakes on both days: neither in qualifying nor on medal day. The fact is that in Beijing in 2008, during the qualification, Kanaeva in the same way allowed the loss of the apparatus in the first exercise (with a jump rope), and then performed everything perfectly.

In the photo I. Viner-Usmanova and Yana Kudryavtseva

In the photo I. Viner-Usmanova and Sasha Soldatova

How serious the selection for the Olympics among Russian gymnasts is is clearly characterized by the fact that Daria Dmitrieva, who won silver at the games in London in 2012, learned that preference was given to her over Alexandra Merkulova, 2 days before the start, while in Russia. Evgenia Kanaeva’s participation in the games, of course, did not raise any questions. Fans then, long before the Olympics, were at a loss, since Daria’s candidacy seemed much more obvious, and her possible replacement with Alexandra Merkulova seemed absurd to many.

Sasha Soldatova cannot be discounted. There is no doubt that she represents the type of gutta-percha gymnast so beloved by the head coach with amazing flexibility and a charming smile, which was Alina Kabaeva. Irina Viner-Usmanova has not yet said her word, but only mentioned in an interview that she will take several gymnasts with her to Rio and will decide there who will perform at the games. Will the epiphany happen again two days before qualifying day?

Gymnastics fans can only rely on the wisdom of the head coach and stock up on popcorn in order to follow with interest and anxiety the ups and downs of the selection for the main competition of the four years. The next start for the Russian team in full will be the World Cup stage in Baku at the end of July. The match meeting with the Italian national team on July 15-17 will take place with the participation of only Sasha Soldatova and group players.