The head coach of the Russian men’s team Valeri Alfosov talked to R-Sport about the gymnasts’ prospects for the European Championships and the Olympics.
Alfosov said that Abliazin who competed only on rings at the Russian Championships will soon be ready to do vault again:
“Denis Abliazin had two serious injuries. He gave a lot of effort, he recovered completely and is training at Round Lake. His events became internationally competitive again. We’re considering him as one of the candidates for rings for the European Championships and we’ll see about the Olympics next. Abliazin started doing vault and does it well but we’re not putting him on vault here, we’re being a bit safe. When the doctors will tell us their conclusion that we can use this gymnast, he’ll do vaults and tumbling again. And he’s great on rings.”
Ivan Stretovich missed the Russian Championships because he’s recovering from wrist surgery. He is training already and is expected to come back to Round Lake for the next training camp:
“The surgery went well, Vanya Stretovich is recovering now. On March 21st, I’m inviting him to the national team training camp at Round Lake and he’s getting back on track. We’ll decide on his training load according to the recommendations of his doctors and he’ll start preparing for the Olympic Games. If his character, efforts and desire to compete at the Olympics will be strong, he still has time to prepare for Tokyo and get on the team. It will all depend on him.”
Alfosov praised Aleksandr Kartsev who won the all-around at the Russian Championships:
“The competition was a bit mentally difficult for the guys because they hadn’t competed in a long time. It was nice to see that they’re in good shape. We have a new boy, Sasha Kartsev making his debut, and he’s currently a candidate for the Olympic team. I’m really happy for this boy, for the fact that he’s adding in difficulty and execution with every day. We really count on Stretovich but the fact that we have Kartsev gives us some breathing room.”
Alfosov says that Dalaloyan and Belyavskiy were not expected to their maximum at the nationals:
“They’re in their normal shape. Of course, they’re not brilliant yet but it’s too early to be brilliant. They are doing almost full difficulty in their routines but not at the maximum. For us, the most important thing is to get our athletes to the Olympics healthy, without injuries or illnesses.”
“We’re preparing for and dream to go to the European Championships. But with the current situation, it might be canceled. And then the preparation for the Games will become the most difficult, the mental pressure will be higher. Athletes don’t have anywhere to test themselves. Training at the center where athletes are used to us, to the equipment, and conditions, where they’re fully comfortable is on thing. But even traveling to Penza is a challenge. It’s only a pity that there were no spectators. If Euros will be canceled, there’s no plan B, only internal competitions. We will also have the Russian Cup in Novosibirsk, we’re really waiting for it and that’s where we will select the final teams for the Olympics”.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
