Anastasia Bachynska had a good competition at the Youth Olympic Games where she won bronze medals on floor and in the all-around. She talked to SportExress.ua about her experience at the competition.
Q: You were competing practically during the whole Olympics in Buenos-Aires. Did you envy the athletes from other sports who finished their competition quickly and could fully enjoy the celebratory atmosphere?
A: Not at all! I had time to participate in all sorts of contests, too, and I even won some prizes. Of course, I would have loved more time to walk around the city but, frankly, after the competition, I had no energy left. I only had one thing on my mind – to rest! But I didn’t envy those who finished competing earlier – they didn’t have any more chances to earn medals. Artistic gymnastics is a sport in which many medals are given out and I’m used to fighting from the start till the very end.
Q: After the qualification, you were considered practically one of the main favorites of the competition, how did this new role feel for you?
A: I understood that the main competition was still ahead of me, especially since the competition starts from scratch in the final. It was not easy but I tried to be most focused and I managed. Not on all the events, but I managed to do it on some of them. In the end, I brought two medals home.
Q: In the all-around final, before the last event, floor, you were third. Were you scared that the mistake on the landing on your first pass could cost you a medal?
A: No, I wasn’t thinking about it. All my thoughts were about how to compete well and how to show what I can do, how to make the crowd accept and like me.
Q: Can you describe what you felt when after all the routines in the all-around final you saw the number 3 next to your name?
A: I can’t express it with words. In the first minutes, I just couldn’t believe that I manage to make the top-3 and not just on an event but in the all-around. Yes, I made some mistakes and that is why I wasn’t able to climb higher than the third place and I’ll definitely work on those in order to avoid this in the future.
Q: What did your coach, Anna Lev, told you after the competition?
A: That I did a good job but I have to work more and that everything’s still ahead for me.
Q: Right after the competition, you said that the bronze medal on floor was more important for you than the bronze in the all-around, even though the all-around competition is considered to be the most prestigious in gymnastics. Why is that?
A: In the all-around, I was thinking about each event a bit, and this is how it went – a bit here, a bit there, some anxiety added to the mix – and I didn’t show the result I was capable of. When I went to do my routine in the floor final, I was able to leave everything behind, in particular, the fact that I wasn’t able to fight for the medals on beam, bars, and vault. I was thinking about how to compete well, to avoid mistakes, to get the crowd to like me and to show the high level of Ukrainian gymnastics. But the most important thing is that on floor I was finally able to enjoy my routine, I gave my 100%, I had some crazy energy and then there was a ton of emotions when I realized that I got another bronze.
Q: Did you know that your medals became the first Ukrainian WAG medals at the Youth Olympics? And that at the “adult” Olympics, Ukrainian WAG hasn’t won anything since Atlanta-1996?
A: Of course, I knew about it. And I’m very happy that I was able to bring our country and our sport these Olympic medals. Yes, they’re not gold or silver, only bronze, but this shows that not only our guys are able to win medals, we, the girls, are also capable of it. We are proud that we had such gymnasts as Lilia Podkopayeva. But it’s time to write the new history.
Q: Recently, Oleg Ostapenko started to work with the Ukranian national team again. How hard is it to train with such a legendary specialist?
A: It’s hard but interesting. You seem to be doing the same things as before but the result is better. Perhaps, the secret is more training load, this is what produces the effect. Lately, I try to spend as much time with Oleg Vasilyevich during practices as possible. I’m working on my routines in order to make them competitive on the senior level as well. After all, the Youth Olympics are just a stepping stone to the future.
