- Congratulations on the anniversary of the triumph at the Olympics. Have you ever celebrated a significant date?
- Honestly, no.
I even forgot on what exact day the final took place, after all, 30 years have already passed.
Ira Sumnikova reminded me and congratulated me.
And I can’t say that I celebrate this victory every year.
I take it easy.
- What is the first thing you remember about those competitions?
- I remember that until the last moment we did not know whether we would get to them at all, since the qualification took place a month or a half before the start of the Olympics.
It was very difficult: two groups - six teams each, and only two teams went out.
That is, it was necessary to take first place.
It wasn't easy for us, but we did it.
In general, it was such a monotonous process: preparation for the selection, the tournament itself, and then, without a break, work before the Olympics.
Therefore, having arrived in Barcelona, we exhaled: finally, we will perform!
And for me it was the first such championship, and everything seemed new and unusual.
And the mood was absolutely unambiguous - to compete for first place.
The team included girls who won bronze medals at the Olympic Games in Seoul, and they, of course, wanted more.
And here we are, anticipating and happy, bam - and the first match is inferior to the Cubans.
The opponent turned out to be so sharp, uncomfortable, the girls were running and jumping.
We were defeated, and this automatically dropped us to second place in the group and brought us to the semi-finals in the USA.
- What were your thoughts on the eve of that match: were you nervous or, on the contrary, experienced an emotional upsurge?
“We had calm concentration.
On the eve of the meeting, Yevgeny Yakovlevich Gomelsky gathered us, and everyone was waiting for a serious patriotic conversation, a call to rush to the barricades with flags, but everything went quite differently.
He simply said that he believes in us, and - this is already a well-known story - put several cardboard packages (glass cannot be brought into the village) of white wine in front of us, and then left.
I can't tell if anyone ever drank it.
It seems that some just sipped.
It was just a demonstrative gesture, an occasion to get together and talk.
And we told each other that we only go out to win.
No other options were even considered.
And, importantly, we did not have some kind of hatred mood.
Nobody said that we are stronger and now we will show them Kuz'kin's mother.
In my opinion,
- It is believed that the CIS team won a tactical victory. Do you agree?
- We just dismantled the US team into cogs: we got into the zone defense, but they don’t know how to play against it.
If it is of high quality, then it is very difficult to break it, especially if you take the rebound.
The opponent has no arguments.
And we worked clearly: we picked up the ball, ran away, scored.
And the Americans began to twitch, tried to throw from afar, go one-on-one.
But against the "zone" it is pointless, we need a collective game, but they did not succeed in it.
Their coach made substitutions, shuffled the squad, but it didn't help.
In addition, then there were not quarters, but two halves of 20 minutes each, and there were only two time-outs for this large piece of time.
That is, the athletes were more left to themselves, interacted less with the mentor.
And the rivals went blots, then coaching mistakes.
And we controlled the match until the end.
- Did they meet the defeat with dignity?
- Yes, they congratulated us, recognized that we looked great, but they didn’t.
Moreover, the American men's dream team was also present at that match, we ran into them on the way to the locker room after the meeting.
I remember Scottie Pippen and Patrick Ewing were standing there.
Showed thumbs up, like, "cool, girls."
It was nice that such stars appreciated our work.
- What is it like to tune in to the final with China after such a triumph? Was there a danger of burning out?
- Absolutely not.
No one was worried about China, we were sure that we would beat them.
Before the Olympics, there was not a single match in which we would have lost to the Asians.
Then the national team regularly met with a variety of foreign teams that posed any kind of threat to us.
They flew to Australia, fought with Japan, South Korea, China, in the USA - with youth teams, with teams from state universities.
Thanks to this, we were always at the peak of basketball fashion and knew about all the new things: what was happening, what to expect from this or that opponent.
It's a pity that now they don't organize something similar for domestic basketball players.
And in those years, the federation and personally Yevgeny Yakovlevich tried their best.
That's why we knew China.
- So they took over without much effort?
“We kept the game under control all the time.
Objectively speaking, we had a longer bench than China: we played with ten men, and they played with six.
In addition, it was very difficult for them to have a semi-final with our offenders in the group stage - the Cubans.
The Chinese women pressed for 40 minutes, and our Vadim Pavlovich Kapranov said that they must have eaten too much ginseng.
After all, it is unrealistic to press without a break.
And then, in China, the whole game was built through Zheng Haixu, a tall two-meter girl.
