In early April, Russian divers played in Kazan for the second Cup of Russian Champions.
For the first time, such a tournament in the capital of Tatarstan was organized in 2021, when the number of competitions in the country and the world dropped sharply due to the pandemic.
In diving, in particular, the stages of the Grand Prix and the World Series were canceled at that time, and the understanding came that athletes definitely need to compete somewhere.
The current tournament was organized for the same purpose, but arose, one might say, spontaneously - as a result of the removal of Russian athletes from international competitions: it was held in training mode, as a control start for members of the Russian team.
In terms of the composition of the participants, the competition turned out to be somewhat truncated: the vice-champion of the 2012 Games and the world champion in synchronized ski jumping Evgeny Kuznetsov, two-time European champion Nikita Shleikher and the country's strongest climber, Olympic medalist in Tokyo Alexander Bondar did not take part in them.
Athletes had to give up performances not from a good life.
At the March training camp, which took place at the Krugloe Lake base, Schleicher fell seriously ill, struggled with a high temperature for several days, began to lose weight sharply and eventually lost 7 kg.
Accordingly, there was no question of performing in such a state - first it was necessary to restore physical condition.
Kuznetsov was knocked down by an injury: two days before the start of the competition in Kazan, Evgeny slipped on the springboard, severely injuring the toes of his left foot.
An old shoulder injury aggravated in Bondar, in connection with which it was decided to start treatment and try to put the joint in order while there is time for this.
If we look for some advantages in the current situation, they are primarily in the fact that the absence of responsible competitions allows athletes to include new elements of higher complexity in their programs that can be tested at secondary starts.
In Kazan, several athletes showed new combinations of spins at once.
Ruslan Ternovoy for the first time performed three turns back from a 10-meter platform from a handstand in a pike position, Maxim Malofeev, who won the tower tournament, successfully coped with a jump of 4.5 turns forward, and Igor Myalin demonstrated 3.5 turns on the same projectile bending back.
On a three-meter springboard, 4.5 turns forward were recorded as an asset by five people at once, and this was in the absence of two team leaders.
“It is very important that the tendency to complicate their programs is manifested in Russian jumps now so powerfully.
Now there is just time to work on this, and I see a definite plus in this, ”said Svetlana Moiseeva, head coach of the Russian national team, in an interview with RT.
According to the coach, in Kazan she was also pleased that in jumping from a 10-meter platform for women (a rather problematic projectile for Russian athletes), the participants managed to avoid gross mistakes.
The champion in this type of program was Anna Konanykhina, who a year ago burst into the national team very powerfully, winning the European Championship in Budapest.
Anya failed at the Olympics, but there was an explanation for this: shortly before the Games, the debutante had been ill with a coronavirus in a rather severe form and did not have time to recover.
Another unscheduled tournament was held in Minsk with the participation of not only Russian, but also Belarusian athletes.
For the Russian team, this was an additional opportunity to perform programs in a competitive mode, and at the same time change the usual environment.
“We need to compete now, so as not to lose motivation, not to lose competitive sensations, and this is very important: in a complex coordination sport, this skill should never be missed.
What the long absence of starts leads to, we all had the opportunity to observe during the pandemic: when the competition resumed, the first starts were extremely nervous.
Outwardly, the guys tried not to show that they were shaking beyond usual, but the quality of the jumps showed how great the stress was, ”Moiseeva explained.
Why the ability to perform is so important for divers is understandable: in this sport, the very format of performances is a big stress: each of the five (for women) or six (for men) attempts requires maximum concentration, and the athlete sometimes has to be in this state several hours in a row.
It is possible to train in oneself the ability not to succumb to stress and all sorts of distractions only through starts.
What exactly were the representatives of Russian water sports deprived of this year?
Possibly one of the busiest competitive seasons ever.
The World Championship, which was supposed to be held in the summer in Fukuoka, was postponed to next year due to the pandemic by the decision of the Japanese side, but in return, the Hungarian Swimming Federation immediately offered to host a full-fledged alternative championship on its territory (it will be held in Budapest from June 18 to 3 July) in six water disciplines: pool and open water swimming, synchronized swimming, diving, high diving and water polo.
From August 11 to 21, Rome will host an equally full-scale (excluding men's and women's water polo tournaments) European Aquatics Championship.
The plans of Russian jumpers for this season also include several starts.
If you list in order of importance, this is, first of all, the Russian Championship, which will be held in Penza from July 10 to July 16.
Before that, the athletes will compete in the Diving Federation Cup in St. Petersburg with an extended squad.
This start is scheduled for the end of May - beginning of June, and it is planned to make it open to athletes from other countries if they express their desire and if the internal calendar allows it.
The tournament, which is planned to be held at the end of the year in Kazan on the initiative of the local sports administration, deserves special attention.
In connection with the sanctions against Russian sports, the city lost several major tournaments this season at once: the Swimming World Cup stage, the World Championship in a 25-meter pool and the jumping World Series stage.
Therefore, a proposal arose to redistribute funds and resources in such a way as to at least partially compensate the athletes for changes in the calendar.
The complex tournament, which is proposed to be held, in diving will consist of three stages of increasing importance - both for juniors and for leading athletes.
The competition is planned to be open to everyone, including Chinese athletes.
So far, no official responses have been received from foreign federations, but coaches from Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela have already expressed interest in the event.
In November and December, no significant tournaments are held in diving, so it is completely possible that many more athletes will be able to come to Kazan than it seems real now.
Another grandiose sports project of the season (no longer by the diving federation, but by the Russian Ministry of Sports) may be the Olympics in 35 Olympic sports, the program of which will also include water disciplines.
Now the project is under consideration, but this is a separate sports story.