“It’s hard to stay at the same level”: Shilov on quarantine training, people's attitudes towards people with disabilities and meetings with Putin

“Trying to comply with the quarantine rules”

- At the moment, you are working as a coach of the Russian Paralympic athletics team. Tell us how the coronavirus pandemic affected the team.

- We had daily training, regular competitions, and now everything has been canceled. They conducted preparations for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, even organized the final gathering before the qualifying tournaments, but now they have been postponed, and preparations have been suspended. Now I work mainly with Paralympics, who represent exactly the summer sports - athletics and wheelchair races.

- How do your wards keep fit at home?

- They have special simulators. We try not to sit idle, but to keep fit, albeit not in the same mode as usual. Of course, everything that happened was a blow for the guys, because they were in good shape, preparing for certain starts. We were excommunicated from big sport for three years and only returned. We felt the taste of struggle, adrenaline - and again I had to stop. But our goals are still the same. We tuned in for August-September of this year, now we are tuning in for the next. Paralympic games moved to the 2021st.

- What exercises do disabled athletes perform on self-isolation?

- Mostly work on special exercise bikes designed for wheelchairs. That is, in fact, this is an analogue of a treadmill, only a stroller is attached to it. A special roller is spinning under the wheels. All athletes in our group have such. In addition, the guys work with barbells, dumbbells and elastic bands. Tighten up, push up.

- Are there any activities on the street?

- You can’t go out yet. We try to abide by the rules and without unnecessary need not to leave our homes. After all, in a wheelchair you can’t just go for a run. You need to go to some park, and they are all closed now. So we are in quarantine, like most athletes. Although some can afford to continue to practice in the air. For example, core pushers. One of them went to the cottage. In their garden, they can even push the core, even throw a spear.

- How difficult is a permanent stay at home from a psychological point of view?

- For people with physical disabilities, especially wheelchairs, sport is indeed a serious outlet. So they can live a normal life, socialize. But the team still gathered professionals, and in the first place is maintaining a fit. And going out is not a problem for us, we are usually there all the time. But in general, the guys are not discouraged and are constantly joking about the coronavirus. People communicate regularly, try not to forget each other.

- Really keep fit with such home workouts?

- Of course, staying at the same level is very difficult. But you can just cry and lie on the couch, or you can continue to train. Yes, you will not be at the peak, but you will not fall into the pit either.

- How does the Paralympic Committee of Russia support the athletes during the pandemic?

- Athletes who are part of the Russian national team receive a salary at the Ministry of Sports, at the Center for Sports Training in Paralympic Sports. All are on bets. But the rate depends on the results. The world champion has one salary, the silver medalist has another, the Russian champion has a third. In some sports, the situation is confusing. For example, in skiing they managed to complete the World Cup, but the championship of the planet did not take place.

“Most people will feel on themselves what it means to be disabled”

“Do you appear on the street yourself?”

- Not so often. But I was self-insulated in the country. I have the opportunity to ride on the site, albeit not in a racing carriage, to breathe air. Sometimes I pick up a shovel and rake, throw the ground.

- What difficulties does the coronavirus pandemic have for people with disabilities?

- The fact is that the infection gives great complications for chronic diseases. For many, because of COVID-19, they worsen, and death occurs precisely for this reason. And people with disabilities have a lot of related specific diseases. And the body itself is weakened by relatively healthy people. Therefore, you need to be very careful and accurate.

- Do you have to observe special precautions?

- First of all, we are talking about the simplest rules of hygiene. Plus, those in wheelchairs try to regularly treat the hoops on wheels with an antiseptic. As other people wipe the door handles, so we are the wheels. If we talk about gloves, many people put them on so as not to rub calluses.

- Doctors are now mostly busy with patients with COVID-19. Can you get the help you need?

- Indeed, now all planned and unplanned rehabilitation has been postponed. Everyone is in a position where it is very difficult to get help. This is simply necessary for some, and such things will not affect health positively. But carrying out such events is now risky, because there is no guarantee that no one will deliver the coronavirus and it will not get worse.

- How do people with disabilities in quarantine feel psychologically after all?

- It seems to me that most people now feel on themselves what it means to be disabled and not be able to go out. However, the pandemic will end, and they will return to normal again, and someone will stay at home ...

“We don’t like it when people treat us like people with disabilities”

- You were in a wheelchair in 1986, and for more than 30 years you have been observing changes in infrastructure in Moscow through the eyes of a person with disabilities. How much easier has it become for you to move around the capital?

