Nikita Nagornyy dominated the qualification at the European Championships. He qualified in first in the all-around leading by almost two points over the second place and made finals on five of the six events. He is also the first reserve for the final on high bar. He was also able to accomplish his dream of getting a skill named after him. Nagornyy performed a triple pike on floor which received I value.
Despite these accomplishments, in an interview to MatchTV, Nagornyy said he wasn’t completely happy with his performance in qualification.
Q: You finished first in the all-around qualification but you’re not first on any of the individual events. Is that normal?
A: I don’t know how to call it but I can surely say that I didn’t have a goal to win [everything] and qualify to all the finals today.
Q: What was the goal and what were you able to accomplish?
A: I needed to try out my routines because I have a new routine on floor and I’ll try have an even stronger one in the final. I did the same routine on pommel horse and wasn’t able to upgrade on rings, it’s little by little everywhere. I only started doing my full routine on high bar but, unfortunately, that didn’t work out either. That’s ok. For me, these championships – perhaps it’s won’t sound well – is sort of a test, mental, psychological, to show that I finally can get into the competition mode. God willing, I’ll be able to compete more before the Olympics and my health will be fine.
Q: After bars, you expressed unhappiness.
A: I didn’t do my full routine, I didn’t do an element which adds to my score. But, hopefully, I’ll be able to do in the next days, during the finals.
Q: Do verifications replace competitions, at least, partially?
A: Not at all. They can give you something physically, the body is able to feel the routines, but psychologically, when you go out here and raise your arm, it’s completely different.
Q: There are no spectators and masks are on at all times. How’s the atmosphere?
A: Dead, completely dead.
Q: David Belyavskiy said he wasn’t able to catch his breath in a mask after floor.
A: After floor, I first caught my breath and only then put the mask on, although it’s still hard, we’re constantly being reminded to put our masks on. Even though we’re being tested here and observe all the safety measures. And I guess, perhaps, precautions that are too strict can also affect athletes’ performance. But those requirements are for everyone.
Q: Is the absence of spectators weird?
A: We went out to compete today and Sanya Kartsev was there, he had his debut at such a competition level and I acted as his helper and tried to make today as easy as possible for him. I’m happy with how Sanya did, he did all his routines almost without any mistakes, everything from start to finish, he earned an Olympic spot for the country and thanks to that we now have an opportunity to bring another person to the Games. So, we’re going out, Sanya’s standing there, he’s shaking, and he says: “Wow, what an atmosphere”. Well, in slightly other words. And he continues: “I can’t imagine what would have happened to me if there were spectators here as well”. And I reply: “On the contrary, it would have been even better”. Spectators create a completely different atmosphere, they give you more confidence.
Q: It’s not a secret that gymnasts compete without spectators in Russia so, perhaps, for Kartsev [empty] stands added confidence.
A: Maybe, yeah. But still, sooner or later he’ll see full stands. And, perhaps, it will be at the Olympics where local fans will be allowed to come.
Q: A day before the flight here, your friend and teammate Artur Dalaloyan got injured and had to be replaced. Do such situations cause you to fear getting injured?
A: I think it’s better not to talk about this, it’s personal. But generally, we’ve never had such situations that a leader withdrew before a big competition [on our team]. Now we understand that Artur has a chance to come back and we’re left to way and hope that all the pieces of this puzzle will fit together and the team will be complete again. It’s very important for us because we’ve been through such things together that, I’m sure, most teams haven’t been through. Most probably, no other team has been through such things. We’ve become a family and it’s a blow to the whole Russian team.
Photo: Elena Mikhaylova, Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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