Next week, from September 16 to 22, the main start of the rhythmic gymnastics season - the world championship - will be held in Baku. This will be the last major show of the best gymnasts before the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Olympic quotas in individual and team all-around events will be played in Baku.
In personal competitions, the national team included the sisters Arina and Dean Averina, as well as Alexander Soldatov. The three of them performed at the European Championships in Baku and went to the stages of the World Cup and Grand Prix. However, at the last moment in the Russian team there was a replacement. Instead of the Soldatova, who won the bronze at the last World Championship in the individual championship, the absolute champion of the Universiade Ekaterina Selezneva will perform.
The replacement took place after the incident with Soldatova at the last stage of the World Cup call in Portimao, which was held from September 6 to 8. On the first day, the 21-year-old athlete won the all-around, but on the next day she did not show at all the results that could be expected from her. She became the third in exercises with the ball and the eighth with a hoop, after which she did not perform at all in the remaining individual types of program.
Later it turned out that the reason for withdrawing from the competition was not trauma, but loss of consciousness. Soldatova felt unwell outside the carpet and was forced to abandon further appearances. This was told by her coach Anna Dyachenko.
“After one of the exercises, Sasha felt sick, her eyes darkened, she lost consciousness. The only right decision was to stop the performance. Will she be able to speak at the World Cup depends on the verdict of Irina Viner-Usmanova. Sasha is trying and doing everything possible, and the head coach will decide. And the fact that Soldatova is going to complete her career is out of the question, ”Dyachenko quotes TASS.
After that, the athlete herself commented on the state of her health, assuring the fans that she already feels great.
“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported me in these competitions. I know that I scared many yesterday that she starred. But these were precautions. Now everything is fine with me, I feel great, I’ve gone to sea with a coach. I love and kiss everyone, ”said Soldatova on Instagram.
However, less than a week before the World Cup, it became known that Soldatova would not go to the competition. She will be replaced by 24-year-old Selezneva, for whom this will be the first such start in her career. Also, there was a replacement in group exercises - instead of Olympic champion Vera Biryukova, Evgenia Levanova will perform along with Maria Tolkacheva, Anastasia Maximova, Anastasia Shishmakova and Angelica Stubailo.
Soldier's upcoming competitions were needed to strengthen their position in the team and try to pass the internal selection for the Olympic Games. For the 21-year-old athlete, this is the second attempt to break through to the main starts of the four-year-old.
The previous time, Soldatova could not withstand competition with Margarita Mamun and Yana Kudryavtseva. The next Olympic cycle gymnastics from Sterlitamak began with the fact that she was close to the end of her career. Soldatova broke her leg due to being out of tune and missed the 2017 World Cup and the next European Championship.
After the return of Soldatov, she was able to reach the previous level and even squeezed one of the Averin sisters from the leading positions in the team. At the last World Cup, she managed to beat Arina in qualifications and go to the finals with Dina, after which she became a bronze medalist. On the account of Soldatova was also a victory in the exercises with the tape. True, she won gold with a low rating of 18,600 points due to extremely low complexity and a number of outstanding elements.
In the current season, Soldatova continued to remain in the top three gymnasts in the country. She won the four stages of the World Cup in all-around, but did not compete directly with the Averin sisters. The main competition, where they performed all together, was the European Championship. Soldatova was able to win only two personal silver, and the gold went to the twins. At the same time, the athlete herself was pleased with this result, despite some problems that she refused to discuss.
“To summarize, I’m happy that I spoke here. I say this to myself, first of all, every time. Nobody knows mine, our situation. Knowing that I might not have gone, I'm glad to be here. And I hope that pleased everyone. Not everything showed what she could, but she was happy with the result, ”RIA Novosti told Soldatova.