After the very fast in terms of results of the qualifying championship of the country, the head coach of the Russian national team Sergei Chepik admitted that he is not too afraid that those who joined the Olympic team will not be able to repeat such high results at the Games in Tokyo.
“Now we have planned a month of hard work, everyone who qualified for the Olympics will go to the training camp in Volgograd, since Turkey, where we planned to conduct the April preparation, was quarantined.
That is, the athletes will constantly be in front of our eyes.
We do not even plan to unload for the European Championships in May.
If all plans are realized, I am sure the result (in Tokyo) will be kept, ”said the RT coach.
In the same interview, commenting on the rapid progress of Kliment Kolesnikov in several types of the program at once, the coach noted that he would recommend the swimmer to refuse to start at the Games at the shortest distance freestyle, despite the fact that the ward fulfilled all the selection criteria. The specialist explained his decision by the fact that the athlete has too many disciplines.
“In relay races, a flurry of load will fall on Clement. Both in freestyle and combined. In addition, we have a vacant distance of 200 on the back. Kolesnikov did not swim it at the Russian Championship, and Grigory Tarasevich failed to fulfill the standard. If Clement wants to swim 200 m in Tokyo, this will add three more difficult starts to him - preliminary, semifinal and final. And the "fifty kopeck" is not only held at the end of the Games, but also the distance is very difficult. I’m one or two hundredths of a second late at the start, and you’re not fighting for anything. It is clear that at the Olympics no one will give you those two hundredths. Therefore, in relation to Kolesnikov, I would not bet on "fifty kopecks". Perhaps I'm wrong ... "- added Chepik.
What Kolesnikov is actually capable of, it seems, we have yet to understand.
But already now we can say that the winner of three awards of the last world championship is on a big rise this season.
Commenting on the world record of 20-year-old Clement, two-time Olympic champion Denis Pankratov called his result absolutely "working".
“This is a normal result for Kolesnikov.
He could have done it at the Russian Championship in Kazan, but twice he lacked a few hundredths.
That is, it was clear that the record was about to take place.
Therefore, I do not see anything surprising, ”said the ex-swimmer.
Kolesnikov himself also reacted calmly to his result and emphasized that he was chasing first of all for time, and not for a place.
“It is clear that OI is a swimming dream and goal for me.
At the Games, what place you have taken plays a role, but I always start from seconds first of all.
In 99% of cases, I set myself the goal of those that, as a rule, guarantee getting on the pedestal, "R-Sport quotes Kolesnikov as saying.
The bronze medalist of the 2019 World Championship Martin Malyutin, who won his first European gold in the 400 m freestyle, also noted that the performance in Budapest was planned in working order.
“It is clear that we didn’t prepare specifically for the European Championship, we didn’t do speed work, but considering that I’m still a little under load, I’m very pleased with today's result,” the athlete admitted.
On the same rise, everyone who won gold medals, including the "preliminary" four relay racers, that is, those who started in the morning swim - Andrey Zhilkin, Mikhail Vekovishchev, Ivan Girev, Evgeny Rylov, went their distances on Monday. The presence of two-time world champion Rylov in the morning swim might seem strange to someone, but only at first glance: it is no coincidence that almost all Russian winners have confirmed that the current European Championship has the function of starting before the main July competition - a passing training stage, no more. This is especially true for those who intend to fight for Olympic medals in Tokyo.
From this point of view, one could probably condescend to a small fly in the ointment, which blurred the rosy picture of the first day of the competition: at the distance of 100 m breaststroke, two of the strongest Russian breaststrokes did not make it to the finals - two-time world champion Anton Chupkov and holder of four highest world titles in the 25-meter swimming pool Kirill Prigoda. Both (each in his semifinals) did not cope with the second half of the distance, "sagging" in speed, and this is one of the signs that the body has not digested the previous training work. Moreover, both Mikhail Gorelik, in whose group Prigoda is swimming, and Chupkov's coach Alexander Nemtyrev are known for their adherence to extreme loads. How correct this was will be shown, of course, by the Olympic Games, although from the point of view of full-fledged competitive participation in the European Championship,not making it to the final is, of course, a big minus. And it's not even about the medals, but about the fact that both Cyril and Anton have deprived themselves of a very important start. Even if both considered him training.