By type, she is similar to our Ulyana Semyonova.
But we did not act against her personally, but, on the contrary, put pressure on the “small ones”, tore them away from the leader.
And she had to fight for every ball, and because of her height, she quickly got tired, and, as far as I remember, she had a problem with her knee.
Therefore, it was often changed.
The Asians, of course, tried to catch up, but we calmly kept a lead of five or six goals.
At least I never doubted for a second that we would become champions.
The only question that was spinning in my head was why they didn’t let me out on the floor in the final.
Against the United States, I did not come out in the starting lineup, but I took an active part.
And in the golden match did not play a minute.
It was embarrassing.
- Did you ask the coaches why it happened?
- I signaled to them throughout the meeting that I was ready, let me out.
Vadim Pavlovich sent me to warm up already in the second half, he was so tired of me (laughs).
And so I jumped there at the end of the bench, waving a towel.
Our handball players were still sitting in the stands, who teased me: come on, come out already.
But they never let me out.
Then she asked Kapranov: “How is it?”.
He replied: you are supposedly so young, everything is ahead.
You can also play basketball.
— I think the joy of victory blocked the unpleasant emotions.
- Do you know what was the most unpleasant in the finale?
Ira Sumnikova and I were taken for doping control.
In Barcelona, after each game, the doctor was approached with a dark bag containing barrels with numbers, like in loto.
And so the doctor pulled out my 5th number and the 12th Ira.
And this is the saddest moment, because I don't have any pictures from the dressing room right now.
And we didn’t manage to fully enjoy the award, because the commissars almost removed us from the pedestal and dragged us into this room.
And there were still girls from the match for third place in it - Cubans and Americans.
And we had to wait for them to hand over their jars.
Although I asked to be let go ahead, I was ready to quickly cope with this task.
But no, you can't, you shouldn't.
And in the end, we got to the Olympic village only at the third hour of the night.
- A very long day.
“We were also brought to the wrong exit, so we had to walk through the whole village, through the main square.
But we received so many congratulations even at this late time.
We walked with medals, and all the people, even complete strangers, who came across along the way, greeted us.
We arrive at our floor, and there the smoke is like a rocker (laughs).
We lived in the same house with handball players and gymnasts, with Vitalik Shcherbo, who made a splash at those Games.
In short, no one slept all night.
And in the morning we went to call home.
At that time there were no mobile phones, so we were given special cards with which we could contact Russia.
I dialed my first coach and my mother, and that's where my limit ended.
It seemed to be there for about five minutes.
And in the evening the handball players won their final, and again we had a sleepless night.
In the morning at 8:00 we were supposed to fly home, but our plane was delayed, and we spent 12 hours at the airport, leaving only in the evening.
And so, in the middle of the night, I arrive at my hostel in Moscow, where everyone meets me, congratulates me - and says: “Lena, you think of something to eat, we will celebrate.”
I answer: “Is it okay that I haven’t slept for the third night already ?!”
But it was fun.
- Did the feeling that you are now an Olympic champion come immediately or after some time?
- Probably, the first understanding appeared the next day, when we were also awarded certificates of honored masters of sports in Barcelona.
Now, to get this title, you need to comply with so many formalities, but then they just took it and issued it.
And after the Olympic Games, Evgeny Yakovlevich and I went to Israel: I - to play, and he - to train.
We were warmly welcomed there.
And when you are called an Olympic champion many times, you are invited for an interview, you begin to understand that yes, this is true.
- In Barcelona, you played as part of the United Team, without the flag and anthem of the country. Worried about this?
- You know, when I was still a child and watched on TV how Irina Rodnina was crying to the anthem of the USSR, I wondered: but if I become a champion, will I be the same?
I decided that probably yes.
And when this moment came, we climbed onto the pedestal, and unfamiliar music began to sound, there was no desire to cry.
There are also doping commissioners nearby, threatening to deprive you of medals if you do not immediately go to take tests.
But all this paled in comparison with the victory itself.
We went to these competitions so much that everything was unimportant.
Even if there were no state attributes, we considered ourselves Soviet athletes.
And the current athletes, in spite of everything, know that they are Russian.
And the statements that it is not necessary to perform without a flag and an anthem, I think are wrong.
An athlete invests too much strength and health in his career, which can be very short.
Representatives of some species, in gymnastics, for example, sometimes have only one Olympics in their life.
And you need to go out and win it, regardless of external factors, whether you have a flag or not.
