Komova is training all-around

Local Voronezh TV show “Marafon” did a story on Viktoria Komova’s comeback.

The video shows Vika training bars and there are short interview fragments with Komova and Elfimov, her coach.

The interview fragments are translated below, while the narrator’s speech is summarized.

The reporter says that Vika considers the day she was medically cleared to train again her second birthday. She wasn’t allowed to train at all for 8 months and only started training in February.

Komova: When they said to me, that’s it, you can train, I couldn’t believe it, because… I’m thinking: “how can that be? my back was hurting so much! So, what, I’ll come [to the gym] now and it won’t hurt?” I was constantly in doubts. Well, when they said that I could train now, I was first coming to the gym and starting to train very cautiously, checking myself. I start jumping and see “ok, seems like it doesn’t hurt, seems like it’s ok”. Then I try something else: “that feels ok, too”. Then something else: “of, this hurts a bit, I’ll have to wait with this”. I also started doing exercises to make my back stronger. So, slowly, I realized that this is it, I can forget about [the pain] and never think about it again.

The кузщкеук says that Vika has started coming to the gym with a smile.

Komova: I used to come [to the gym] and [describing how she felt while injured]: “That’s it, I can’t, I’m in pain, I won’t be able to do anything”. Now it’s completely different, my back doesn’t hurt, [I can go] forward, to the new medals.

Elfimov explains why he felt that Komova needed to come to the Round Lake only three months after getting back to the gym:

Elfimov: It’s just that, how to say this, the baby grew out of the little pants at home. The Round Lake, it has different apparatuses, different equipment making training easier… [they have] special foam pits that you can try to do new tricks into them. As you can see, here at home we don’t have conditions like that.

Komova about returning to the Round Lake: I was well met, the coaches that work there greeted me, hugged and kissed me, asked me how I was, how was my back. The girls were also glad to see me, they asked me how I was, what I was doing. They asked because they haven’t seen me in a long time, they haven’t seen me in about a year, they said: you’ve changed, grown up.

About wanting to compete: Of course, I want it, I really want to compete already, but I understand that if I start hard now… Well, first of all, I can’t do now everything that I could do before because I’m not in that physical shape yet. I haven’t trained for a long time. Second, I don’t want to rush it, so that I won’t get injured again so that I won’t pull anything or something, I want to avoid that, of course.

Komova is allowed to do practically everything, but a lot of repetitions can leave her exhausted.

Vika: So, for example, yesterday I did almost a full routine on bars, but today I can’t do even a couple of elements, because I gave it all yesterday. I came in today and everything hurts, my arms hurt, so it’s hard to pull myself together and it’s much harder to train today. So my coach is cutting me some slack today, says: “ok, that’s it, you worked well yesterday, you can rest a bit today. But tomorrow you’ll have to come in and do everything again.

The reporter says that Komova is training all 4 apparatuses equally, not just bars. She’s trying to remember her old routines, but she’s already making changes in the composition to adapt them to the new code. The plan for her is to compete all-around eventually, if her health will allow it.

Elfimov about Komova potentially competing all-around: I won’t say anything for now, I don’t know, don’t know. Of course, I’d like her to compete all-around, because she’s first of all an all-arounder. Also, the current code favors all-arounders. So, I don’t know, we’re going to try, and then, as they say, whatever the Lord gives.

The reporter says that Komova plans to return to all-around at the Voronin Cup in December, but she might do bars at the Russian Cup in August if everything goes well.

Elfimov on how the training is going right now: Well, it’s not easy, I’ll say. The important thing is that she wants it. Yes, it’s kind of hard right now, of course, but if she wants it, it’s going to be ok.

Today Komova is going back to the Round Lake again. She will be there for three weeks. The reporter doesn’t say whether Vika will go to the training camp in Spain with the team (the team leaves on 28.05).

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5 Comments

  • I’m a little worried about Komova training all four events already. I would love to see her comeback as an all-arounder, as it’s now more essential in order to make the team for the olympics as opposed to an individual, but with all the problems she’s had recently and in the past with her back and her ankles i can’t help but wonder if that’s the best path for her. On top of that, December is a pretty fast date to pack in an all-around program, especially since she only would’ve been training for less than a year at that point, and a bar routine by August seems pretty fast too. I’m obviously no expert on elite training but I feel like she should take this year to condition and get her stamina up, and then spend next year piecing together a program on some of the events. And then all four if she feels up to it. That would still give her time to be competitive and make worlds teams for Doha in 2018 or Stuttgart in 2019 as well as the olympics while still pacing herself and making sure she doesn’t push anything. It just seems so quick to start training elite routines after eight months without training so early in the quad.

    • You need to remember that for Russian gymnasts competing is their livelihood. The national team members get a salary and bonuses are added to it for winning medals at international competitions in the previous year. The bonuses can be higher than the actual salary. For example, when Mustafina was injured throughout the whole 2011, she was getting paid based on her 2010 medals. However, in 2012 her salary was supposed to be cut by two-thirds because she didn’t win any European or World medals in 2011. Valentina even gave an interview about it back then. I think they managed to restore her funding because she was a key player for the Olympics, but they wouldn’t go to great lengths during a non-Olympic year.
      Komova missed the whole 2016 season and she’s on the reserve team right now, which likely means that her funding in 2017 has been seriously cut and she needs to compete and place well this year in order to continue receiving the national team salary next year. Also keep in mind that Komova’s home gym is not very well equipped, as Elfimov said in this video. She needs to be training at the Round Lake if she wants to progress and she needs to be invited to come there. I assume she would be much less likely to be invited if she said she doesn’t plan on preparing for any of this year’s competitions.

  • Thanks for ur work, of course!!
    First, i could feel Vika has a good coach, he helps Vika to prevent injury!
    And secoand, Vika seems becoming very mature, so happy for her, seeing her return to gymnastic, it means for than medals but her personal growth.
    And the last i am so surprised to see her hometown gym lacking of the advanced equipment, i thought Russia is the best place for gymnastic…

  • Thanks for ur work, of course!!
    First, i could Vika has a good coach, he helps Vika to prevent injury!
    And secoand, Vika seems becoming very mature, so happy for her, seeing her return to gymnastic, it means for than medals but her personal growth.
    And the last i am so surprised to see her hometown gym lacking of the advanced equipment, i thought Russia is the best place for gymnastic…

  • Hi!

    I am so happy for Viktoria. I’m a huge fan of hers.

    On another note: I am sn editor/proofreader of English. I could understand the whole article. I would like to offer edit for you. I would never change the content.

    I would love to support Russian Gumnastics-for free. It always makes a better impression if texts read like a native speaker wrote them.

    “I can’t do now everything ”

    Should be

    “I can’t do everything now”

    The placement of words in English makes a big difference, not like in Russian.

    I even started reading about the History of Russia. It’s really fascinating.

    I hope you don’t see this as rude. I would just like to help Russian Gymnastics.

    I look forward from hearing from you. And i suppose you have questions.

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