On Tuesday, the Athletics Week started in Moscow.

Competitions of this format are held in the Russian capital for the first time, and they were opened by the Znamensky Memorial, a tournament that was held for a long time in the Zhukovsky near Moscow, and this year returned to its historical homeland.

The northern sports core of Luzhniki, which became the epicenter of events in this sport for seven days, brought together almost all the leading athletes of the country.

Maria Lasitskene, Sergey Shubenkov, Ilya Ivanyuk, Alexander Menkov are stars that would do honor to any European tournament.

The organizers tried to make the competition bright, beautiful and memorable.

The presentation of the athletes was accompanied by fireworks, and the winners received flower bouquets right at the finish line.

The stadium was decorated with interesting decorations, as well as equipped with large digital screens so that the audience could follow what was happening in different parts of the arena.

And there really was something to watch.

What was worth only the best result of the season in the world performed by high jumper Ilya Ivanyuk.

The bronze medalist of the 2019 World Cup, who had already won the tournament by that time, overcame the bar at a height of 2.34 meters, which was also a competition record.

After that, Ilya tried to add another 4 centimeters to the result, but after the first failure he decided to stop the fight.

“In fact, I didn’t even expect that I would jump 2.34.

Still, the leading work in training spoke of a different result.

It can be said that he jumped higher than he was ready.

Therefore, at 2.38 elementary forces ended, and the mood too.

You still need to move slowly, step by step, as they say.

There were not all rivals yet, the guys are just being drawn into the season.

In a week at the same stadium we will meet with Mikhail Akimenko, it will be more interesting, ”the athlete told reporters after the performance.

Spectators also expected a high result from the main star of the sector, Maria Lasitskene, but the Olympic champion stopped at a modest height of 1.91 meters, which she overcame only on the third attempt.

In general, the famous jumper could have lost this time, since Maria Kochanova finished the competition with the same result.

But in favor of Lasitskene, she took the previous height on the first attempt, and her opponent spent two.

However, it is unlikely that Maria herself attached importance to this fact, since she always emphasizes that she competes in the sector only with herself, and not with rivals.

“I am unhappy with the result, but it doesn't really matter.

I tried, I tried.

The main thing is to work and not fool yourself with unnecessary questions and thoughts.

So, today I am ready for this result, ”the athlete shared.

Maria looked upset, but these emotions were associated not with a specific result, but with the general situation in Russian sports and with the suspension from international competitions.

She noted that she no longer knows whether one can even hope for improvements in this regard and lamented the absence of such competitions as Athletics Week in Russia in the past five years.

“Now it's too late.

Athletics has gone so far that what is happening now will not be enough.

I often ask myself what will be enough.

Yes, I may have become too embittered, but this topic is very difficult for me, ”admitted the three-time world champion.

Sergei Shubenkov looked much more cheerful as he won the 110m hurdles with a clear advantage.

The result of the ex-world champion is 13.41 seconds, and Philip Shabanov, who took second place, was 0.28 seconds behind the winner.

After the finish, Shubenkov joyfully ran in front of a few fans, thanking them for their support, and even presented his award bouquet to one of the spectators in the stands.

At the same time, he, like Lasitskene, was dissatisfied with the result, but stressed that there were no reasons for concern.

“The season is picking up, I am gaining confidence.

You have to compete, compete and compete again.

You need to gradually turn on, and every start helps to this, especially a tournament with such a cozy atmosphere.

The main thing is that there is progress.

Of course, these are not the seconds that I would like to show at the end of the season, but we are working on it, ”said the athlete.

He also said that he was quite used to the idea that there would be no international starts this season and even found something positive for himself in this.

“We just suddenly crossed out all the plans and said: do what you want.

On the one hand, this is very insulting, and on the other hand, it is even better than when they murmur for a long time and constantly say that something is about to change, some kind of decision will be made.

So there is now a chance to come to your senses, to feel the path - in general, it is easier to spend this year.

But if suddenly the results themselves trample, then good.

And if not, then I’m not ready to tear Achilles, like last year, ”Shubenkov said.

In addition to the recognized stars on Tuesday, a new generation of Russian athletes also brightly flashed.

So, Savely Savlukov almost broke the country's record among youth at a distance of 400 meters.

The 22-year-old runner, who trains under the guidance of Sergey Klevtsov along with Shubenkov, completed one lap of the stadium in 45.18 seconds and lost only six hundredths to Nikolai Chernetsky's long-standing record.

At the same time, the athlete changed his specialization only last year and is progressing by leaps and bounds.

Yes, and Savely's plans are very ambitious.

This season, he intends to run out of 45 seconds and possibly compete with Viktor Markin's Russian record (44.60), which has stood for nearly 22 years since the Moscow Olympics.

“I would like to take a swing at him, but this, as you understand, is very fast.

Although the world is now running faster, they are already running out of 44 seconds, ”the athlete emphasized.

Athletics Week runs until June 13th.

There are still themed days ahead: long jump and triple jump competitions are scheduled for June 8 and 9, a sprint festival will be held on June 10 and 11, and high-altitude athletes will enter the sector on June 12 and 13.