Russian men’s team is giving us plenty of surprises in the run-up to competition. First, we learned that Denis Abliazin was put on the team instead of going as an individual even though he only does three events, haven’t competed floor since 2017 and only competed vault a month ago for the first time since the spring of 2019. Then, in the podium training, Artur Dalaloyan did vault and floor despite his recent Achilles injury. Nikita Nagorny appeared struggling in training and left the arena visibly limping. He later assured his fans on Instagram that the reason for limping was sore calf muscle and it wasn’t serious.
The head coach of the men’s team Valeri Alfosov talked to MatchTV about the team after the podium training.
Q: How did the podium training go?
A: We’re in a good mood, we’re preparing for the Games, the guys understand their goals. Of course, the fact that some guys on the team, like Dalaloyan, for example, are competing after serious injuries led to some changes in the pre-Olympic preparations. But I’m happy that both Artur and Denis Abliazin recovered and made the Olympic team.
Q: I thought Artur wasn’t supposed to vault or tumble but he worked on both vault and floor today. Why?
A: This gymnast thinks about his future, his athletic career. Almost right after the Olympics, in the fall, there will be individual World Championships where he can compete in the all-around and fight for medals.
Q: Will he do all-around in the qualification here?
A: It depends, of course. He’s the backup athlete on vault and floor and if everything goes well, he won’t need to do these events. If there will be serious issues then he’s already capable of covering for a gymnast who made a major mistake.
Q: So, the roster for the team competition is Nagorny, Belyavskiy, Dalaloyan, and Abliazin?
A: Yes.
Q: Nagorny is slightly limping. What happened?
A: It’s just that his [right] calf hurts a bit. I guess he worked too much on vault and floor during training. The doctors are now doing everything to make it better. He doesn’t have any serious injuries, we checked for that before the departure. But yes, he has calf pain.
Q: Judging by today’s podium training, Kartsev looks frenzied.
A: It’s his first Olympics, he has mixed feelings. He’s happy that he’s here, he sees World champions in all the sports, it’s all extremely interesting for him. But, at the same time, he’s a responsible boy and because of that he also gets a bit lost sometimes.
Q: Everyone knows about Dalaloyan’s injury, but Denis Abliazin broke both his legs in 2019. How well he recovered after these injuries?
A: It’s all behind him, he got back in shape on vault and floor. Denis is competitive [on his events].
Q: Many are talking about the conditions at the Olympic village. Beds aside, what about the food and the sound-proofing in the rooms?
A: The food is quite ok. But you can hear about 95% of the apartment sounds [in your room].
Q: Someone’s snoring in the next room and it feels like they’re in your room?
A: Yes. But such big competitions are always like that, so, the athletes are used to it. It’s hard to bring so many athletes together. Yes, there are hotels with nice rooms at the European or World Championships but there are thousands of athletes here, thousands of support staff, coaches, doctors, so, of course, there are many issues.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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