- From a young age behind you has been the glory of your father, European champion and two-time medalist of world swimming championships Roman Shchegolev. Was there an internal protest when the parents were taken to the pool?
- Mom and Dad did not want to send me to the voyage at all.
Probably because they felt on themselves what a swimmer's training is, how hard they are.
And they just felt sorry for me.
At first they brought me to my grandmother - to splash in the paddling pool, because my grandmother is also a former swimmer.
And then I somehow got involved.
There was a case when the whole family was vacationing in Turkey and I, not yet knowing how to swim, jumped into the pool.
My father rushed after me, caught me, pulled me ashore, but as soon as he turned away, I jumped into the pool again.
And he swam.
After that, my dad took me to "Ekran", where he once trained himself, but without any sporting goal.
And until the seventh grade, I swam for my own pleasure.
The targets came later.
- I know almost everything about your dad's sports career. And at what level did mom perform?
- Until the age of 14 she trained with her father, Andrei Bogdanov, who became the second at the Olympic Games in Montreal.
- In the relay 4x200 m freestyle. I remember very well, because that team was led by my father.
- Unfortunately, I have never seen my grandfather.
He died before I was born, drowned in the summer of 1999.
I have his silver medal at home.
It's just that my mother did not swim too long - she was tired of it.
She fulfilled the standard of a master of sports and went into synchronized swimming.
She became the European champion among juniors, the master of sports of international class.
But she was not taken to the national team, since she was from St. Petersburg.
At the time, this was considered a serious obstacle.
- When did you start to perceive yourself as a professional swimmer?
- When I first achieved a medal at the junior championship of Russia.
After that, he began to consciously set himself more and more lofty tasks.
- At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, you, nevertheless, did not manage to swim in the final, although you were selected for the team. Do you think there was a chance?
- Theoretically, yes, but emotionally I was not ready for it.
The games became just the second adult tournament for me, and emotions simply overwhelmed me too much: in the preliminary swim of the 4x100 relay, I failed my stage, and, naturally, I was not included in the final four.
- In a sense, you are probably just out of luck: you started performing at an adult level, preparing for your first Olympics, and almost immediately fell into a pandemic, having lost the opportunity to fully train.
- I continued to work anyway.
The first month in this regard turned out to be the most difficult, it was possible to study only in the gym.
Accordingly, I ran, pulled rubber, swayed my muscles, and then my parents agreed with their acquaintances, and they began to let me into the 15-meter pool at the fitness club once a day for a small fee.
There I was able to swim two kilometers a day.
And after some time, the athletes were given access to the Krugloye Lake base, we went there and began to train normally.
- Why a crawl, and not some other style?
- Probably, genes influenced.
In general, I swim well with all styles.
Once I started with butterfly and crawl, then moved to my back ... I swim well in 100 meters complex, although breaststroke falls out a little.
- Is it hard to train with your own father?
- Not really.
We don't talk about swimming at home, if that's what you mean.
- Roman was very worried about you in Abu Dhabi and even admitted to me that he tries not to catch your eye during the competition.
“I usually ask him to stay away myself.
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Publication from Aleksandr Shchegolev (@alex_shchegol)
- Why?
- I need independence before the start.
If I feel that they are following me, wearing things, controlling my actions, or simply insuring me in some other way, it becomes harder to tune in to the performance.
Excessive care is relaxing.
- I agree. Which of the starts this season is more valuable for you in terms of experience - the European Aquatics Championships in Budapest or the December short course world?
- Abu Dhabi, definitely.
At the European Championships, I did not swim so many distances, and the rivals there were simpler.
In each event, four people started from our country, and you just had to swim in the morning with the second result to get to the final.
Here I had to fight very seriously already in the preliminary heats.
- Is your only personal silver in the 200 m freestyle race a defeat or a victory?
- I reached the final with the fifth time, so from this point of view, the medal is a definite achievement.
It's just that my best result on the 200m is 1.41.0, and it's very hard not to think that with this time I would be the first in Abu Dhabi.
- It seemed to me that you saw your opponent too late at that distance.
- I saw him about ten meters before the finish line, when I was already covered in order.
Swam on the teeth.
I didn't think, to be honest, that the Korean was that close.
I was counting on having a supply.
- First thought, when did you look at the scoreboard?
- Damn, how is that?
Again 0.03 ...
- In what sense is "again"?
- At the junior world championship, I lost 0.03 in the 50 m butterfly, 0.04 in the 200 m crawl.
In general, this often happens to me.
I can burn out, let's put it this way.
Therefore, during the competition I try to distract myself from the upcoming start as much as possible.
- In this connection and when did you realize to yourself that you know how to burn out?
- Just at that world championship, where I lost 0.03 on fifty dollars.
I went to the start, jumped into the water, and five meters before the finish line I managed to think that I might not get into the finish touch.
And he didn't.
He swam first, and became the fourth.
- What does your life consist of besides swimming?
- I am studying at the Polytechnic University of St. Petersburg as a design engineer.
- An interesting choice.
- My parents didn't want me to follow in their footsteps and become a coach.
And I myself was not in the mood for this profession.
Only a few become outstanding mentors, and it turns out that most of the graduates of the Institute of Physical Education go to work in fitness clubs.
A design engineer is not only construction, but also many other areas.
- From what I have said, I conclude that you did well at school.
- I did really well at school.
In the exams, he scored 264 points, received a bonus of ten points for the title of master of sports of international class and went to the budget.
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- Was it important for your family?
- Not too much.
I would go to study anyway.
80 thousand rubles per semester is the amount that I can earn by swimming.
Although, of course, we discussed this at home, and the parents were ready to help.
- Do you manage to get out somewhere on trips?
- Only on days off.
When we arrived in Abu Dhabi, I chose the time, walked along the Formula 1 track, looked at the cars - this was the last day of test races.
I got a lot of impressions.
I also went to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
Considering that I am studying almost as an architect, it was very informative.
- If you had the opportunity to train with any swimmer in the world, who would you choose?
- It would be interesting to see how Caleb Dressel trains.
How he works out his famous starts.
Anyway, I would love to swim in other countries.
It is quite obvious that their methodology and that of us differ quite strongly.
- Why do you think so?
- I see people swimming in warm-ups.
They do not have monotonous series - it is striking.
The hardest part about swimming is coming to practice knowing that now you will be doing the same job that you have done a thousand times already.
- What's the coolest thing about swimming?
- Starts.
Compete with people who are not weaker than you.
And win.