- There are a lot of improvements. If we take the 1990s and our days - this is heaven and earth. Now, in a wheelchair, you can safely move around almost the entire city, both on land and underground transport. There are many special low-floor buses.

Not only that, there is an application with which the wheelchair can see how it will be most convenient for him to get on the subway: where there are elevators, walkways, etc. Previously, when I often used the subway, I knew which routes to choose in order to depend on help as little as possible. After all, we, the disabled, can go down the stairs on our own, but to climb - only with someone else's help. I had to look for options to somehow go around the problem areas.

- What is the most difficult thing for a person with disabilities in an urban environment?

- Stairs and curbs are nonsense. The most difficult thing is to overcome yourself, to force yourself to go out. You understand that people will look at you, they will see you the way you are - in a wheelchair. This moment is hard to overcome.

“How did you do it?”

- I was only 16 years old when I was injured, so I endured everything easier. At first everyone seemed to be looking at me. Looked closely: looked and then went about their business. Nobody cares about me. So gradually I got used to it and realized that I was no different from others.

- How did your comrades in misfortune help in coping with psychological problems?

- Conducted long conversations. I tried to explain why it is worth overcoming myself. There were guys who just didn't want to live anymore and tried to get their hands on themselves. They said: "I am disabled, and now no one needs, life is over."

- Did sports help many of them? For example, six-time Paralympic champion Roman Petushkov at the age of 18 lost his legs ...

- Such stories are full. Each Paralympic, even if not a champion, has his own way of overcoming. First of all, they all stepped over themselves, turned out to be stronger than the negativity that was both around and in themselves. You can make films about everyone, and the plots will not be repeated.

“Have you had this moment of despair?”

- Just did not have time to plunge into it. The guys surrounded me with care and attention. I realized that they needed as a person and person, and not just a runner athlete. And gradually, from running, I switched to administrative work, helping as much as possible. I did not sink to this bottom when a person is forgotten by everyone and no one needs. And then he started skiing.

- Sports can be called a universal recipe for people with disabilities?

- Sport suits the majority. And this is one of the most effective ways of rehabilitation, both physical and psychological. People have some interests, new acquaintances. You go to competitions and start traveling instead of just sitting at home. Unfortunately, sport for many disabled people is almost the only opportunity to be realized, since finding a job is not always possible, they do not always take it.

- How has the attitude of ordinary people towards people with disabilities changed over time?

- Progress is palpable. In the 1990s, we seemed to have no disabled people. When they started to train, they looked at us askance. People in earnest asked: “Why do you need skiing? It would be better if they gave it to us. ” It even happened that they drove off the track! But when they started to win, the attitude changed.

- What stories revolted you most of all?

- I remember when we traveled around Russia, we were sometimes mistaken for beggars. It was believed that if you are in a wheelchair, then you are asking for alms. There was a case, they were waiting for the train, and another disabled person came up to us with the words: "Come from here, here is my place." That is, just a beggar saw us as a competitor.

And now people in wheelchairs are often associated precisely with Paralympics. It also affected the fact that they began to show us on TV. People see how we win medals, meet with the president, and receive state awards.

- What mistakes do people make towards people with disabilities?

- We do not like it when we are treated as invalids, inferior. In most cases, we are just like everyone else.

- You mentioned meetings with Vladimir Putin. Which of them is especially remembered?

- In 2014, I was appointed mayor of the Paralympic village in Sochi. And then I had a chance to conduct an excursion for the president. I remember, worried, still the head of state. I tell and get lost. And Vladimir Vladimirovich pats me on the shoulder, they say, do not worry, everything is fine. Then he shook his hand and wished him good luck. In general, he impressed an ordinary person, and not some unattainable celestial. And so we saw both Putin and Dmitry Medvedev repeatedly after the Paralympic Games. This is the case with Turin 2006.

- What now from the height of your experience can you advise people in a wheelchair?

- The main thing is to always remain human, not to forget those who pulled you out of this hole and supported you. Now everyone has the Internet, you can find something to their liking. No need to lock yourself in and feel sorry for yourself. This is the worst. When you do this, any development stops. Do you want to go in for sports - there are plenty of options. If you want to draw, please. After all, there are people whose hands do not work, or they don’t exist at all - they hold the brush with their teeth. The main desire. Man is the blacksmith of his own happiness.