“Pushed a friend’s example”
- You announced your return to swimming during a television interview. Did you come to the studio specifically for this purpose?
- No, I was invited to just talk about sports. So my recognition was just a side effect of talking to reporters.
- Is the decision to return a side effect of postponing the 2020 Olympics for one year?
- Exactly. I was lying on the sofa in isolation, like all people, thinking about moving the Olympics and suddenly realized that I really miss swimming. To such an extent, I want to start training, that I just can’t think of anything else. He pushed the example of a friend, Vakhtang Beridze. Now he is a fairly famous actor, but once seriously engaged in swimming. He told me that he would like to qualify for the Games as part of the Georgian national team. So I thought: am I worse? Why not try it? Moreover, a whole year suddenly appeared in stock. Therefore, back in May, he wrote a statement of return.
- You seem to be the first person in whose life the pandemic played an exceptionally positive role. Intend to train independently?
- I immediately called Gennady Turetsky to Switzerland, with whom I collaborated before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, rather messily set out my thoughts to him. He listened and said: "The idea is good, I like it." I just have to train for the time being on the job, because I work.
- What do you do?
- I work in the United Aircraft Corporation. At first I worked at the head office in the personnel training department, recently I was transferred to another unit, and the authority has not yet been completely determined. But I have a specialized education - I graduated from St. Petersburg University of Economics with a degree in personnel management. But I can’t become a coach with all the desire: I don’t have a physical education.
- Are you planning to work with Turetsky remotely?
- So far, yes, because the borders are closed. We often call up with Gennady Gennadevich, discuss training. As soon as the situation with trips is normalized, I would like to hold several training camps in Europe under the direct supervision of a mentor.
“Are you sure that your absence will be treated with understanding at work?”
- I have accumulated a lot of non-vacation holidays, so for now I intend to use them.
“Otherwise I began to look at swimming”
- Remember the moment when you decided to end your career?
- Yes, it happened right away in the Games in Rio de Janeiro. He left the Olympic pool with the thought of never returning again. So my last jump into the water from the nightstand was made there.
- What made sports life so abruptly end?
- Too tired of swimming. First of all, morally. All the pre-Olympic preparation was hard given, and the 2016 Olympics itself entered somehow quite harshly.
“Tried to understand why this happened?”
- I think the main reason was that at the crucial moment, Turetsky was not nearby. In the sprint, I was considered the second number after Vladimir Morozov, and my mentor was simply not accepted into the team, they were not even invited to the final training camp, where it was very important to constantly adjust the training. I trained alone and a week before the Games I realized that I “suffered”, there were some incredible speeds. I was even scared. I called Gennady Gennadievich, he advised what should be done to slow down the typing. But this process is not easy to manage yourself, without the help of a specialist. Still, this is a completely fine-tuning.
- At one time you had serious health problems ...
- Yes, I have congenital asthma and even have all the necessary permissions from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Swimming Federation (FINA) for the use of anti-asthma drugs. True, before Rio everyone was so scared by the constant doping quibbles to Russian athletes that the doctor strictly forbade me to take these drugs. But even without them I felt great.
- And in one day it was all over?
- It was like that. About three days before departure to Rio, I suddenly burst into a wall. Heaviness appeared, speeds fell, and with them the mood. All this was complicated by the lack of a coach in the team who would deal with relay races. That is, the fact that Turkish was always brilliantly able to do. I'm not trying to blame someone for something, after all, too much time has passed. But from a moral point of view, my condition after the Olympics was really difficult.
“Nevertheless, are you not afraid to enter the same water?”
- I began to look at swimming quite differently. I like to train, I love it, I get great pleasure from the process. Therefore, I want to qualify for the Olympic team and show a decent result at the Games. Well, if you fail to achieve your plan, at least I will know that I did everything possible to use my chance. It will turn out - I will be glad. No - at least I will bring myself to a normal physical state. Have to throw eight kilograms. But this is not scary.
- What do you mean by “worthy result”?
- He must surpass all the best time indicators that I showed before the Games in Rio.
- Including your Russian freestyle 100-meter record, beaten a year ago by Vladislav Grinev?
- The minimum program is to improve the time at least at the fifty dollars that I swam in 21.8 seconds before the 2012 Games in London.
- Turkish believes that at your age is real?
- The main thing, I myself consider it real.