Russian gymnasts arrived at Round Lake in order to start training again after a two-month break. However, Artur Dalaloyan originally planned to use the break to focus on treating an old injury. When the news of the return to training broke, he asked to stay home and continue treatment instead. Dalaloyan told TASS:
“Yes, I’m actually not going [to the camp]. Andrei Fyodorovich [Rodionenko] called me, he knows that I’m currently undergoing treatment for my wrist and leg that I have been delaying because of the preparation for the Olympics. During the quarantine, I called the federation and asked them to approve paying for a treatment course at a private clinic. There is a good traumatology specialist there who I’m constantly in touch with and who always treated me. So, I came to an agreement with the coaches and the federation that I’d undergo treatment now, everyone was for it. But then the news about the camp came. Andrei Fyodorovich proposed to postpone the treatment which, in my opinion, doesn’t make sense, or to finish it and miss the camp, and we decided together that the second option is better.”
“I think I’ll be delayed [from coming back to training] for more than three weeks. After May 26th, in two weeks, I’ll need to do the third procedure and if it has good results and the doctor says the treatment is over, we’ll think about how to get to Round Lake. If it is not enough, I’ll do the fourth and the fifth procedures in order to finish the treatment because health is the most important thing now. In order to start proper training, I need to get better.”
While Valentina Rodionenko initially said the federation planned for 50 national team gymnasts to return to training, at the moment, 33 athletes moved into the training center and took coronavirus tests today. They will now stay isolated in their rooms while waiting for results.
The athletes currently at Round Lake are mostly those from Moscow and surrounding regions who were able to get to the center in their own cars, including Angelina Melnikova who drove from her home in Voronezh (around 500 km away). Rodionenko said that later this week, 13 more gymnasts from different regions will come to Round Lake. They will have to undergo coronavirus testing on May 29th and stay isolated while waiting for the results.
If you hoped that getting Nikita Nagornyy to Round Lake will finally stop him from doing crazy tricks in his apartment, don’t be too happy. He is now posting videos of crazy tricks he’s doing in his room at Round Lake while waiting for the tests results. However, if he avoids injury, Nagornyy hopes to get back in shape soon:
“I started conditioning much more effectively in a regular [non-gymnastics] gym. Any apparatus in the gym can replace conditioning, but conditioning cannot replace gymnastics elements. On the other hand, I think that basic training is also important. I think I will need two or three months in order to get back in shape.”
He then added that he’ll need only a month to get back in the shape he was in before the break.
Nikita Nagornyy said that the news about the Olympic postponement was originally upsetting:
“When we heard about the postponement of the Olympic Games, it was stressful in any case. We were preparing for this competition physically and mentally, hoping that it would take place this year. But, on the other hand, we can’t do anything about it, we can only adapt and keep preparing. But I’m not yet 30 years old, I still have a chance to show my maximum.”
Support Gymnovosti on Patreon from only $1 a month and help us bring to you even more awesome gymnastics coverage!
Buy cool gymnastics-themed t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, phone cases, and more at our store on Teepublic!
