Aliya Mustafina gave an interview to Sport-Express. Most of the article recounts Aliya’s competitive history, so below are just some excerpts from the interview with new information.
After the Olympics Aliya was mostly focusing on her studies (she’s getting a degree in gymnastics coaching) and enjoying the opportunity to stay at home:
“Being busy at home is fun for me. For a long time, when I was training for competitions, I missed that. Now I’m happy to make up for the lost time. Lyosha [diminutive for Alexey] likes anything I cook. He also helps me at home, when possible.”
Mustafina also enjoys not having to put on make-up – during the competitions the gymnasts usually wear a lot of make-up. In addition, wearing make-up is often considered a must for urban women in Russia, so even though her statement might sound weird (not wearing make-up? Who cares?!), it’s somewhat rebellious:
“Right now I’m enjoying not putting on make-up. I don’t have a problem leaving the house without it.”
Mustafina hasn’t yet seen a bobsled competition in real life, but she’s watching her husband compete on TV:
“If such an opportunity comes, I’d love to travel to a bobsled competition. I can’t say that I have a professional knowledge of bobsled, but I’m enjoying watching the competitions when I can. I’m cheering for Lyosha, note some moments that we can discuss with him later. My [athletic] experience will probably not be very useful for him, our sports are too different. But I want to have an opportunity to support him and to understand what’s going on in his sport.”
Mustafina and Zaytsev have never been on a vacation abroad together, but she doesn’t mind:
“We just never had the time to travel somewhere because our schedules didn’t fit. I can’t really say that I love traveling. Yes, I’ve visited a lot of countries for competitions and sometimes it’s nice to see new places. But if you ask me, what’s the best place for me, I’ll say home.”