- Now the medalists of the Games receive solid cash awards and gifts. How were champions encouraged in your time?
We were given bonuses of $3,000.
And cash directly in Barcelona.
I don’t remember exactly who it was from - from the federation or from the ROC.
Then, with this money, it was probably possible to buy a small apartment in a small town.
In Moscow, of course, no.
I can say that in 1995 the price of real estate in the capital was around $400 per m².
That is, all the money would be enough for 7.5 meters.
And we didn't get anything else.
Although Mayor Yuri Luzhkov at one time said that all those in need would be given housing.
But in the end, we were only included in the cooperative, but were purchased for our own.
It was one of the last such houses after the collapse of the USSR.
The case was, frankly, unreliable at that time, since the cooperative could fall apart at any moment.
But, fortunately, this did not happen.
So nothing was as easy for the Olympians of the 1990s as it was for the current winners.
Apartments, cars, premiums, both federal and from the regions - only win.
- And at the end of their career they are supported, many paths are open to them.
- Yes, but few of our generation found themselves later.
Today, in game sports, especially in football, they try to keep athletes in the club, involve them in the training structure or in the administrative apparatus.
In our time, there was nothing like that, and many athletes were left with great experience, no one needs it.
Already the next generation has become more in demand.
Private children's schools appeared, salaries in teams became an order of magnitude higher.
But we're still lucky.
I can hardly imagine how the Olympians of the 70s and 80s cope.
At one time I was involved in the affairs of sports veterans, and I feel very sorry for the players of the past, who alone have to solve their health problems.
Someone needs to change the joint, someone needs to do serious examinations - and all this is in the order of the general queue.
I would suggest giving Olympic participants a federal benefit, like combat veterans or nuclear industry workers, for example.
Tie them to the FMBA so that they can undergo examinations there, be treated and receive modern high-tech assistance for free.
I have an example specifically from our Olympic team.
The athlete needed to change the joint, the situation was critical, the operation had to be done urgently.
But according to the quota, it was necessary to wait for her for a very long time, and no matter what doors she knocked on, no one helped her resolve this issue.
In the end, she did the procedure for free.
But what about those who cannot afford it?
- We have enough athletes in the State Duma, probably, we need to act through them in order to put forward this initiative?
- I am familiar with Svetlana Zhurova and Nikolai Valuev, but they are not in the relevant committees and, probably, there is little point in contacting them.
And I could tell the profile department a lot.
First of all, about the incorrect, in my opinion, system of remuneration for children's coaches, whose salary depends on the category - that is, victories in competitions.
Because of false goals, the specialist does not need pupils, but triumphs.
Unfortunately, not everyone is conscientious in their work, some “kill” children in sports schools, if only they would receive medals.
After all, at the age of 13-14, menisci and cruciate ligaments are torn!
How can this be?
Therefore, a lot of talented guys who cannot give a result here and now go to study.
It's just that the coach can't wait for them to develop.
This is the scourge of children's sports.
The same with a small number of clubs.
We have few teams, few matches, but a lot of foreigners in them.
In the women's premier league there are only 12 teams, in the men's VTB league there are even fewer Russian teams - 10, almost every half of the squad consists of foreign players.
And how will the team succeed here?
- What to do?
- I have always suggested limiting foreign players to two per team, but no one supported my initiative.
But most of the clubs are supported by budgetary funds, that is, we feed foreigners with state money.
Why is that?
Here, the national teams were not selected for the Olympics for two cycles in a row, did something happen?
The Ministry of Sports at least became interested in what the problem was, appointed an anti-crisis manager?
Has the leadership of the federation changed?
No, everything remains as it is, everything suits everyone ...
- And you do not want to go to the polls, for example, the head of the basketball federation, in order to turn this situation around?
- I worked as deputy director of the Olympic reserve school in Moscow from 2013 to 2020.
I tried to do something for the benefit of basketball, I trained juniors for youth teams, but I realized that there was no point, no result, no pleasure in working under the guidance of an amateur.
And that now sport in Moscow is about the development of budgets and reporting.
So now I'm taking care of my family.
I work as a taxi driver for children: take them to training, pick them up, meet them.
And then, well, what can I change?
Will I make sure that the children stop crippling?
No.
There will always be such parents who will bring the child to a crazy coach, just to get apartments, cars, bonuses.
Change the priority system?
Hardly.
I can teach anyone to hit the ball in the ring and play basketball,